Selecting 16th and 48th has not been kind of Calgary in past drafts
The Calgary Flames have twice drafted at number 16 and once at 48, the spots they currently own in the first two rounds of this year’s affair, which will be June 28-29 in Nashville.
The results did not work out to plan in any of those three picks.
Juuso Valimaki was chosen 16th in 2017, and despite a fantastic start to his NHL career things turned sour due to injuries. In a questionable use of an asset, he struggled to find any footing under now-fired coach Darryl Sutter and was lost via waivers to the Arizona Coyotes on the eve of last season.
Fortunately for him, Valimaki appears to have put his career back on track, and undoubtedly enjoyed having a hand in quashing Calgary’s flickering playoff hopes late in the season when he collected two assists — his second on the overtime-winner — in a 4-3 affair in mid-March.
Calgary also used the 16th pick in 1986 to draft highly touted Minnesota high school star George Palawa, but he died in a car accident a few months later.
The only time Calgary drafted 48th was in 2008 when Mitch Wahl was selected. Wahl lasted only a few years in the organization and has spent most of the last decade bouncing around European leagues.
While the Flames also own picks in the fourth (112th overall), sixth (176th) and seventh rounds (208th), their best chance of success will come from those first- and second-round selections.
Of course, there is a very real possibility the Flames may add more early-round picks by trading away the likes of defenseman Noah Hanifin.