Calgary Flames

Flames Sunday Census: Thoughts on Calgary’s picks at the 2021 NHL Draft

The NHL offseason is in full swing, with event after event happening in a mere matter of days. The Calgary Flames saw their long-time captain Mark Giordano get selected by the Seattle Kraken at the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, then they immediately turned towards the entry draft, where the Flames made eight selections. Up next will be free agency which will lead to a fuller picture of how the team will look come the start of the 2021–22 season.

How do you feel about the 2021 class of Flames prospects? We asked, you answered.

The Flames at the NHL Draft

The Flames went into the 2021 NHL Draft with seven picks, but of course with general manager Brad Treliving’s usual wheeling and dealing, they ended up making eight selections by trading down with the Los Angeles Kings in the third round to get an extra sixth-round pick. So with that, how were the picks?

The full breakdown of the newest Calgary Flames is available here, but here are the players the Flames ended up selecting:

RoundOverall SelectionPlayer
1#13 Matt Coronato (LW)
2#45 William Strömgren (LW)
3#77 Cole Huckins (C)
3#89 Cameron Whynot (D)
5#141 Cole Jordan (D)
6#168 Jack Beck (LW)
6#173 Lucas Ciona (LW)
7#205 Arseni Sergeyev (G)

Thoughts on the newest Flames

Overall, most people were happy with how the Flames did at the draft, with 79% of voters saying they either nailed it with every pick or at least most picks were good. Conversely, 21% of voters thought the Flames class was either iffy or a total miss.

Out of the eight players selected, it’s easy to put the highest value right onto Matt Coronato, who’s scoring ability is something the Flames desperately need in their system. William Stromgren, while a decent prospect, was a bit of a miss, as other players like Logan Stankoven, Sasha Pastujov, and Aatu Raty were still available.

Cole Huckins was a good pick with several draft boards placing him right where he was selected, but some had him going much later as well. Going down the line, the Flames made some good value adds in Cameron Whynot and especially Cole Jordan.

The Flames particularly like that they were able to add Jack Beck into their system, despite Beck not seeing any games this past season. A bit of a gamble to say the least, but this was where the Flames’ Director of Amateur Scouting Tod Button was vocal about the trust he has in the scouting team.

They rounded out their draft with Lucas Ciona and Arseni Sergeyev. Overall, they added a good range of players and positions, and didn’t have any extreme misses outside of the second round, but that could be said of many other teams who also opted to pass on those high-skill players too.

Did the Flames nail every pick? I would say no, definitely not. But they did a good job with the overall draft class and there’s lots to be excited about for the future.

Onto the next one

While the draft frenzy was unique throughout the year, from scouting and assessments with limited games and data to making picks over the lengthy virtual draft, the 2021 NHL Draft has finally concluded. The Flames made their prospect system that much better, and we’ll see in a few years which players will be able to develop into NHL talent.

Up next, free agency. Hang on, the offseason is just getting started.


Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images

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