Dion Phaneuf was recently voted the top Canadian junior prospect for the second-straight season and was a First Team All-Star selection for Canada's gold-medal team at the 2005 World Junior championship.

Flames are prospect prospectors
By John McGourty | NHL.com
March 9, 2005

Those Calgary Flames who came within a goal of winning the 2004 Stanley Cup actually missed the playoffs the previous seven seasons. In time, that accomplishment will be recognized as one of the greatest turnarounds in sports history. Short term, it means the Flames have had prime choices in the Entry Draft in recent seasons.

They haven't wasted their opportunities.

While coach GM-coach Darryl Sutter earned enormous accolades for the Flames' incredible rise, he's been at the helm of the organization for less than a year. His predecessor, former GM Craig Button, was responsible for a number of draft picks and trades that helped build the 2004 Western Conference champion. Craig's brother, Tod, is the team's scouting director and actually preceded his brother into the Flames' organization.

It's a credit to Tod and Sutter. Two people met in difficult circumstances and realized they could work for the betterment of the organization.

It's also a situation uniquely suited to helping the organization's top prospect, Dion Phaneuf, a brilliant 19-year-old defenseman with the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League. Phaneuf was recently voted the top Canadian junior prospect for the second-straight season. He was a First Team All-Star selection for Canada's gold-medal team at the 2005 World Junior championship. Phaneuf's Team Canada coach and Red Deer Rebels GM-coach is Brent Sutter, Darryl's brother.

Phaneuf is viewed as the surest "can't miss" defensive prospects in quite a few years. His idol and the player he styles himself after is New Jersey Devils defenseman Scott Stevens, the No. 1 pick, fifth overall, in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. Phaneuf similarly blends a strong defensive game with crushing body checks. Phaneuf, like Stevens when asked, has a powerful shot and good offensive instincts.

With all the recent accolades, the quick-witted Button was asked if we're ready to put Phaneuf in the Hockey Hall of Fame yet.

"I know what you mean. The toughest things with kids at this point is all the hype," Button replied. "In his age group, he's one of the top players in the world. But he'll have to take the next step to make the NHL. It's a different level. At our camp, he showed the potential, but until you do it in the NHL, you're still a prospect. Dion has made great strides since he was drafted.

"A lot of credit goes to Dion because he has the focus to be an NHL player for a long time. He's also in a program at Red Deer that really pushes kids and makes them maximize their potential. You can look around the Canadian Hockey Leagues and the NCAA and see the programs that develop players. It makes it easier on a scout, knowing that two years after you draft them, that they are going to develop."

Washington's scouting director in 1982 was Jack Button, the father of Tod and Craig and former GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins, director of the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau and AHL secretary-treasurer.

"My dad was director of player personnel when Washington drafted Scott Stevens," Button recalled. "I got to watch him develop. They're different types of players. Scott, in the beginning was a real bulldog on the ice, a chip on his shoulder. He went after people hard. Then he played with Rod Langway, Brian Engblom and Kevin Hatcher and had good people to help him develop and he did the rest of the work. Scott's a future Hall of Famer and it's hard to think of Dion that way at this point.

"But Dion has this going for him: What Scott learned from those players in the NHL, Dion has already learned in juniors. Scott always played on the edge in those days and had to learn when to back off. Dion's got that now. In fairness, Scott, with no minor-league experience, came into a tough conference at a tough time and was thrown right into the fire."

Kris Chucko, Calgary's first-round pick in the 2004 Entry Draft, is enjoying a successful freshman season at the University of Minnesota.

Enough of comparisons. What skills recommend Phaneuf?

"The thing that makes Dion's shot so good is that he knows when to use it," Button said. "He's got a quick release. He knows when to put a wrist shot on net and when to hammer it. He can shoot off either foot. He can shoot from anywhere on the ice with velocity and he has the ability to score. His skating is excellent. He has quick feet and turns either way with equal ability. He has great agility. He has learned to let the opponent come to him and that he can handle them. He picks his spots when to throw the hard check. He can pinch off when the play comes to him."

Kris Chucko, Calgary's 2004 first-round pick, retained his NCAA eligibility by playing Tier II hockey in British Columbia and was one of two Tier II players taken in the first round, along with Salmon Arms Silverbacks linemate Travis Zajac, who was snapped up by the New Jersey Devils. Chucko is the sixth-leading scorer, as a freshman, for the ninth-ranked University of Minnesota. The left wing is seeing action on the power play and is fourth in penalty minutes. He's a banger with good passing skills and a desire to dominate. Basically, he takes it to the other team, shift after shift.

"When he was 14, he was 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds. Now, he's 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds. He's a really bright kid who knows where he wants to get. He takes direction well. He's in a good program where he doesn't have to be a star right away. He can learn the college game and get valuable development time. He uses his body well to protect the puck and he pushes people around. He needs to improve his skating and to learn how to maintain his weight. There are different options we can take there, within NCAA rules. We'll look at a blend of power skating, and strength and conditioning. NCAA kids have to do more on their own and he did that through his agent last summer."

Defenseman Tim Ramholt, taken in the second round behind Phaneuf two years ago, had a good season with Cape Breton in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League last year and then made a decision that both the Flames and Ramholt hope doesn't backfire. He returned to his native Switzerland to play in the elite league, a financially driven decision. But he isn't getting the ice time he'd be getting had he returned to juniors.

"We feel he has to get into a better development situation," Button said. "He's a strong skater who moves the puck well. We project him as a two-way defenseman who is not afraid of physical play. But we need to get him into our program. He was the assistant captain at Cape Breton and they were supposed to have a decent team. He's still our prospect and we want him to get better. The biggest thing is to get him into our program and committed to what we want him to do. If he was in juniors, he'd be on at least the second power-play and penalty-killing units, and he's not getting those opportunities over there in a veteran-laden league."

