Drafting and development is crucially important to the success of a hockey club. One of the reasons for the Calgary Flames’ challenges in sustaining themselves during the early part of the salary cap era was their failure to draft effectively.
Since Brad Treliving became general manager in 2014, that hasn’t been nearly as big a problem. Heck, drafting and development has quietly become an organizational strength.
Attributing the 2014 picks to Treliving might not be entirely representative, as he joined the organization after the scouting year had been completed (at Brian Burke’s direction). He called the names, but the draft list was compiled largely without him.