Little left in system from Calgary Flames 2009 NHL Draft class

[HF Article]

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The summer of 2009 marked the beginning of the end to the Sutter era in Calgary. Then Flames GM Darryl Sutter had a veteran team that was running out of time to return to the Stanley Cup Finals as they did in 2004.



After back-to-back years of first round exits, Sutter fired Coach Mike Keenan in May and brought in his brother, Brent, to man the helm in hopes that he could ignite a Stanley Cup playoff run.

The 2009 NHL Draft the next month was also an eventful time for then Sutter, who took part in two draft day deals along with the selection of six draft picks, including a controversial first round pick.… read more



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[Johnny Hoxville]

Wow, that's bloody terrible.

Although the assets we got in the Erixon trade worked out quite well, so there's that.

 

[MarkGio]

Bad attitude draft. Howse and Erixon were prima donnas

 

[kirant]

I just don't think Howse had much interest in hockey from the start. This was the same guy who got kicked out for a month by Troy Ward to let him focus on even having the diet of an athlete and getting into shape.

I still remember the day Erixon was traded. I had a YouTube comment about how glad I was Erixon was a Flame. After a 3 hour drive to Edmonton, my Inbox filled with 12 comments from happy snarky Rangers fans.

Kind of amused all the talk there was of him not standing a chance of staying in the NHL in Calgary and, as of right now, he'd likely be on the roster. How things have changed in the last 3 years...

 

[Guido Sarducci]

Actually, Erixon and Ortio is not terrible. Lot of Flames drafts have yielded nothing. And factoring in the returns for Leopold and Erixon, maybe pretty good.

 

[GetThePuckOut]

I was a huge fan of Howse. He had masterful shot placement and made goal scoring look so easy.

He just seemed to hate working out.

 

[tfong]

I was sooooo disappointed with Howse.

Oh well.

 

[InfinityIggy]

I was sooooo disappointed with Howse.

Oh well.

Guy was a quitter. All there is to it really. He had plenty of skill.

 

[Mr Lebowski]

Well it wasn't that bad

Erixon got us Granlund, Wotherspoon, Horak (pretty much Smid). Not bad

Howse was a huge dissapointment

Ortio is working out well

I though Patterson would do better but he was only a 7th

 

[Guido Sarducci]

Well it wasn't that bad

Erixon got us Granlund, Wotherspoon, Horak (pretty much Smid). Not bad

Howse was a huge dissapointment

Ortio is working out well

I though Patterson would do better but he was only a 7th

Don't forget that Sutter traded the 2nd for Leopold, who he then traded for Bouwmeesters negotiating rights.

So, the 2009 draft has yielded Ortio, Poirier, Berra, Cundari, Wotherspoon, Granlund and Smid. I'd say that's pretty good.

Sutter gets such a bad rap for trading all of those 2nds, but the returns that those trades brought back were huge. The only 2 times he used his 2nd he got Ramholt and Wahl. He should have traded those picks as well.

 

[MarkGio]

Don't forget that Sutter traded the 2nd for Leopold, who he then traded for Bouwmeesters negotiating rights.

So, the 2009 draft has yielded Ortio, Poirier, Berra, Cundari, Wotherspoon, Granlund and Smid. I'd say that's pretty good.

Sutter gets such a bad rap for trading all of those 2nds, but the returns that those trades brought back were huge. The only 2 times he used his 2nd he got Ramholt and Wahl. He should have traded those picks as well.

This stuff stretches it quite a bit. That's like saying the 1981 season gave us the Calgary Flames from Atlanta, which turned into ..... [any event]

The draft should be looked upon its own merit, not upon subsequent events

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

This stuff stretches it quite a bit. That's like saying the 1981 season gave us the Calgary Flames from Atlanta, which turned into ..... [any event]

The draft should be looked upon its own merit, not upon subsequent events

I agree.

 

[Mr Lebowski]

The question is 2012 draft

Jank
Sieloff
Gillies
Kulak
Gordon
Culkin
DeBlouw

Who would you draft differently?

What will Jank turn into?

Would you've traded 14th for 21st, 42nd?

