Just like many Calgary Flames concepts of the late years 2010, the organization went into a design weekend with low expectations due to a lack of design capital. The 2017 design was no different, with the team only chose picks for Curtis Lazar and Michael Stone within the first three rounds after sending their second and third round. Needless to say, the concept class 2017 was a nothing hamburger for the flames. Let’s break it down.
16th General – Juuso Vota
Without high -quality high -quality defenders in the system, the Flames took the Finnish Blueliner Juuso Valimaki with their only pick in the first three rounds. For a few years this looked like a slam-dunk pick. After he was prepared, Valimaki dominated the WHL with more than one point per match in his D+1 season. He then made the leap to the pro -ranks during the 2018–19 season, only two years after he was prepared.
However, this is where things started to go downhill. During the low season 2019, Valimaki suffered a torn ACL in training, which cost him his entire D+3 season. Needless to say, this was a huge setback for his development. He was expected to earn a full -time role on the flames that season. The next year, Valimaki started the season in Finland because of Covid-19, and tore the competition with 19 points in 19 games. It seemed as if his injury was behind him and he was back to his old self.
He then spent the entire season 2020-21 in Calgary, skated in 49 of 56 games and registered 11 points. The issue was that he simply never found consistency in his game and was regularly in the final head coach Darryl Sutter’s Doghouse all year round. The following year, in 2021–22, Valimaki struggled again, failed to earn an NHL job and to spend almost all year round in the AHL, where he mainly played on the bottom link.
After a faint training camp the next fall, Valimaki was at a distance in October 2022, just a few days before the start of the regular season. He was eventually claimed by the Arizona Coyotes and was only five years from the organization after he was selected in the first round.
109th General – Adam Ruzicka
The Flames only chose again until 109th in general and selected great attacker Adam Ruzicka from the OHL. Ruzicka was very much a project choice and a project that he was. He succeeded his selection by immediately getting the attention and posting 150 points in 127 junior matches in the next two seasons. He succeeded that with two real solid years in the AHL, including 21 points in 28 games in 2020-21 at the age of 21.
In 2021–22, Ruzicka earned his first full try -out in Calgary and placed 10 points on 28 games. The next year he took another step forward, sometimes earned the top-six minutes all year round and placed 20 points in 44 games. Unfortunately that season became a flash in the pan instead of a sign of the coming things.
The following year was a difficult one for Ruzicka. He placed only nine points in 39 games and was scratched several times. In January of that season he was placed remotely and claimed by none other than Arizona.
140th General – Zach Fischer
With their fifth round pick, the Flames took a wild stab to the 19-year-old Overager Zach Fischer after a Breakout season in the WHL. Fischer, however, would have a disappointing season 2017–18 in Junior. He only registered 36 points in 46 games as a 20-year-old.
After his tough year in the WHL, the Flames chose not to qualify it. He spent the 2018–19 season in the organization and only played two games in the AHL and the rest in the Echl. He withdrew from hockey after that season.
171st General – D’Artagnan Joly
Selected with the team’s sixth round pick, D’Artagnan Joly had an interesting post-Draft trip. In his D+1 season he was surprisingly effective and placed 68 points in 55 games in the QMJHL. The following year, however, things fell off the rails, with Joly, who seemed only 49 points in 64 games, was called for a lack of effort by his coaches and was traded in the middle season to the Rimouski Oceanic.
After his Nightmare D+2 season, the Flames chose not to qualify it. After bouncing between the Echl and Oua, Joly has spent the last three seasons in the third division of Germany.
202nd General – Filip Sveningsson
With their last choice of the design, the flames selected wing player Filip Sveningsson from Sweden. Just like every seventh-rounder, this pick was a complete shot in the dark. After his concept year, Sveningsson spent time in the J20 League of Sweden, Hockeyallsvenskan – the Second Division of Sweden – and the SHL. Although his figures were solid in the J20 and Hockeyallsvenskan, he never succeeded in producing a lot of everything in the SHL.
After a few average seasons, the Flames decided not to retain its rights when they expired in 2021. He is currently still playing in the Second Division of Sweden.
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