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Calgary Flames

2009 Entry Draft Open Thread

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I have some material on Brent Sutter and the other new coaches lined up, but there's plenty of time for that later – the next couple of days are all about the draft.

This is an especially interesting event for Flames fans. Not just because the whole coaching staff was recently cleaned out and replaced, but because Darryl Sutter is unusually active at this time of year: he has twice made major trades with significant pieces (Lepold for Tanguay in ’06, Tanguay for a 1st and Cammalleri for a 1st last year) and is always making deals to increase his number of picks. This season, the Flames have only one choice inside the top 60 (20th), so look for Daz to once again drop down in the first round in order to grab another lottery ticket in the 2nd round. Also, with guys like Heatley, Bouwmeester and Lecavalier in play, tomorrow could be one of hell of an interesting day – even if the Flames aren’t involved with any of them.

Other predictions:

– I fully expect Calgary to choose a goalie at some point. With Lalande and Krahn gone and McElhinney promoted, the org finally has some room for another puck stopping prospect. I'll be extremely disappointed if anything above a 4th rounder is used on a goalie, though.

– As it stands right now, the Flames have 7 picks. If I had to bet on the mix of players, I'd go with 3X WHL, 1 SWE, 2X OHL and 1 USHL, NCAA etc.

– John Tavares will go first overall.

– Ryan Ellis will fall to some lucky team in the teens.

– Someone will take Zack Kassian waaayy too high.

– The Leafs will take Brayden Shenn.

– Calgary will make a deal with the NY Islanders to pick up another draft pick.

– Pierre McGuire will get needlessly excited or agitated about something.

Unlike some other lucky SBN bloggers I won't be attending the actual event itself. I will, however, be following along on TV and commenting here as things unfold. Please stop by so I won't feel like such a dork. Also, add your own predictions and expectations in the comments…

by Kent Wilson