 

[InfinityIggy]

The question is 2012 draft

Jank
Sieloff
Gillies
Kulak
Gordon
Culkin
DeBlouw

Who would you draft differently?

What will Jank turn into?

Would you've traded 14th for 21st, 42nd?

Not a chance. Nothing against Jankowski or Sieloff but we KNEW there were still valuable guys on the board like Teuvo and Maatta. I don't like trading a dime for two nickles.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

After a promising start last year, Deblouw has 2pts this season.

 

[InfinityIggy]

After a promising start last year, Deblouw has 2pts this season.

Yeah but its in a tougher conference

 

[MarkGio]

The question is 2012 draft

Jank
Sieloff
Gillies
Kulak
Gordon
Culkin
DeBlouw

Who would you draft differently?

What will Jank turn into?

Would you've traded 14th for 21st, 42nd?

Great draft, other than a questionable first round pick. Sieloff, Gillies, Kulak, Gordon, and Culkin have all progressed each year and have shown to be key performers for their respective clubs. Jankowski is a big (tall) body will great skill and speed, but he's not as productive as I'd like to see him.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

2012 still has lots of questions. Sieloff looks like he'll be an NHL player. Gillies looks very promising, but then again so did Irving at one point. Hopefully his impressive tools translate for us, I have a good feeling. Kulak and Culkin have developed nicely, but I can't say with confidence at this point I expect them to be NHL players, although they both have potential to be. Gordon I think is destined to be a career NHL'er.

Now if Janko hits and becomes a top 6 player, that alone will make that a fantastic draft. And if Gillies becomes our starter one day, Sieloff is a top 4, hard hitting dman, really we can't ask for much more out of a draft.

Personally I do think Culkin will be a bottom pairing dman one day, and Kulak has potential to be more, but we also have guys like Russell and Brodie and Roy, so he needs to continue to improve a fair bit.

 

[Taranis]

The interesting thing is how will Jankowski play next year, being his second year at center and with the maturity and hopefully the size needed to be a NHLer. Personally I believe he will pan out and as mentioned above that alone will make 2012 successful, not to mention Sieloff who sounds like something the Flames need and a potential number one goalie in Gillies.

 

[Mr Lebowski]

I look at the trade and I still loke it. I believe Janko is at a PPG very early in his college career. He hasn't Done anything that shows he'll be a bust. I think Sieloff will be here as long as Burke's here. He loves the hitting game and he probably become a top 4 D. Gillies will probably become our starter. He's played very well at Providence and at the WJers. Kulak has been pretty good this year. At the first couple months he was over PPG. Hopefully he becomes a T.J Brodie. He was a 4th. Culkin has had a pretty good year. He has the potential to be a everyday NHLer on the 2nd or 3rd pairing. I think Coda Gordon will become a 3rd line scoring FWD. He needs to work on his 200 ft game. DeBlouw had a great year last year. But this year he only has 2 points. THN had him in the 4th in round. In 2012. He had one really good year so I guess that's what uou ask of a 7th.

Janko-2nd line C
Sieloff-top 4 D
Gillies-good starting goalie
Kulak-top 4 D
Culkin-7th Dman/8th Dman
Gordon-first guy called up from minors or 3rd line W
DeBlouw-4th line C

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

I look at the trade and I still loke it. I believe Janko is at a PPG very early in his college career. He hasn't Done anything that shows he'll be a bust. I think Sieloff will be here as long as Burke's here. He loves the hitting game and he probably become a top 4 D. Gillies will probably become our starter. He's played very well at Providence and at the WJers. Kulak has been pretty good this year. At the first couple months he was over PPG. Hopefully he becomes a T.J Brodie. He was a 4th. Culkin has had a pretty good year. He has the potential to be a everyday NHLer on the 2nd or 3rd pairing. I think Coda Gordon will become a 3rd line scoring FWD. He needs to work on his 200 ft game. DeBlouw had a great year last year. But this year he only has 2 points. THN had him in the 4th in round. In 2012. He had one really good year so I guess that's what uou ask of a 7th.

