One night – and two picks – can change a lot for a franchise.
And now, with this team, a gap in the depth chart is suddenly brimming with potential.
“When you're looking for a centre...” Flames GM Craig Conroy said following Friday’s first round of the NHL Draft.
Indeed, they were.
Not at the expense of their carefully curated draft list – with Conroy himself saying that if the ‘best player available’ was that of a different position, they would lean that way – but sometimes, the chips fall in your favour.
“The list worked out,” Conroy said.
A serendipitous first round wrapped up with Conroy adding a pair of highly skilled, left-shot pivots with the 18th and 32nd selections; first, grabbing 5-foot-11, 180-lb. Cole Reschny of the Victoria Royals, before Cullen Potter of Arizona State University was the target with the final pick of the evening.
In Reschny, the Flames add a high-end forward with explosive speed and escapability. Regarded by many as one of the top playmakers in the draft class – an elite talent with impeccable vision off the rush – Reschny recorded the sixth-most assists (66, a Royals franchise record) and tied for ninth, overall, in WHL scoring 92-point campaign.
Best of all?
When the games got harder, he got better.
