[News] 31 in 31: Flames Edition

[MissTeeks]

The Flames were up on the NHL website today for their 31 in 31 feature:

https://www.nhl.com/news/2017-18-cal...?tid=290471364

There is optimism surrounding the Calgary Flames following two berths in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the past three seasons. But a familiar question has hounded them this offseason, and the Flames hope the answer is found with 35-year-old goaltender Mike Smith.

"[Smith's] a No. 1 goaltender," general manager Brad Treliving said. "They're not plentiful out there. This is a guy who has been there and done it. He had to deal with all the things you have to deal with as a No. 1 goaltender."

"He's a young 35. … He's got a low odometer on him, I'd say," Treliving said. "I think the way he looks after his body, there's a little bit of a genetic freak with this guy that I don't think the age is going to be something that we're hopefully concerned with, and we think [with] the term left in his contract, he's going to give us good play.

"He's a driven guy … very, very competitive and he pushes people around him."

"We tried to be as aggressive as possible to add to the current group we have," Treliving said. "I talked a lot about growth within the group, and I still believe that's the biggest form in how this team is going to move forward, but to be able to add [Smith and Hamonic], I think it signifies a real big step forward for our organization.

"But it still comes back to … it's not like we've added 15 new guys. The lion's share of our team last year is going to be the ones that push this thing forward."

Top Prospects:

https://www.nhl.com/news/calgary-fla...?tid=290471364

1. Parsons
2. Jankowski
3. Valimaki
4. Andersson
5. Dube

Three Questions:

https://www.nhl.com/news/2017-18-cal...?tid=290471364

1. Will the defense live up to its potential?

Boasting three high-end defensemen -- Dougie Hamilton, TJ Brodie and captain Mark Giordano -- the Flames acquired Hamonic in a trade with the New York Islanders on June 24 and signed Michael Stone to a three-year contract on June 30 to give them one of the strongest set of defensemen in the NHL.

"To see how committed this organization is to winning is something that is truly exciting as a player to be a part of," Hamonic said. "You want to win and be surrounded by really good players. That's certainly the case here."

2. Can Mike Smith provide stable goaltending?

"I'm a competitor," the 35-yer-old said. "I want to win real bad. I feel this move is an opportunity and a challenge I'm going to take on full-speed. I really respect this team. Playing against them is always a challenge. I look forward to being on this side of it now and helping this team be real successful."

3. Will another forward prospect emerge?

Since the Flames began a rebuild four years ago, forwards Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk have gone from prospects into impact players. Center Sam Bennett, the No. 4 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, is expected to continue toward that in his third full NHL season.

Center Mark Jankowski, the No. 21 pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, played four years for Providence College before scoring 56 points (27 goals, 29 assists) for Stockton of the American Hockey League last season. The 22-year-old is expected to push for a role in training camp.

[MissTeeks]

Fantasy Preview:

https://www.nhl.com/news/2017-18-cal...?tid=290471364

Behind the Numbers:

https://www.nhl.com/news/2017-18-cal...?tid=290471364

[Gaudfather]

I like how Tre calls Smith "a genetic freak".

[jayswin]

Dillon Dube ahead of Kylington as a prospect? We have him ninth in our rankings.

[Lanny_McDonald]

It is sad when the NHL doesn't even know #### about the Calgary Flames. Sigh.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Dillon Dube ahead of Kylington as a prospect? We have him ninth in our rankings.

Kylington's skill is unquestionable, but Dube doesn't have nearly as many issues with decision making. Dube = higher floor = more likely to be an NHLer.

If Kylington figures out the decision making part of the game, he'll be an elite offensive defenseman. If he doesn't figure that part out, he'll be a career AHL/European league player. Kylington = higher ceiling, but also less chance of making it to the NHL.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by New Era

It is sad when the NHL doesn't even know #### about the Calgary Flames. Sigh.

Local writer. Actually a CalgaryPuck member.

Writes for the Flames organization themselves, so he may have some inside info.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by New Era

It is sad when the NHL doesn't even know #### about the Calgary Flames. Sigh.

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

Local writer. Actually a CalgaryPuck member.

