*This archive was written ahead of the 2023 Draft
It’s mid-June and almost time for the 2023 edition of the NHL Entry Draft. The Calgary Flames and new general manager Craig Conroy have been tasked with righting the proverbial ship after a disappointing 2022-23 season. It was recently announced that Conroy will have the assistance of former teammate and legendary Flame Jarome Iginla, who will accompany him in a special advisory role. The two men will likely be looking to make a splash for their first big event at the helm and spend their 16th overall selection, among others, wisely.
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The Flames have five picks in the upcoming draft: their own first, second, fourth, sixth, and seventh-round draft picks. Their third-rounder is property of the Seattle Kraken as part of the Calle Jarnkrok trade last year, and they forfeited their fifth-round choice when they brought scoring leader Tyler Toffoli on board via the Montreal Canadiens. All eyes will be on the 16th pick, however. A first-round pick always has the microscope and pressure focused on them, and scouting departments/management teams always get the most flack for their first picks in a draft. The Flames have done relatively well drafting in the recent past. Instead of looking forward, let’s look back at the last five Flames first-round draft picks and how each has panned out as a professional hockey player.
2021: Matt Coronato, 13th overall
As the Flames did not have a first-round pick in 2022 due to the aforementioned Toffoli trade, their last first-round pick was in 2021. They selected forward Matt Coronato 13th overall after a standout junior career with the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League. He scored a whopping 125 points in 96 games, culminating in a Clark Cup championship in 2021. He honoured his commitment to play for the Harvard University Crimson after being drafted, where continued his dominance. As a freshman, he recorded 36 points in 34 games and earned himself a spot on the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference All-Rookie Team for 2021-22. The Crimson won the ECAC Championship after Coronato scored the overtime winner vs Quinnipiac University. Coronato remained consistent by following up with another 36 points in 34 games last season, but his team, unfortunately, lost in the ECAC Finals.
After his college season ended, Coronato quickly signed his three-year, entry-level contract with the Flames, and suited up in the last game of the season vs the San Jose Sharks. He went scoreless but did not look out of place and showed he could hang with the big boys. His play didn’t end there either as he was announced as part of the Team USA roster for the 2023 IIHF World Championships shortly after. There he rose to the occasion, helping to lead a roster of lesser-known names to a fourth-place finish and recording 8 points in 10 games. Coronato figures to have a bigger role in store for him come 2023-24, as he can play centre or wing up front and can produce at either position.
2020: Connor Zary, 24th overall
Next up is the 24th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, forward Connor Zary. The Saskatoon native was chosen after a stellar performance in junior with the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) storied Kamloops Blazers franchise. During his time with the Blazers, he demonstrated his solid two-way ability by taking on tough defensive matchups nightly, whilst still contributing offensively. In 203 career WHL games, he scored 79 goals and 206 total points, helping the team win back-to-back division championships. His best season came in 2019-20 when he scored a team-high 38 goals, and his 86 points nabbed him the second spot amongst all Blazers.
Since then, Zary has played for the Flames’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate teams. In 2021-22 he dressed in 53 games with the then-Stockton Heat and underwhelmed many with just 13 goals and 25 points. However, when the team moved to Calgary to become the Wranglers, he got back to his old ways last season, scoring 21 goals and totalling 58 points in all 72 games. These numbers were good for second among all Wranglers players. Now 21, Zary is still young but has two seasons of professional hockey experience under his belt. As a solid 200-foot forward that can score and defend, the Flames would be silly not to give him at least an audition this upcoming year.
2019: Jakob Pelletier, 26th overall
With their first pick in 2019, the Flames selected French-Canadian Jakob Pelletier at 26th overall. He spent his junior playing days in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League; four seasons split between the Moncton Wildcats and the Val d’Or Foreurs. In that time, he accumulated an impressive 107 goals and 275 points in 210 games total. His best season saw him net 39 goals and 89 points in 65 matches, both second amongst his teammates that year. Pelletier was also a proven playoff performer with 31 points in 32 career postseason matches. He was touted as a crafty playmaking forward and his junior numbers certainly displayed as such.