Goaltender Brent Krahn is on the road back after a serious knee injury derailed his development.

Goalie Brent Krahn, the ninth pick overall in the 2000 Entry Draft, has shown that commitment through great adversity. Krahn suffered a serious knee injury that sidelined him for nearly two years. He's had flashes of brilliance while working hard at several minor-league stops. He was rewarded in 2004 when the Flames brought him up as a practice goalie during the Stanley Cup run. He's again doing well at Lowell of the AHL.

"Brent has spent a lot of time making himself stronger. He really needed to make his leg muscles stronger because he was susceptible to injuries," Button said of the 6-foot-4 netminder. "What we found out with Brent was that he didn't really have a style. He's been working with goalie coach David Marcoux to develop a style that he can rely on fundamentally to take him to the next level. Seriously, he would watch Patrick Roy on a Saturday night and the next day he would try to be Roy. The next day, he'd watch Dominik Hasek and he'd play like Hasek. He never had a coach who said. 'Let?s work on this style all the time.' "

The Flames took a chance with their third-round pick last summer with center Dustin Boyd, a Manitoba youth-hockey phenom who had leveled off in juniors. It's paid off as Boyd has played at a point-a-game pace this season with Moose Jaw.

"He led Manitoba AAA Bantams in scoring and what was good for him, he didn't get to play the same way in his first couple of years of juniors," Button said. "Yes, his numbers went down because he wasn't playing on the top line or the top power-play unit. He had to learn the other side of the puck, the defensive game and the checking game. He had six good forwards ahead of him and didn't get that ice time as a rookie. It helped him a lot. They also had some instability with GMs and coaches and that isn't good for anyone. But his team is coming on and he's been a go-to player this year. He's got good hands and great vision and he's a really good skater. We had scouts in that area that had seen him for a long time and knew the background on him. Usually what you see on the ice is what you get in terms of character. We liked what we saw and continue to see. He's doing well."

Eric Nystrom was one of the marquee players, taken tenth overall, in the 2002 Entry Draft. The son of an NHL great, Bobby Nystrom, Eric didn't bring flashy numbers, but a reputation as a hard-working character player. He's in his third year at the University of Michigan and he's at a half-point per game, averaging a goal every four games. On paper, it doesn't blow you away.

Eric Nystrom meets with Calgary officials after being selected in the first round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

"With Eric, you get character, leadership, a solid person and a solid player," Button said. "You're not going to get flash and dash and he won't bring you out of your seats. There's no glitz and glamour. He doesn't look for spotlight plays. At the end of the game, you're saying, 'Eric helped us win by blocking a shot or shutting down the opponent's top player.'

"The college route was the right one for him and there was no stopping him from going to Michigan," Button said. "He grew up on Long Island and didn't face the best opposition, so the NCAA was a good choice. He's gotten better every year. When we drafted him, we had small forwards and we made a conscious effort to get guys with bite and character. Darryl has gone to see him and likes him. He might be a third-line winger for 13 years, but he'll be a solid one. Every team that wins has at least one of those guys."

Button drafted a slew of talented players that could be wearing the Flames sweater within a few years.

"Jamie Tardif, a right wing with the Peterborough Petes, has a chance at 40 goals. He's improved his touch around the goal and his ability to score from the tough areas," Button said. "He has to work on his skating and conditioning. He's scoring despite getting more attention and his defense has improved. We drafted Yuri Trubachev in the fifth round in 2001 and he's become a good player in the Russian league, leading his team in scoring. His hockey sense is his best asset. His size is a drawback, but he's always made up for it with smarts. We took a chance on a little guy. He's making good money over there so he'll have to sacrifice to try to develop over here. We're not in a rush. He's 22 and there's still a window."

The Flames took goalie Curtis McElhinney with their sixth pick in 2001 and perhaps didn't have the highest of hopes. All McElhinney has done is lead Colorado College to the NCAA's No. 1 ranking. Button is justly proud of his late-round selection.

"Curtis has been good and they have a really good team," he said. "He's slowly but steadily gotten better. He's a big guy and not overly athletic, but he's smart about positioning. He's a 'no-rebound'-type goalie and he moves well in his crease. He's added a lot of muscle weight and is still the same height as when we drafted him."

Button said two other defensive prospects have pleasantly surprised the team, one of them star defenseman Robyn Regehr's brother Richie, a free agent playing in Lowell of the AHL with Krahn. Richie Regehr surprised people with good offensive numbers in the WHL. The other is Adam Pardy, last summer's sixth-rounder out of Newfoundland, playing in Cape Breton. You have to take the long way around the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Pardy. The surprise is that he's the eighth-leading scoring defenseman in the QMJHL.

"Richie made himself into what he is and having his brother to help him off the ice has helped," Button said. "He's smaller than Robyn and smart. He's getting better with experience. He's always had the sense and smarts to play the game. Adam is a kid that didn't play at a high level but we saw him because we were monitoring Ramholt in Cape Breton. Former Flames GM Al McNeil, with his many relatives in Cape Breton, and Peter Hanlon, our director of communications from Newfoundland, were already aware of him. The more we watched Tim, the more we liked Adam. He just didn't have the ice-time background we see with most kids. He played hockey in the winter and baseball in the summer. He's very coachable and he's really improved. He projects as a defensive defenseman. He's not going to wow you. However, he does have a quick release on his shot and he's been getting power-play time. Some nights, he'll have eight or nine shots on net and if you do that, you will get points on tips, rebounds and bounces."