Calgary Flames Top 5 Draft Busts in Franchise History
By Ryan Ritchie
Calgary Flames Top 5 Countdown: Biggest Busts in Franchise History
Calgary Flames will be the fifth of 30 teams in a series dedicated to the top five draft busts in franchise history. Over the next while, we plan to explore all 30 teams (in alphabetical order) big misses on the draft floor since their inception.
For those expansion teams from the early and late 1990s into 2000, their franchise draft history is obviously skewed in comparison to older teams. Even with a limited sample size to choose from, each and every franchise has been victimized by the imperfect art of selecting 18-year-old prospects.
Did you know the Calgary Flames have never selected in the top three over their 36-year history on the draft floor?
They’ve picked 4th once (2014 – Sam Bennett) and 6th five times. The Flames have a better track record than most teams (especially in the later rounds) at the draft, but no club is immune to busts.
Honorable Mentions:
Chris Biotti – 17th overall in 1985
Bryan Deasley – 19th overall in 1987
Jason Muzzatti – 21st overall in 1988
Niklas Sundblad – 19th overall in 1991
Oleg Saprykin – 11th overall in 1999
Kris Chucko – 24th overall in 2004
Matt Pelech – 26th overall in 2005
Leland Irving – 26th overall in 2006
Greg Nemisz – 25th overall in 2008
Tim Erixon – 23rd overall in 2009
Calgary Flames Top 5 Draft Busts
5. Sven Baertschi – 13th overall in 2011
Perhaps Baertschi finds another level in his game with the Canucks, but probably not. After several failed NHL stints with the Flames, Sven was dealt to Vancouver in March 2015. Coming off a 15-goal 28-point campaign in 2015-16, Baertschi may be nothing more than a depth bottom six scorer.
Picks after Baertschi: J.T. Miller (NYR) – 15th overall, Nathan Beaulieu (MTL) – 17th overall, Oscar Klefbom (EDM) – 19th overall, Connor Murphy (ARZ) – 20th overall, Vladislav Namestnikov (TB) – 27th overall, Rickard Rakell (ANA) – 30th overall
4. Jesper Mattsson – 18th overall in 1993
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Mattsson was the third Swedish skater off the board in 1993 (first two were Niklas Sundstrom and Kenny Jonsson).
He was one of only two first round selections never to play a single NHL game.
A few notable players went shortly after Mattson, which leaves you wondering what could have been.
Picks after Mattson: Saku Koivu (MTL) – 21st overall, Todd Bertuzzi (NYI) – 23rd overall, Kevyn Adams (BOS) – 25th overall, Shean Donovan (SJ) – 28th overall, Jay Pandolfo (NJ) – 32nd overall, Jamie Langenbrunner (DAL) – 25th overall
3. Rico Fata – 6th overall in 1998
Even with 230 games of NHL experience under his belt – including a 34-point season with Pittsburgh in 2003-04 – Fata ranks high on our list because of a pair of circumstances; higher expectations for a 6th overall pick coupled with some big names called shortly after.
Rico Fata eventually left the NHL in 2006-07 to play in Europe.
He spent time in Germany, Switzerland, and Finland before retiring in 2013-14.
Picks after Fata: Manny Malhotra (NYR) – 7th overall, Alex Tanguay (COL) – 12th overall, Dmitri Kalinin (BUF) – 18th overall, Robyn Regehr (COL) – 19th overall, Simon Gagne (PHI) – 22nd overall, Scott Gomez (NJ) – 27th overall
2. Brent Krahn – 9th overall in 2000
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After watching Rick DiPietro go off the board first overall to the New York Islanders, Calgary felt compelled to select another highly touted netminder.
16 years later, Brent Krahn‘s single (1) game of NHL experience ranks second worst among first round picks in 2000.
It wasn’t the strongest draft near the top in 2000, but we saw a few significant names called towards the end of the 1st/early 2nd that could have been franchise changers.
Picks after Krahn: Ron Hainsey (MTL) – 13th overall, Brooks Orpik (PIT) – 18th overall, Steve Ott (DAL) – 25th overall, Justin Williams (PHI) – 28th overall, Niklas Kronwall (DET) – 29th overall, Nick Schultz (MIN) – 33rd overall
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1. Daniel Tkaczuk – 6th overall in 1997
This one hits close to home personally having grown up in Barrie watching the likes of Jan Bulis, Alexandre Volchkov and Daniel Tkaczuk.
In later years, Michael Henrich, Sheldon Keefe, Denis Shvidki, Joey Tenute, Bryan Little, the list goes on for Colts stars over the years. Sad thing is, many of those Barrie Colts selected in the first round wound up being busts in the NHL.
Tkaczuk spent the majority of his first pro year with AHL Saint John posting 36 points in 50 games. He also showed promise tallying 11 points in 19 games during his stint with the big club. That was the last time Daniel would ever play an NHL game as he took his talent overseas after two more decently productive seasons in the AHL.
Picks after Tkaczuk: Sergei Samsonov (BOS) – 8th overall, Nick Boynton (WSH) – 9th overall, Daniel Cleary (CHI) – 13th overall, Scott Hannan (SJ) – 23rd overall, Brenden Morrow (DAL) – 25th overall