Flames have made a few smart late round gambles

Every pick in the National Hockey League entry draft is a bullet. Early in the draft, there’s more information available and so teams can make educated decisions. Late in the draft, it’s more of a stab in the dark. Over the last while, the Calgary Flames have made some smart gambles in the late rounds.

As with our prior dives into Flames draft history, we’re focusing on the tenure of Flames head amateur scout Tod Button (and looking at the 2002 Draft until the present).

Gambling on goalies

As we’ve discussed, the Flames have had bad luck drafting goaltenders early. But in the later rounds – the fifth, sixth and seventh – they’ve oddly had better luck. Since 2002, they’ve drafted six…