Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - This is the year for the Flames to prove they can graduate prospects from the AHL

Flames Draft Watcher · 07-05-2017, 10:46 AM

I actually think we're in a great position to graduate prospects on defense in the next few years.

1. Sure there's 5 veteran dmen but they are unlikely to be healthy all the time. This opens 1-2 more spots then you'd think if you analyze the theoretical healthy lineup
2. Bartkowski isn't really stopping anyone from winning a 6/7 role ahead of him
3. There was no point rushing guys just to satisfy a fan craving. Flames seem pretty happy that Kulak split time between the AHL login top minutes and bottom pair minutes in the NHL. Seems like they think that was a positive year of development for him. Guys like Andersson and Kylington are still inexperienced in pro and IMO it would have been rushing them for them to step in any sooner. I think Kulak and Wotherspoon are at the point where they should be making the jump. I think Kylington is nowhere near ready. I think Andersson is getting close but probably needs a year like Kulak had last year where he sees some NHL time but also plays a bunch in the AHL logging top minutes

Overall I think the graduation from the minors issue is a bit overblown. IMO it looks like more of an issue than it is because we've drafted high and thus our best prospects step right in. This works against the AHLers because most teams will only go with a certain amount of youngsters. Sometimes when people are crying out for more farmhands up front they are ignoring just how young we've been up front the past few years.

That said I do think some prospects up front will get a chance too this season. Jankowski has a strong chance of graduating. I think this is a real prove something year for Shinkaruk. Whether Poirier has salvaged his career remains to be seen (not sure we should be blaming Flames drafting/development for personal issues). Klimchuk actually looks back on track after some injury issues.

Another thing that is misleading IMO is that we've had prospects who step right in away versus prospects on a more classic 5-6 years after being drafted timeframe. The guys who step in make the guys on classic development curves look bad. It's not unusual for guys to take 5-6 years to make the an impact in the NHL since being drafted. So this suggests that some of our 2013 class of Monahan, Shinkaruk, Poirier, Klimchuk, Lazar may only just be readying maturation this year or next. Basically the longer term prospects from when Feaster started our rebuild should only just be starting to be ripe. I'd expect to see some injury callous this year for Foo, Klimchuk, Shinkaruk, Pribyl, etc

07-05-2017, 10:46 AM	#29
Flames Draft Watcher In the Sin Bin Join Date: Oct 2001 Exp:	I actually think we're in a great position to graduate prospects on defense in the next few years. 1. Sure there's 5 veteran dmen but they are unlikely to be healthy all the time. This opens 1-2 more spots then you'd think if you analyze the theoretical healthy lineup 2. Bartkowski isn't really stopping anyone from winning a 6/7 role ahead of him 3. There was no point rushing guys just to satisfy a fan craving. Flames seem pretty happy that Kulak split time between the AHL login top minutes and bottom pair minutes in the NHL. Seems like they think that was a positive year of development for him. Guys like Andersson and Kylington are still inexperienced in pro and IMO it would have been rushing them for them to step in any sooner. I think Kulak and Wotherspoon are at the point where they should be making the jump. I think Kylington is nowhere near ready. I think Andersson is getting close but probably needs a year like Kulak had last year where he sees some NHL time but also plays a bunch in the AHL logging top minutes Overall I think the graduation from the minors issue is a bit overblown. IMO it looks like more of an issue than it is because we've drafted high and thus our best prospects step right in. This works against the AHLers because most teams will only go with a certain amount of youngsters. Sometimes when people are crying out for more farmhands up front they are ignoring just how young we've been up front the past few years. That said I do think some prospects up front will get a chance too this season. Jankowski has a strong chance of graduating. I think this is a real prove something year for Shinkaruk. Whether Poirier has salvaged his career remains to be seen (not sure we should be blaming Flames drafting/development for personal issues). Klimchuk actually looks back on track after some injury issues. Another thing that is misleading IMO is that we've had prospects who step right in away versus prospects on a more classic 5-6 years after being drafted timeframe. The guys who step in make the guys on classic development curves look bad. It's not unusual for guys to take 5-6 years to make the an impact in the NHL since being drafted. So this suggests that some of our 2013 class of Monahan, Shinkaruk, Poirier, Klimchuk, Lazar may only just be readying maturation this year or next. Basically the longer term prospects from when Feaster started our rebuild should only just be starting to be ripe. I'd expect to see some injury callous this year for Foo, Klimchuk, Shinkaruk, Pribyl, etc