Craig's List 2014 Prospects

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

ya it is sort of weird how much we are hearing them talk about the top tier, and also mentioning ritchie, now on a few occassions.

feels like a bit of smoke screening. my opinion only, but there is no way they draft in the top 4 and pick ritchie.

If Ekblad-Bennett-Reinhart are gone by 4 then I'd go for Ritchie over Draisaitl. Draisaitl doesn't have the skating of Ritchie but he has good passing and IQ. Ritchie lacks the passing but has good hockey IQ as well, actually plays with an edge, one of the toughest fighters in OHL, good finisher.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Burke Salad

I am convinced that if Draisatl is the only one of the top 4 available to us - we take Ritchie.

That's what scares me.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

I think it will be Reinhart.

FLA-AE
BUF-SB
EDM-LD
CGY-SR

That's my feeling. I've been hearing that the Panthers will take Ekblad and that Sam Bennett is exactly the type of player Tim Murray covets. Not really much of a surprise with the Oilers taking the guy they had on their webpage during the Worlds. I would be very happy with the Flames reuniting two of the Reinhart brothers.

[automaton 3]

Treliving set out his vision for building a team as D first, C second and forwards last.

I think this is how the Flames will approach the draft as well. Ekblad will most likely be gone by the time the Flames pick (unless they can move up), so they will take one of the top C.

It seems to be Burke's comments that have fueled this Ritchie speculation. I think that Burke does like Ritchie, but that he is also "stirring the pot" and challenging his management team to defend their draft order and champion the players they like.

At the end of the day, I would be very surprised if the Flames ended up with Ritchie, unless they acquire another pick or another team makes a very attractive offer to swap picks.

[Vinny01]

Of the top 4 I think the flames have a shot at any of the centers. The only one who appears to have no chance is Ekblad. I am hopeful for Reinhart or Bennett but will be fine with Draisaitl.

[sureLoss]

Kyle Woodlief of Red Line Report looks at the top 10 dmen at the draft:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...emen/10341505/

This year's thin blue-line crop features just one top-end talent, followed by one very safe pick and a bunch of raw talents with the dreaded P word: potential.

It's quite possible that Aaron Ekblad might be the first player off the board in a couple of weeks. The intrigue comes in which teams might trade up to be in a position to grab him.

Ekblad is both physically and mentally ready to join the NHL right away with his large frame and the poise that comes with being granted "exceptional status" to join the Ontario Hockey League at age 15. He already has three full years in at the OHL level, and is used to being the center of media attention, so handling his draft status should be no problem. With his mix of size, toughness, defensive acumen, and puck skills, Ekblad can impact games at both ends of the ice, and contributes in just about every aspect.

At Red Line Report, we believe Haydn Fleury is about as safe a pick as there is in this draft, and some team drafting in the back half of the top 10 will be happy to land him. He's a big, sturdy kid who shows good four-way mobility and makes quick decisions and crisp outlet passes. Fleury has strong defensive awareness and, while not a masher, uses his size liberally to separate his check from the puck and staple forwards to the boards down low. The only question comes in just how much he will contribute at the offensive end; his creativity is nothing special, but he has a hard, low point shot that should allow him to contribute as part of a second power-play unit.

After those two, the waters get muddied. Jack Glover occupies the next spot on Red Line's list. Opinion is divided on Glover, but much like Fleury, we like his combination of size, four-way mobility and defensive awareness. While he appears to have the skating and passing tools to be an offensive contributor, Glover doesn't have an attacking mindset, so he doesn't often join the rush or force the action at the offensive end.

read the link for summaries on everyone in their top 10

[ForeverFlameFan]

I will be happy to snag McKeown/Glover/Dougherty 34th OA. Plenty of defenseman to pick in the 2nd/3rd round, probably why I am not high on trading assets to go for Ekblad.

[Ashasx]

Just me talking, but I see McKeown as the surprise riser in this draft.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

Just me talking, but I see McKeown as the surprise riser in this draft.

You have to think that Fleury, Sanheim, and McKeown will go higher than they are ranked.

Defense in the top 20 is thin and some team will reach and draft for organizational need opposed to BPA.

[djsFlames]

Glover at 34 sounds good to me, unless one of Ho-Sang, Lemieux or Goldobin somehow falls far enough.

[Bar-Down]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

I will be happy to snag McKeown/Glover/Dougherty 34th OA. Plenty of defenseman to pick in the 2nd/3rd round, probably why I am not high on trading assets to go for Ekblad.

I agree. I mean I would love to get Ekblad but just don't want to waste the assets it would take to move up 3 spots.

We have two 2nd rounders to draft dman.

A few star dman in the 2nd round:

Duncan Keith
Shea Weber

Obviously not saying we will get a player of that caliber but there is definitely value there in the 2nd round.

[Caged Great]

The quality of D-men this year is actually quite good, but a lot of them are raw and will take a while like Glover.

I'm hoping that we can snag another 1st to get Sanheim.

[FlameZilla]

Sanheim could still end up falling to our pick at #34. I know mock drafts have him skyrocketing up the rankings, but he seems like an early 2nd rounder to me.

I'd be interested in the other Hitman defenceman, Ben Thomas, if he's around in the 3rd round. I like the look of Alexis Vanier as well... Howitzer from the point and a 6'5", 225lb beast!

Glover, Dougherty, Collins, Haydon, Pettersson, Martin & Jacobs all look like really strong options for us on D.

This may not be the strongest draft, but it the 2nd & 3rd rounds seem to be filled with big, mobile defencemen.

[ForeverFlameFan]

I agree that it may not be a strong draft, but there are plenty of defenseman to choose from this' draft. We should be able to snag 2 or 3 in the 2nd/3rd round. Treliving is a defenseman picker, so we should be expecting quite a bit this draft. Hopefully, we can manage to find another gem defenseman like Wotherspoon or Brodie in this bunch. The more defenseman we acquire, the better the chance we find a gem.

[Sandman]

I posted this in another thread- my Brother says he keeps hearing that the flames want a shot at Thatcher Demko, either at pick 34 or by moving up. I can't see him being available at pick #34. I know we have a little depth in Ortio and Gillies, but people are really high on this kid....

[Ashasx]

I think Demko is there at 34.

I don't want to pick a goalie in any of the first 2 rounds though.

[Sandman]

It would be nice to come up with another T.J. Brodie in the second round, but i would like to see us take Haydon- he's big, tough, great passer, great skater, hits hard, and really stood out in the Prospects Game.

[Matty81]

I am hoping they snag Justin Kirkland with the late 2nd if he's there. Big, great hands, decent skater and has a lot of filling out ahead of him. Put up pretty good numbers for a 3rd/4th liner at 17. Going to be a beast and then selfishly I get to watch a flames prospect in person for a couple years, hasn't happened since Backlund and Grantham were here.

He doesn't really fight though so he might get passed on grounds of non-truculent.

Also for later picks I really like Keegan Iverson and Alex Shoenborn from Portland.

[Spinach]

Does anyone here think Hunter Smith would be a good pick at #34? Would he be available with the Avs' second-rounder?

[Francis's Hairpiece]

I want Kaapo Kahkonen with our 3rd.

We do well with Finnish Goaltenders and he sounds darn fine. PLUS, as I said in the other thread, anyone whose nickname will be "The Kahk" gets my vote.