Flames burn 15th pick on defenseman

The Calgary Flames made it back to the NHL playoffs after a 5 year hiatus and made some noise when they were there not only making it but got past the first round of the playoffs as well. The sea of red was back in full force and so is the optimism that goes along with it.

Still, the Flames have a long ways to go before being taken seriously as a Stanley Cup contender but things are definitely heading in the right direction. Looking at the stats you can see that the Flames have some issues to take care of.

Major statistical categories:

Draft picks: 15th overall.

Players with 20 or more goals: Calgary had three led by Jiri Hudler and Sean Monahan who had over 30 and Johnny Gaudreau with 24.

Top prospects: Centers, right wingers, and goaltenders.

Draft outlook: The Flames got some very good production from their blueline. Five of their top 8 point producers came from the blueline. Calgary could use a stay-at-home d-man.

The centers and left wingers look solid so look for the Flames to add a scorer on right wing.

Based our board if they go for wingers its either Brock Boeser or Mick Merkley. If they go left its either Paul Bitner or Jake Debrusk that look like a good fit for the Flames. .

If they go for D its either Gabriel Carlsson or Thomas Chabot. At the end of the day look for Calgary to make the following announcement.

“With the 15th pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, the Calgary Flames select, defenseman Gabriel Carlsson.”