Writes for the Flames organization themselves, so he may have some inside info.

That's awkward.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by New Era

It is sad when the NHL doesn't even know #### about the Calgary Flames. Sigh.

Without having read the full article myself, I'm curious what makes you say this?

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by New Era

It is sad when the NHL doesn't even know #### about the Calgary Flames. Sigh.

Strange comment. I thought all the articles were solid. What in particular did you take issue with?

If it's the prospect section it's done by FCAV of this board who runs the Future Considerations scouting service. He also contributes to NHL.com. Outside of Craig Button and Darren Haynes I'm not sure there's a more qualified writer who could be doing that section.

I personally wouldn't have Dube top 5 myself but that doesn't mean Aaron Vickers knows nothing about Flames prospects.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Strange comment. I thought all the articles were solid. What in particular did you take issue with?

If it's the prospect section it's done by FCAV of this board who runs the Future Considerations scouting service. Outside of Craig Button and Darren Haynes I'm not sure there's a more qualified writer who could be doing that section.

I personally wouldn't have Dube top 5 myself but that doesn't mean Aaron Vickers knows nothing about Flames prospects.

Naming Parsons as top prospect is a weak. A goaltender who hasn't played a single game as a professional is not a great prospect. The road to the NHL is littered with great junior goaltenders who #### the bed in the pros. To suggest a junior goaltender is the best the Flames have to offer is extremely lazy reporting. I can't imagine anyone in the Flames organization suggesting as much, simply because you never know what a goaltender has until he performs at each level. If someone in the Flames org suggested this, that speaks volumes to the level of prospects in the Flames system, and it ain't good. Parsons isn't even the best goaltender in the Flames system, let alone best prospect. I guarantee you, ask around the league of what prospects other teams covet, and Parsons barely makes top 10.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by New Era

Naming Parsons as top prospect is a weak. A goaltender who hasn't played a single game as a professional is not a great prospect. The road to the NHL is littered with great junior goaltenders who #### the bed in the pros. To suggest a junior goaltender is the best the Flames have to offer is extremely lazy reporting. I can't imagine anyone in the Flames organization suggesting as much, simply because you never know what a goaltender has until he performs at each level. If someone in the Flames org suggested this, that speaks volumes to the level of prospects in the Flames system, and it ain't good. Parsons isn't even the best goaltender in the Flames system, let alone best prospect. I guarantee you, ask around the league of what prospects other teams covet, and Parsons barely makes top 10.

Disagree and I think the Flames themselves and other experts would strongly disagree with you.

http://www.tsn.ca/test1-1.677389

Craig Button has Parsons as the 12th best prospect outside the NHL. Basically considers him a top 10 talent in a redraft. Personally I think Jankowski/Parsons are extremely close but Parsons is an elite talent no question.

Sorry but it seems your opinion on Parsons is the outlier here not Aaron Vickers. It's not lazy reporting, that's a lazy, uninformed analysis by you actually.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by New Era

Naming Parsons as top prospect is a weak. A goaltender who hasn't played a single game as a professional is not a great prospect. The road to the NHL is littered with great junior goaltenders who #### the bed in the pros. To suggest a junior goaltender is the best the Flames have to offer is extremely lazy reporting. I can't imagine anyone in the Flames organization suggesting as much, simply because you never know what a goaltender has until he performs at each level. If someone in the Flames org suggested this, that speaks volumes to the level of prospects in the Flames system, and it ain't good. Parsons isn't even the best goaltender in the Flames system, let alone best prospect. I guarantee you, ask around the league of what prospects other teams covet, and Parsons barely makes top 10.

I think you are completely wrong, and your guarantee is worthless.

Parsons is legitimately one of the Flames best prospects.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Disagree and I think the Flames themselves and other experts would strongly disagree with you.

http://www.tsn.ca/test1-1.677389

Craig Button has Parsons as the 12th best prospect outside the NHL. Basically considers him a top 10 talent in a redraft. Personally I think Jankowski/Parsons are extremely close but Parsons is an elite talent no question.

Sorry but it seems your opinion on Parsons is the outlier here not Aaron Vickers. It's not lazy reporting, that's a lazy, uninformed analysis by you actually.