Pelletier is the first member of this list to have played significant NHL minutes, as he made his debut and ended up skating in 24 contests for the Flames in 2022-23. This was made all the more inspiring as former head coach Darryl Sutter was noted for his unwillingness to play youngsters. During his time with the big club, he scored his first career goal and ended up with three total to go along with four assists. Apart from this, he dominated at the AHL level last year, recording 37 points in 35 regular season games and proved his playoff prowess again with 10 points in nine games. Given that he has more than just tasted NHL play and the team has a new head coach in Ryan Huska, all signs point to Pelletier playing his first full season with the Flames next year.
2017:Juuso Valimaki, 16th overall
The Flames again had no first-rounder in the 2018 Draft, as they traded it to the New York Islanders for defenseman Travis Hamonic back in June of 2017. Therefore, we must go to 2017, where the Flames ironically selected first at pick number 16. There they decided on Finnish defenseman Juuso Valimaki, who had successfully showcased his skillset with the Tri-City Americans of the WHL. In 153 games spread over three seasons with the franchise, he scored a notable 40 goals and 138 total points. He demonstrated all of the tools necessary to be a quality defenseman in the NHL, stymying opposing forwards persistently and also providing some offense from the backend.
Valimaki parlayed this into 84 appearances for the Flames from 2018-22 but could either never stay healthy or up with the big club for a full season. In his time, he recorded three goals and 16 points, and 32 points in 55 AHL games. Frustration rose for both parties as the team felt they weren’t getting what they drafted, and Valimaki likely felt he wasn’t being afforded the best opportunities. It ultimately culminated in the Flames placing him on waivers and him being claimed by the Arizona Coyotes in October of 2022. He got his bigger role with the Coyotes and seemingly flourished, leading all team defensemen in scoring with four goals and 34 points in 78 games. At 24, Valimaki will likely be a fixture on the Coyotes’ blue line for the foreseeable future.
2016: Matthew Tkachuk, 6th overall
We know; gut punch. Nevertheless, fifth on our list is 2016, when the Flames chose forward Matthew Tkachuk with their first-round pick. Born in Scottsdale, Arizona, to former NHLer Keith Tkachuk, Matthew played two years for the US National Team Development program before he elected to play one season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) instead of heading the NCAA route. He suited up for the London Knights and finished with 30 tallies, as well as 77 assists for 107 points in 57 games. The Knights became OHL champions and win the 2016 Memorial Cup after Tkachuk scored the overtime winner against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the QMJHL.
The Flames gladly took him with their fifth number-six pick in franchise history (2016, 2013, 1998, 1997, 1992). The rest is history as they say. Tkachuk became a beloved figure in Flames lore, skating in 431 games for the team and collecting 152 goals and 382 points. Those figures rank him 16th and 18th in franchise history, respectively.
Unfortunately, after teammate Johnny Gaudreau left in free agency in the summer of last year, Tkachuk decided he too would not re-sign with the Flames. He was a restricted free agent meaning the Flames retained his signing rights, thus he needed to be traded. On July 22, 2022, he and a fourth-round pick were shipped to the Florida Panthers for Jonathan Huberdeau, Mackenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt and a 2025 first-round pick. Tkachuk had the best year of his NHL career in 2022-23, recording 109 points in 79 regular season games and then helped lead the eight-seed Panthers to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. They lost to the champion Vegas Golden Knights, but Tkachuk played otherworldy with 24 points in 20 games. He’ll be an integral piece of the Panthers for at least the next seven seasons as his new contract with the team ends in 2029-30.
Time will tell how this year’s first-round pick pans out. If there’s any indication from the last five selections, the Flames should be just fine. Their scouting department is still unchanged for the last seven years despite Conroy and President of Hockey Operations Don Maloney coming in recently. Whatever talent that could potentially be available at their pick will be evaluated. The 2023 NHL Entry Draft takes place on June 28 & 29th.