from Aaron Vickers of CalgaryFlames.com,

He hasn’t always been the grizzled face on the draft floor.

Once upon a time, Calgary Flames president of hockey operations Brian Burke was a fresh-faced rookie tasked with navigating his first National Hockey League draft day.

“My first draft was as assistant GM in Vancouver with Pat Quinn and Pat was in a difficulty with the League because he had coached LA, gone to Vancouver and they suspended him briefly so he wasn’t at the table,” Burke recounted. “It was my first draft and I’m running the draft. There were scouts there who have been doing it 20 years. I was 31 or 32. My previous experience was six years as a lawyer. I’d never been at a draft table before.

“We took Rob Murphy, who worked out pretty well. He played a fair amount for us and a fair amount for Ottawa. He still works for Ottawa. Great kid but I remember being terrified.

"You’re at the table with guys who have been doing this 30 years and you’re trying to say, ‘this is the type of player we want’ and they’re looking at you like, ‘hey, kid, you’re brand new at this. You’re American to boot so shut up and sit there’. It was intimidating.”

continue for Burke's draft history...