With the Flames picking in the top 10 of the NHL draft for the first time in eight years this past summer and the team likely looking at another top 10 pick in 2025, the NHL Draft remains top of mind in Calgary. While it’s far too soon to proclaim Zayne Parekh a great draft pick already, the hype around his future can certainly create some fun discussion. His high pedigree has him listed as the team’s top prospect right after being drafted.
With the team getting a high-end pick in Parekh, it opens up a discussion on the team’s drafting performance. In particular, who are the very best draft picks in Calgary Flames history?
With the above in mind, let’s take a look back throughout history to nail down the five very best draft picks in Calgary Flames history. Before we get started, it’s worth mentioning that I’ll only be considering players drafted by the organization since the move to Calgary in 1980. As well, the players’ overall impact in Calgary and not the NHL will be the basis for the ranking—sorry Brett Hull and Adam Fox. I’ll also take into consideration where the player was picked in the draft. Hitting on later draft picks would be considered a better pick than hitting on top 10 picks.
Let’s get into it.
Honourable Mention – Mikael Backlund
It wasn’t easy keeping Mikael Backlund out of the top five, but he simply never had the prime as a Flame that the higher-ranked names did. Always a great player, but never an elite one. While his overall production may slip behind the top five, he earns a shoutout for having the longest career as a Flame of any homegrown player in franchise history.
Drafted in the first round of the 2007 NHL Draft, Backlund has spent his entire 16-year career in Calgary and currently ranks second all-time for games played as a Flame behind only Jarome Iginla. He also has the seventh most points and assists in franchise history. When it’s all said and done, Backlund will likely be the franchise’s all-time games played leader and rank inside the top five for points as well.
#5 Gary Roberts
If it weren’t for some major injuries, Gary Roberts likely would’ve ranked much higher on this list. Still, the 12th overall selection in 1984 is still one of the best draft picks in franchise history. The only first-rounder on this list, Roberts took a few years to get settled in the NHL before he became a dominant player for the Flames.
However, when he finally did, he was a superstar until some of his injuries caught up to him. Roberts actually ended his career with the Flames by retiring due to neck injuries in 1996 before being traded and returning to the NHL.
Even with injuries cutting his Flames career short, Roberts would rack up 505 points in 585 games spread across 10 seasons in Calgary. Despite only playing 585 games as a Flame, he currently ranks ninth all-time for points, and fourth all-time for goals in franchise history. In fact, his 257 goals are the third most all-time by a player drafted by the Flames. He also racked up 43 playoff points as a Flame and was part of the 1989 team that won the Stanley Cup.
#4 Gary Suter
Perhaps one of the most underrated Flames throughout history, Gary Suter carved out an incredible career as a Flame after being drafted into the organization. On top of his success, it’s the fact he was a ninth-round pick that makes his career even more impressive.
Selected 180th overall in the 1984 draft, Suter jumped straight into the Flames lineup the following year and never looked back. Most importantly, he was a key member of the Flames’ 1989 Stanley Cup run.
Across his nine years in Calgary, Suter racked up 564 points in just 617 games from the blueline. He currently sits second all-time in franchise history for points and assists by a defenceman, and ranks third for goals. He also ranks fifth for games played by a defenceman and third for playoff points by a defenceman in Flames history.
His 91 points in 1987–88 are the second-highest single-season total by a defenceman in franchise history. After Al MacInnis, Suter is the best homegrown defenceman in Flames history.
#3 Johnny Gaudreau
Oh, what could’ve been… No player on this list comes with a bigger what-if asterisk than Johnny Gaudreau. Even with his decision to leave the organization in the middle of his prime, Gaudreau should still be considered one of the very best draft picks in the organization’s history. Plucked in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL Draft, Gaudreau is arguably the biggest draft steal in franchise history. He defined an entire era of Flames hockey.
Gaudreau left the franchise in 2022 with 609 points in 602 games as a Flame, and ranks fifth all-time for points and assists in franchise history. His 1.012 points per game as a Flame is the fourth-highest total ever by a player drafted by Calgary. As well, his 115-point season in 2021–22 is the second-best single-season total in franchise history, while his 90 even strength points that year are a franchise record. Had Gaudreau re-signed in Calgary in 2022, he very likely would’ve ranked first on this list one day.
#2 Joe Nieuwendyk
Much like Roberts and Suter, Joe Nieuwendyk was a key piece of the Flames golden era in the 1980s. Drafted in the second round of the 1985 NHL Draft, Niuewendyk is still considered the best centre in franchise history 39 years later. Nieuwendyk was a force pretty much immediately after being drafted, immediately becoming one of the best players on the Flames during his rookie year in 1987–88. He remains the only player in franchise history to win the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie.
Nieuwendyk’s time in Calgary wasn’t particularly long, but it was certainly sweet. Across his nine seasons as a Flame, Nieuwendyk piled up 616 points in just 577 games. He currently ranks fourth all-time in franchise history for points and third for goals. His 1.068 points per game rate as a Flame is actually the best in franchise history by a player with at least 500 games played. I should also mention that he ranks fourth all-time in Flames history for playoff points, and second for playoff goals. Unsurprisingly, he was a huge part of the 1989 team.
#1 Al MacInnis
This was a pretty clear-cut selection at one. Al MacInnis is still to this day the greatest homegrown talent in franchise history. The 15th overall selection in 1981, MacInnis would go on to play 803 games in Calgary which is currently the fifth most in franchise history and the second most by a player drafted by the Flames. He’d also total 822 points which ranks as the third most in franchise history as well as the most by a defenceman in franchise history by nearly 300 points.
MacInnis did it all in Calgary. He’s still the only defender in Flames history to win a Norris Trophy and the only player in franchise history to win the Conn Smythe trophy. He was an integral part of the organization’s only Stanley Cup in 1989, leading the team in playoff scoring with 31 points which is still the franchise record for playoff points in one season. Without drafting MacInnis in 1981, there simply is no Stanley Cup in 1989. There really aren’t any other arguments needed to justify his ranking as the best draft pick in Flames history.
Fond memories of elite Flames draft talent
The Calgary Flames had some big hits over the decades. Through every era of Flames hockey, there was a player the team was built around, and it’s always nice when that player was the team’s draft pick. These players are all major names in the franchise. Hopefully, current prospects and future draft picks force an update to this list.