You know, that's a fair comment. But I will sit here and wait for Parsons to do something at the pro level before proclaiming him the best the Flames have to offer. I've seen too many highly regarded goaltenders hot the pros and #### the bed. The problem I have with Parsons is he has poor fundamentals. He is a gu who scrambles well, and that has been his strength in juniors. That stuff normally doesn't translate to the pros. As much as I would love to say he's the future, he lacks fundamentals to be a high level goaltender. We'll see if he can prove that wrong, but he will have to do that in the ECHL first, and we saw how MacDonald did in that transition to the pros. It isn't easy moving from playing against kids to playing against men. Anyone suggesting it is doesn't have that experience to fall back on. Do you have any idea it is to be the best in your age group, them step up against the next level? It is night and day. Vickers doesn't give this step enough respect, especially for a goaltender with weak fundamentals.

[frodo_t_baggins]

Originally Posted by New Era

Toss up between Parsons, Andersson, and Gillies. Parsons gets the edge over Gillies, but only slightly.

You yourself wrote this in round 2 of the prospect poll

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I think you are completely wrong, and your guarantee is worthless.

Parsons is legitimately one of the Flames best prospects.

Sure, but best prospect? Not a chance. I'd agree top 10 or even top five, but top prospect is laughable. Dube top five? Again, laughable. That's like suggesting someone out of high school is your best academic prospect. You know what it is like to make the climb through the various level of academia. Same applies to athletics. Unless someone is exceptional, like a McDavid, you can't make that projection and be taken serious. To suggest that someone out of high school is going to be a PhD candidate, and the top of their class, is plain asinine. Parsons is just graduating high school at this point. To suggest as much is to claim he is the Lebron James of goaltending.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by New Era

Naming Parsons as top prospect is a weak. A goaltender who hasn't played a single game as a professional is not a great prospect. The road to the NHL is littered with great junior goaltenders who #### the bed in the pros. To suggest a junior goaltender is the best the Flames have to offer is extremely lazy reporting. I can't imagine anyone in the Flames organization suggesting as much, simply because you never know what a goaltender has until he performs at each level. If someone in the Flames org suggested this, that speaks volumes to the level of prospects in the Flames system, and it ain't good. Parsons isn't even the best goaltender in the Flames system, let alone best prospect. I guarantee you, ask around the league of what prospects other teams covet, and Parsons barely makes top 10.

My god you say some ridiculous things. Who is a better goalie than Parsons? I guarantee you that you are talking out of your ass again, Parsons is easily our most coveted prospect by other teams.

[Caged Great]

I think Parsons has Carey Price level upside if he figures everything out. So yeah, I can see him being ranked #1 on the list. In terms of upside, there is nobody in the organization with higher potential. Jankowski is the most NHL ready of all the prospects and will likely start in the NHL to start the year.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by frodo_t_baggins

You yourself wrote this in round 2 of the prospect poll

Yes I did. But you have to look at it holistically, which is why I broke the way I did. When you reason through it, you see where he should shape out. Oh wait, you means reason comes into play? Wow, who woulda thunk that critical thinking comes into play in these things?

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by New Era

You know, that's a fair comment. But I will sit here and wait for Parsons to do something at the pro level before proclaiming him the best the Flames have to offer. I've seen too many highly regarded goaltenders hot the pros and #### the bed. The problem I have with Parsons is he has poor fundamentals. He is a gu who scrambles well, and that has been his strength in juniors. That stuff normally doesn't translate to the pros. As much as I would love to say he's the future, he lacks fundamentals to be a high level goaltender. We'll see if he can prove that wrong, but he will have to do that in the ECHL first, and we saw how MacDonald did in that transition to the pros. It isn't easy moving from playing against kids to playing against men. Anyone suggesting it is doesn't have that experience to fall back on. Do you have any idea it is to be the best in your age group, them step up against the next level? It is night and day. Vickers doesn't give this step enough respect, especially for a goaltender with weak fundamentals.

Absolute B.S. I have watched Parsons more than anyone else on the board and fundamentals is a strength, not a weakness.