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It’s been less than two years since he arrived but there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Calgary Flames are Head Coach and General Manager Darryl Sutter’s team. The 2004 Entry Draft was yet another step in that direction as the Flames brain trust seemed unfazed by an overwhelming lack of skill in their prospect ranks, opting to further stock the farm with hard working character players.

Following a miracle run to the Stanley Cup final that came up just short, the Flames were picking later than they had been used to in the previous seven non-playoff campaigns with their first selection—their lone pick in the first three rounds—coming at 19^th overall. Once time came around to pick however, Sutter saw an opportunity to address the dearth of early picks and still land a player he liked, opting instead to trade the pick to the New York Rangers for a later first rounder (24^th overall) and a second round pick (46^th overall). Sutter would later make another deal, moving the 46^th overall pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a pair of third rounders (70^th overall and 98^th overall), but not before making the team’s selection at No. 24.

After moving down five spots, Sutter and company strode to the podium and selected 6’2”, 190-pound left wing Kris Chucko of the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Chucko and linemate Travis Zajac (taken 20^th overall by the New Jersey Devils) dominated the Junior A league as one of the most prolific tandems, and both will be off to the NCAA next season, Chucko as a member of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.

A quick look at his scouting reports and you’ll see why the Sutter regime is high on the big youngster. Named captain of his team at 17 years old, he’s been described by many as a born leader. He is also a physical presence to be reckoned with and has a major mean streak. His stick handling is better than most and Chucko makes his living driving to the net and wreaking havoc.

However, the two knocks on Chucko are consistent with the Flames’ organizational weaknesses: his skill set is not elite and his goals tend to come from in close. In fact, Chucko is a player who is accurately compared with the Flames 2002 top pick, the University of Michigan’s Eric Nystrom. The main difference in their respective draft years? Fourteen draft positions (Nystrom was the 10^th overall pick that year) and 11 months (Chucko was nearly a year younger than Nystrom on draft day).

In many ways, Chucko was a safe pick for the organization. With his size, work ethic, heart and determination, he is a good bet to make it to the NHL and have a solid career. However, without the top end skill of many players who were still available at 24^th overall, he does not address an organizational need and may not become more than a supporting member of the club.

As the first round concluded and the second round flew by, the Flames table kept an eye on their list, hoping a few of their earmarked players may fall to them. By the time the 70^th pick had arrived, they chose to go with a battle-hardened OHL playoff veteran in Brandon Prust. The 5’11”, 191 lbs. London Knights player can play both center and left wing and is a lot closer to contributing than most draftees considering he is 20 years old.

The thing that really sold Flames scouts on Prust, who they almost took later in the 2003 draft, was his remarkable, Flames-like playoff performance. Seen as a solid role player, as a third line grinder and tough guy, for most of the regular season, Prust shone in the post-season, racking up 20 points and a +20 rating for the Knights in 15 games.

The Flames final pick on the first day of the draft came at 98^th overall, where they chose Dustin Boyd of the Moose Jaw Warriors. Many feel this could be the Flames best pick of the draft, especially since they got him so late. While Boyd didn’t light the WHL up as an 18-year-old, he has excelled offensively at every level before arriving here, even leading the Manitoba midget AAA league in scoring as a bantam aged player. With an increased role in Moose Jaw next season, the feeling is Boyd could emerge as an offensive force. Considering Chucko lacks a top end skill set, there is a chance that three years down the road, people will look back and consider Boyd the most skilled player in this year’s Flames draft class.

The second day of the draft, rounds four through nine, held no surprises for Flames draft watchers as the scouting staff further stocked the system with players described as “hard working,” “two way,” “gritty,” and “physical.” They were also mostly homegrown guys, with every player other than Sweden’s Fred Wikner (182^nd overall) having played in North America last season and only Prince Albert Raiders right wing Aki Seitsonen (118^th overall) being an import.

A few names to keep an eye on include lightning fast left wing Kris Hogg (121^st overall) of the Kamploops Blazers and a young, athletic goalie who played for Sioux City in the USHL last season, Jimmy Spratt (213^th overall).

Rounding out the Flames 2004 draft class were 6’2”, 205 lbs. overage defenseman from the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (fellow Flames prospect Tim Ramholt’s team) Adam Pardy (173^rd overall), lanky 6’6”, 185 lbs. center Matt Schneider (200^th overall) of the Tri-City Americans and a right wing from the Kootenay Ice with projectible hands, Adam Cracknell (279^th overall).

All in all, the Flames continued their trend of adding grit and character to the club, but left Raleigh with the same gaping organizational hole as they arrived with: a lack of skilled players in the system.

Copyright 2004 Hockey’s Future. Do not duplicate without written permission of the editorial staff.