Brian Burke continues to preach importance of size

The Pittsburgh Penguins' use of speed and skill en route to a Stanley Cup championship won't influence the Calgary Flames at the NHL Draft.

So says president of hockey operations Brian Burke, who continues to emphasize the need for truculence when building a successful hockey team.

"You still play 82 games and you've got to make the playoffs and to do that you've got to play big teams, especially in the west," Burke told Eric Francis of Sportsnet.

"Now you say to yourself maybe we've got to go with more speed, but the teams that made the playoffs and made it a few rounds like Los Angeles (lost in the opening round) and St. Louis (advanced to conference finals) - those are big teams. To get there you need size."

Skill and speed are indeed vital, Burke added, but the need to balance out the lineup with bigger players remains a priority.

"It's already moved towards more skill and speed but I still think the teams that are successful have some size in the lineup and can play that kind of game," he said.

The Flames will select sixth overall at this year's draft, where they'll look to pick the best all-around player, but again placing an emphasis on size in the end.

"It's too simplistic to say you'll draft fast or big guys," said Flames director of scouting, Tod Button. "You look at the total package and all things being equal between two guys you take the bigger player."

Calgary's leading scorer this season was Johnny Gaudreau, who's listed at 5-foot-9 and 157 pounds.