Janko-2nd line C
Sieloff-top 4 D
Gillies-good starting goalie
Kulak-top 4 D
Culkin-7th Dman/8th Dman
Gordon-first guy called up from minors or 3rd line W
DeBlouw-4th line C

You have an overly optimistic view of that draft and our prospects in general. The reality is, you are extremely, extremely lucky if 2 or even 3 prospects hit and become NHL'ers from the same draft. Countless teams year after year draft promising players only to find that the guy they took in the 5th or 6th round becomes a bottom 6 player while everyone else busts. I would love for all the things to happen that you are saying, but the reality is that is highly unlikely.

Janko is not playing at a PPG pace, he hasn't shown anything to suggest he will bust per se, but he also hasn't shown us anything to say he will be more than a Joe Colborne. Sieloff has a very low bust factor, I would bet money on that he will be in the NHL and probably by next season if he can get his conditioning back up. Gillies has been fantastic and one of our top prospects, but goalies really are very hard to predict. We won't know what we have with him until and if he ever plays in the NHL. Culkin and Kulak have progressed nicely, but every NHL team has those guys. If one is going to make the NHL, they really need to take a huge step in their game and dominate at the AHL level when they turn pro.

I would very shocked if Gordon or Deblouw ever see the NHL. Gordon is a good kid, his skillset isn't high enough to be a top 6 player, and from the couple times I've seen him he isn't physical enough to be a bottom 6 player. I could be wrong, I hope I am, but I haven't seen enough factors in him where I can say, he will be in the NHL some day. Of course, lots of guys are late bloomers and work extremely hard, those are the guys that surprise. I feel Culkin is like that, so I think he may make it.

 

[MarkGio]

You have an overly optimistic view of that draft and our prospects in general. The reality is, you are extremely, extremely lucky if 2 or even 3 prospects hit and become NHL'ers from the same draft. Countless teams year after year draft promising players only to find that the guy they took in the 5th or 6th round becomes a bottom 6 player while everyone else busts. I would love for all the things to happen that you are saying, but the reality is that is highly unlikely.

Janko is not playing at a PPG pace, he hasn't shown anything to suggest he will bust per se, but he also hasn't shown us anything to say he will be more than a Joe Colborne. Sieloff has a very low bust factor, I would bet money on that he will be in the NHL and probably by next season if he can get his conditioning back up. Gillies has been fantastic and one of our top prospects, but goalies really are very hard to predict. We won't know what we have with him until and if he ever plays in the NHL. Culkin and Kulak have progressed nicely, but every NHL team has those guys. If one is going to make the NHL, they really need to take a huge step in their game and dominate at the AHL level when they turn pro.

I would very shocked if Gordon or Deblouw ever see the NHL. Gordon is a good kid, his skillset isn't high enough to be a top 6 player, and from the couple times I've seen him he isn't physical enough to be a bottom 6 player. I could be wrong, I hope I am, but I haven't seen enough factors in him where I can say, he will be in the NHL some day. Of course, lots of guys are late bloomers and work extremely hard, those are the guys that surprise. I feel Culkin is like that, so I think he may make it.

I don't know. When I went searching for prospects to chase in the Romour/proposal sticky, there was a lot of prospects that are putting up subpar numbers. Looking at the stats our prospects are putting up (here), it seems we've been selecting and developing players nicely as of late. Only 2 or 3 prospects are having disasterous seasons.

 

[Unkki]

Who would you draft differently?

Would you've traded 14th for 21st, 42nd?

Of course it's easy to make decisions afterwards. So yup, I would've traded 14th for 21st and 42nd and with 21st pick I would've taken Määttä. But this is just stupid hindsight.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

I don't know. When I went searching for prospects to chase in the Romour/proposal sticky, there was a lot of prospects that are putting up subpar numbers. Looking at the stats our prospects are putting up (here), it seems we've been selecting and developing players nicely as of late. Only 2 or 3 prospects are having disasterous seasons.

I agree our guys our developing very nicely, but to take a page from you, we really don't know how good our draft is until these guys play in the NHL. I would say I'm cautiously optimistic!