The 2014 NHL Draft has concluded, with some new faces that will be coming soon. Obviously since Calgary's draft picks could be seen in Glens Falls prior to making to Alberta, let's take a look at who Calgary selected during the 2014 NHL Draft.
FIRST ROUND:#4 -
Samuel Bennett (C) - Samuel Bennett hails from Kingston in the Ontario Hockey League. He has played for Team Canada in the Under 18 World Championship, scoring 3 goals and 4 assists during his 7 teams with Team Canada.
With Kingston he accumulated 91 points in his 57 games during the 2013-14 season, scoring 36 goals and assisting in 55 more. He was penalized for 118 total minutes during the season.
David Gregory notes that Bennett plays with a high-energy game on both sides of the rink. And he's able to sustain that energy for the entire season which helped Kingston. Gregory called Bennett a "top-notch player."
While his favorite NHL team was the Toronto Maple Leafs, perhaps because of the Doug Gilmour connection, it's likely he will change his colors to red and orange. And he likes hitting the slopes, which could be good on an Adirondack Flames off-day, as he'd only be 10 minutes away from West Mountain.
SECOND ROUND:#34 -
Mason McDonald (G) - This Nova Scotia native had a 3.35 Goals Allowed Average and a .907 Save Percentage during his time with Charlottetown in the Quebec Majors-Juniors Hockey League. During his time in the Majors Juniors he has put together one shutout, coming during his 2012-13 season with Acadie-Bathurst.
With Halifax in 2011-12, he went 14-1 with a 2.01 GAA as he helped push the Titans to a Nova Scotia Major Midget Hockey League Championship.
#54 -
Hunter Smith (RW) - Hunter Smith was drafted three spots earlier than his uncle, Brad Smith, who was selected 57th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 1978. Brad Smith scored 62 total points in 222 games during his nine year NHL Career, which included some time with the Calgary Flames.
Hunter Smith comes from Oshawa and Windsor in the Ontario Hockey League, scoring 16 goals and 24 assists in his 64 games in 2013-14. He finished third in the league's "most-improved" category.
According to Chris Edwards, Smith is a role-type player and is one of the more aggressive players on the ice, balancing that with puck-handling skills and good passing ability.
THIRD ROUND:
#64 -
Brandon Hickey (D) - Brandon Hickey comes out of Spruce Grove, in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. In 49 games with Spruce Grove in 2013-14 he assisted in 18 goals and netted four of them himself for a total of 22 points, better than tripling his offensive output from the 2012-13 season.
SIXTH ROUND:
#175 -
Adam Ollas Mattsson (D) - Mattsson is Calgary's only draft pick who doesn't hail from Canada, instead comes from Sweeden, where he played for Djurgarden in the Sweeden Jr. Hockey League.
He's not a big point scorer, only netting 20 points during his three years in the junior leagues. He had 9 points in 33 games for Djurgarden in 2013-14, scoring one goal and assisting in eight others.
SEVENTH ROUND:#184 -
Austin Carroll (RW) - Carroll played 70 games for Victoria in the Western Hockey League in 2013-14.
Now, in hockey, these players are able to continue playing for their junior league teams, so they may not necessarily be with the Adirondack Flames for the 2014-15 season. Some might have to start with the Alaska Aces in the ECHL and work their way up. But the path to Calgary for most of these new Flames players will eventually end up through Glens Falls, to which we'll get to see these players grow and perhaps become household NHL names in the future.
