Calgarypuck Prospect Ranking 2017 - Round 6

[btimbit]

Gillies

[Journey17]

I voted for Fox as I like his upside combined with his offense is already there at the NCAA/world junior level. But I can see arguments for a number of players. I couldn't vote for Gillies even though I still really like him to be at least a strong backup/acceptable starter as he didn't outplay David Rittich last year.

As for Poirier, I see the potential there. I'd rather have him than Hathaway/F. Hamilton on my 4th line as there is potential for some offense. But I don't know that I see enough offense to get him into the top 9. Let's see him reproduce his offense in the A first before I see a top 10 prospect.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by MarkGio

Alright, but if Fox, Dube and Gillies continue on their current projection, they could not only have a legitimate shot at making the Flames at 23 years old, but could be impact players by then.

So it works both ways.

But they have to actually continue on their current projection in order for that to be relevant.

Foo has just experienced that leap in progression. To now turn around and talk about what he was 3 years ago is as pointless as calling Yakupov a 1st overall pick.

[StrykerSteve]

Fox.

[neo45]

Fox then Dube for me. I like Gilles but it is extremely hard to break into the league as a young goalie, and his injury is a concern. Looks like he wins this round though.

[Iniggywetrust]

This is the first time I haven't voted with the majority5 but it seems to be the same thing everyone. People seem to hype players who haven't even has a chance to hit the wall which is NHL while undervalueing those knocking on the door. It's hard to cement yourself as an everyday nhl players.

Kulak could be our 6th defensemen this year logging minutes ever game. Some of the players being voted now may never see an opportunity like that.

I voted Kulak because he's closest and still have top 4 potential.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by Iniggywetrust

This is the first time I haven't voted with the majority5 but it seems to be the same thing everyone. People seem to hype players who haven't even has a chance to hit the wall which is NHL while undervalueing those knocking on the door. It's hard to cement yourself as an everyday nhl players.

Kulak could be our 6th defensemen this year logging minutes ever game. Some of the players being voted now may never see an opportunity like that.

I voted Kulak because he's closest and still have top 4 potential.

I just completely forgot about Kulak because people haven't been talking about him

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Iniggywetrust

This is the first time I haven't voted with the majority5 but it seems to be the same thing everyone. People seem to hype players who haven't even has a chance to hit the wall which is NHL while undervalueing those knocking on the door. It's hard to cement yourself as an everyday nhl players.

Kulak could be our 6th defensemen this year logging minutes ever game. Some of the players being voted now may never see an opportunity like that.

I voted Kulak because he's closest and still have top 4 potential.

Fair vote. I have him below Rittich, Dube, Fox, and Mangiapane but he's definitely our most underrated prospect every year. You look at where he has been ranked on every year's ranking and he probably outperformed that every single year. Good two-way upside.

[Love]

Dillon Dube > Adam Fox > Andrew Mangiapane > Jon Gillies

[SuperMatt18]

I think the problem with Kulak is a lot of us don't see him as a prospect anymore.

The guy has been on the opening night roster each of the last two seasons - IMO that means he is an NHLer now.

[Jiri Hrdina]

My issue with Kulak is upside. I don't see him as anything more than a final pairing guy at best.
And that's really what this is - weighing upside and likelihood to reach that. Kulak is closer, and has skated in the NHL, so he has a higher probability of being a player. But lower ceiling.

And how one balances those two factors basically spits out who you rank.

I place more emphasis on upside as I believe you need game changers to win. Depth players can be added in all sorts of ways - you need guys that can be better than the other teams' guys.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Wild GM

My issue with Kulak is upside. I don't see him as anything more than a final pairing guy at best...

This is precisely my take as well. I expect that Kulak is still a top-ten prospect in the organisation, but with a number of other players that have a higher ceiling this pushes his NHL readiness down in terms of its weight.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Another (imperfect) way to base your rankings on is by value.

For instance, Kulak is closer, but would you trade a Kulak for a Parsons? Valimaki? I like Kulak (and I also like Wotherspoon), but both of these prospects may end up passing unclaimed through waivers at the start of the season.

I am glad that they kept both Kulak and Wotherspoon however. I do think they are both really great depth defencemen for their age, and have a bit of upside (see both as a #4 over time if things go well).

[Samonadreau]

Went Kulak again. And again was close between him Fox and Rittich but I believe he will be on the opening night roster and could have a pretty good year paired with Stone.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Likely a wasted vote, but I think Dube should be next. Very close with him, Gillies and Fox for me.

[bigrangy]

Kulak for me. I think his potential is better than just an average bottom pair guy and he's also already NHL ready.

I don't want to go all aboard on the Fox hype train just yet, but next year he could definitely threaten for top spot.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Another (imperfect) way to base your rankings on is by value.

For instance, Kulak is closer, but would you trade a Kulak for a Parsons? Valimaki? I like Kulak (and I also like Wotherspoon), but both of these prospects may end up passing unclaimed through waivers at the start of the season.

I am glad that they kept both Kulak and Wotherspoon however. I do think they are both really great depth defencemen for their age, and have a bit of upside (see both as a #4 over time if things go well).

Agreed. I think one of the best ways to think about it is to think about who you think the more valuable prospect is. I find it automatically balances upside/likelihood when you think about it that way.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Treliving doesn't blow smoke up people's arses IMO. He doesn't go out of his way to hype or sell prospects. He doesn't say things are rosy when they aren't. There are a lot of prospects that he would probably say didn't have a great year of development. Poirier for example. All the prospects we didn't qualify for example.

He could've easily said Gillies had a disappointing year. But he didn't. You can listen to the interview after the Smith acquisition again if you didn't hear his comments.

He's not a blowhard to be sure but I don't think he's much different than other GM's in this regard. I still recall how Drew Shore was the hot commodity.

But in any case, saying it was a good year for his development isn't really saying much, but it was certainly better than the year before.

[dustygoon]

Can't one rough year after major hip surgery bumps gillies this far.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Late to this one, but I voted Foo. I think he's got top 6 winger upside and seems like he's really close to making the NHL.