This coming May is the 40th anniversary of the Atlanta Flames moving to Calgary. To commemorate this occasion, we’re counting down the Top 40 Calgary Flames in history.
#9 on the list is former college star Johnny Gaudreau.
Way, way back in 2011, the Flames were preparing for the NHL Draft. There was a small kid playing in the USHL. He was a great offensive player, but he was small, you see. (He was listed by Central Scouting at 5’6″ and 137 pounds.) So the Flames set both Gaudreau and Nikita Kucherov aside from their “regular” rankings and general manager Jay Feaster gave head scout Tod Button permission to make the call to select one of them with one of their picks.