Flames’ Biggest Draft Busts in Franchise History

The NHL Entry Draft is always an exciting place for many teams. So many have a first-round selection that they hope turns into something special, while others have multiple high picks. Over the years, more teams have been added to the NHL, but it seems as though hitting on first-rounders is a bit easier now with all the scouting that takes place. That being said, we’re going to take a look throughout the Calgary Flames‘ history at the biggest draft busts.

The First Flames Bust

All the way back in 1973, the 16th overall pick was late in the first round, but that isn’t an excuse for drafting someone who made no impact in the NHL. Vic Mercredi was the Flames’ third first-round selection in their second year of existence. He happened to be the second first-rounder in that draft for the Flames, and fortunately for them, the team hit on the first one, Tom Lysiak. Mercredi played two games for the then-Atlanta Flames and bounced around for six seasons before calling it a career.

4 Dark Years in the Mid-’80s

The next noticeable bust came over 10 years later as the Flames either drafted some very good or decent players not worth mentioning on this list. It wasn’t until the mid-80s when many of the Flames’ first-rounders went to waste. They picked 17th in 1985, drafting Chris Biotti, 19th in 1987 drafting Bryan Deasley, and 21st in 1988 drafting Jason Muzzatti. Of the three, only Muzzatti, a goalie, ended up playing a game in the NHL.

Biotti didn’t last long, playing three seasons in the International Hockey League (IHL) and three seasons in Italy, while Deasley also played in the IHL for three seasons and even managed to play for one season in the American Hockey League (AHL) before calling it quits. After seeing what the 1985-87 first-rounders did, Muzzatti’s 62 games in the NHL don’t look so bad. By no means is it good though, but he did manage to play hockey all the way to 2007.

The Early ’90s

The early 1990s weren’t great for the Flames in terms of hitting on first-rounders, but Cory Stillman did come out of it. In 1991 and 1993, the Flames missed big time on their only first-round pick of those drafts. Niklas Sundblad was selected 19th overall in 1991 and Jesper Mattsson was drafted 19th overall in 1993. Sundblad played two career NHL games, but spent the majority of his career overseas and actually made a pretty good career for himself. Mattsson never saw the…