A year ago, Glenn Gawdin was a player without a home. Originally a fourth round selection of the St. Louis Blues in the 2015 NHL Draft, he wasn’t signed by them and went through the 2017 Draft unclaimed. But his fortunes began to turn when he accepted an invite from the Calgary Flames to attend development camp.
Development camp turned into prospect camp, and prospect camp turned into main camp. By mid-November he had an entry-level contract inked with the Flames and his overage season became an exuberant punctuation mark on a solid junior career. He finished second in the WHL in scoring with 125 points – more than double his previous season’s total and four points shy of the top spot – and he captained the Swift Current Broncos to a WHL Championship, being named the league’s most valuable postseason player.