The Calgary Flames and their fans have had their minds in offseason mode for a while now. One of the main highlights of this offseason for the Flames will hopefully be the 2024 NHL Draft. After a disappointing and painful 38–39–5 season, the Flames finished ninth last in the NHL. Come draft lottery time, a five percent chance stood between the Flames and first overall. The lottery saw no movement for any team, meaning Calgary will welcome the ninth overall pick on June 28. Other than the ninth overall pick, the Flames also currently hold the 28th, 41st, 62nd, 74th, 84th, 106th, 107th and 170th overall selections.
With the team on the decline and headed in a retooling/rebuilding direction, this draft will be huge for the Flames. Picking ninth overall should bring a prospect with the potential to be elite to the organization. They also have to hope to hit on the late picks. But what exactly do the Flames need in this draft?
Elite centres
The Flames are in desperate need of centres. Their current top two centres are Nazem Kadri and Mikael Backlund. Kadri did put up a career second-best 75 points, but he is about to be on the wrong side of 30. Backlund has always been serviceable as middle-six option but his decline has also started.
When looking at younger players, Yegor Sharangovich was tested at centre and suits the wing way more. Connor Zary was drafted and has so far been developed as a centre. However, a majority of Zary’s time in the NHL this season was spent on the wing with a stint at centre to end. He will likely get more chances at the centre position next season and develop into one at the NHL level. This only gives them one option as a future top-three centre on their team.
Looking at prospects, things are bleak. Last year’s 16th overall pick, Samuel Honzek, has played the centre position in the WHL but primarily plays left wing. Most see him projecting as a winger. Rory Kerins, Cade Littler, and Jaden Lipinski all have some alright potential but don’t project to be much.
The Flames are left with a big hole at the centre position. With ninth overall, there could be a nice centre around to draft. One could be Cayden Lindstrom but with his size and high ceiling, it’s hard to believe he’ll make it outside the top five. Another is Konsta Helenius whose rounded game makes him a projectable good player at the NHL level. My personal favourite, Berkly Catton who lit up the WHL this season with his smooth and quick skillset the Flames need.
If the Flames go another direction or none of those prospects are available at ninth, we could see them target a centre with one of their later picks in the first two rounds. Sacha Boisvert, Michael Hage, Luke Misa, Yegor Surin, and Dean Letourneau are prospects with interesting potential that may go around 28th overall or in the second round.
Top-end defenceman
The Flames have always been a team with a ton of defensive depth. Currently, they have MacKenzie Weegar, Rasmus Andersson, and Oliver Kylington as their best three. Kylington fills out more of the #4-5 while Weegar and Andersson can play on the top pair. While both are great, Weegar is 30 and by the time the Flames are ready to compete, he will very likely decline in play. Andersson is a good age at 27 but with the direction the team is headed and the two years left on his contract, trade rumours have started. Brayden Pachal and Daniil Miromanov do intrigue me in depth but are probably complementary pieces at best.
Looking at the prospect pool, once again the depth is strong. Headlined by Jeremie Poirier and Hunter Brzustewicz, the Flames have a lot of guys I could see getting NHL time when they develop. Poirier and Brzustewicz stick out due to their offensive capabilities and development so far. If it wasn’t for injury, Poirier could have had a spot on the team later in the season.
Artem Grushnikov and Etienne Morin are both second-round picks with vastly different games but solid potential. Then it’s rounded out by Ilya Solovyov and Yan Kuznetsov who project to be bottom pair, defensive players.
Unless Poirier or Brzustewicz can find the same high offensive success at the NHL, there’s no prospect that projects to be a top-end guy. And with Weegar aging and Andersson possibly on his way out, this will be a problem for the Flames. Luckily for the Flames, this draft is defencemen-heavy.
At ninth overall, there will very likely be a defenceman on the board and who it will be could range significantly. Sam Dickinson, Anton Silayev, Zeev Buium, and Zayne Parekh are all defencemen with great potential who seem to be close to consensus top-10 players. Dickinson brings a rounded game with a bolstering shot and four-way mobility. A huge frame, great skating, and fantastic defence but questionable offence is what Silayev brings. A big season in the NCAA has seen Buium jump with his balanced skillset and amazing transitional game. Finally, Parekh’s electric offensive game complemented by his skating ability makes his ceiling as high as the sky.
Carter Yakemchuk and Adam Jiricek are two other good defencemen I think we will see go from 13–20 and ninth feels too high for them. Later first- and second-round picks that bring solid potential to the table are Alfons Freij, Aron Kiviharju, Henry Mews, Cole Hutson, Leo Sahlin Wallenius, and lots of others.
Drafting the best player available
I know we just covered what the Flames organizational holes are, but they need to draft the best player available. They can’t make a safe pick or go off the board in this draft. If they do, their prospect pool will continue to be mediocre. If Ivan Demidov somehow falls to ninth for example, don’t not take him just because he’s a winger. Don’t try to reach for positional needs over the skill that’s available. Don’t take the low-ceiling, high-floor guy over the one with a high ceiling but lots of risk because of the fear he won’t pan out.
Hit on the later-round picks
I feel like this is a very obvious one, but the Flames need to make good selections on the later-round picks. We won’t know until years down the line and it is difficult to do but hitting on picks outside the first two rounds is huge for any franchise. You don’t want this draft to be another one to look back on and see all the blunders in the later rounds.
Trades could be made
With how big this draft could be for the Flames, maybe a trade is what they need. There are not many players that currently stick out as trade pieces on the Flames. Andrei Kuzmenko, Yegor Sharangovich, or Rasmus Andersson could be surprise moves. Andrew Mangiapane’s value is at its lowest so he seems unlikely.
The most prominent is Jacob Markstrom. He was almost traded this season to the New Jersey Devils and his wants don’t fit the Flames direction. The Devils are looking for a goalie and hold 10th overall, the Predators are unlikely to move Juuse Saros and the Bruins probably want a roster player for Linus Ullmark. This could possibly leave the Devils and Flames as trade partners. Markstrom plus the 28th pick and maybe that gets them back-to-back picks at 9 and 10.
This would be huge for the Flames as they could target two prospects with the potential to be great for their franchise. Maybe a centre and a defenceman.
Another option to move up is to use their late first- and second-round picks. Talk to a team in need of prospects such as the Islanders and try to strike a deal. Moving up from 28th could be big.
Many needs in this draft
The Calgary Flames are poised to have a draft that will be foundational for the future of the franchise. They have nine picks in this draft—six in the first three rounds—and most importantly, the ninth overall selection. Holes in their depth should be the main targets and needs.
One is the centre position which getting a top-end guy would be huge but any with potential is good. The other is top-end defencemen and this is a draft full of defencemen. Then comes two needs that should be obvious in drafting the best player available and making good later-round picks. Finally, trading players to acquire picks or to move up is another potential need for the Flames this draft.
