Summer 2014 Prospect Ranking Poll Rd 18 Run off (2nd Rounder Battle!) - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Bingo · 07-31-2014, 07:01 AM

Pretty interesting to see a run off between the Flames' two 2nd round picks a month ago.

neo45 · 07-31-2014, 07:10 AM

Both are massive projects. Went with Smith because forwards tend to be easier to evaluate at that age than goalies

Rick M. · 07-31-2014, 07:17 AM

Went with McDonald because I've seen a fair number of his games and been impressed. I've never seen Smith play.

FBI · 07-31-2014, 07:38 AM

Smith. I'm more excited about two other goalies.

Gaskal · 07-31-2014, 07:57 AM

MacDonald looks good but goalies are really hard to predict, whereas Smith has very high upside (Lucic) and is on a steep upward trajectory in terms of progression.

Lanny_McDonald · 07-31-2014, 08:10 AM

McDonald right now, but Smith could be a real climber through the ranks if he puts up decent numbers this coming season.

ForeverFlameFan · 07-31-2014, 08:10 AM

Wow, already the 3rd run off this year. I went with Smith because he went from undrafted in 2013 to a 2nd round pick because of how well he did this year production wise. I think he stock will increase, and he has the likelihood of becoming an NHLer over McDonald. MM has high upside and the potential to be a starter, I just want to see him prove himself worthy of moving up into the top 15 prospects on our list. Goalies are much more difficult to predict too.

Enoch Root · 07-31-2014, 08:49 AM

I object to this process - Smith already won!

Cali Panthers Fan · 07-31-2014, 08:50 AM

McDonald.

Both are a long shot at this point to be NHL players, but goalies take time to develop, whereas forwards are closer to a finished project at this point. I don't see Smith as an NHLer unless he works on his game a lot this year, but I could be wrong.

Hockey's Future has Smith listed at 6.0D, which I feel is fairly accurate, and McDonald at a 7.0 C. I know it's HF, but they are pretty fair and accurate with prospect analysis.

Cali Panthers Fan · 07-31-2014, 08:50 AM

NM double post

Enoch Root · 07-31-2014, 08:54 AM

Smith's progression last year was massive - I think he is poised for a huge break-out year and I would expect he will be one of the biggest climbers in next year's prospect polls.

Cali Panthers Fan · 07-31-2014, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Smith's progression last year was massive - I think he is poised for a huge break-out year and I would expect he will be one of the biggest climbers in next year's prospect polls.

Even if he climbs a lot, HF would still likely rank him as a 7.0C which is the same as McDonald's potential. I don't think Smith is better now, and even if he progresses he likely will be a coin flip compared to McDonald.

That's assuming McDonald stays stagnant and doesn't progress, which all goaltenders do somewhat at this point in their career. Where either's ceiling is, I don't really know, but both are still projects for at least 3 years.

neo45 · 07-31-2014, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

Even if he climbs a lot, HF would still likely rank him as a 7.0C which is the same as McDonald's potential. I don't think Smith is better now, and even if he progresses he likely will be a coin flip compared to McDonald.

That's assuming McDonald stays stagnant and doesn't progress, which all goaltenders do somewhat at this point in their career. Where either's ceiling is, I don't really know, but both are still projects for at least 3 years.

What is with the random love for HFs ranking system? It is crap...

Rick M. · 07-31-2014, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

Even if he climbs a lot, HF would still likely rank him as a 7.0C which is the same as McDonald's potential. I don't think Smith is better now, and even if he progresses he likely will be a coin flip compared to McDonald.

That's assuming McDonald stays stagnant and doesn't progress, which all goaltenders do somewhat at this point in their career. Where either's ceiling is, I don't really know, but both are still projects for at least 3 years.

That's true but McDonald didn't really get a chance to play regularly until he went to Charlottetown mid-season. I expect he'll improve a lot as a first-string goalie for the full season in 2014-15.

Cali Panthers Fan · 07-31-2014, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neo45

What is with the random love for HFs ranking system? It is crap...

Really? It's one of the more fair and accurate systems I've seen. Nothing is perfect, especially when it comes to prospects, but they get it right way more than they get it wrong.

Do you have a better one? Just curious.

Gaskal · 07-31-2014, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neo45

What is with the random love for HFs ranking system? It is crap...

They have Johnny Hockey as a C for chance of success. Ridiculous.

Cali Panthers Fan · 07-31-2014, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick M.

That's true but McDonald didn't really get a chance to play regularly until he went to Charlottetown mid-season. I expect he'll improve a lot as a first-string goalie for the full season in 2014-15.

Agreed, that's why I think he's a little underrated for most because he hasn't been in the spotlight a lot until likely this year. We should start to see what kind of player he is by about halfway into the year, especially if he's at the WJC.

Cali Panthers Fan · 07-31-2014, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaskal

They have Johnny Hockey as a C for chance of success. Ridiculous.

*facepalm* Come on people, at his size he is most definitely a C until he shows he can handle the pro game. There are good indicators, sure, but let's try and be realistic here. NHL is a big man's game and the odds are still against him until he makes it.

Remember, it's a measure of likelihood of success, and means that the prospect could drop as many as 2 rankings because of it. He's projected as a 1st line player who might drop a little due to his size. I think that's fair. He's got all the skill in the world, but being a top line player is a tough gig in the NHL facing guys like Chara, Keith, Weber etc.

We're all excited about Gaudreau, but let's scale it back a bit ok?

ForeverFlameFan · 07-31-2014, 09:21 AM

Imo, HF's prospect rankings tend to be more fair than unfair. The only problem I have with it is sometimes they tend to rank a player by draft position sometimes.

Enoch Root · 07-31-2014, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

Even if he climbs a lot, HF would still likely rank him as a 7.0C which is the same as McDonald's potential. I don't think Smith is better now, and even if he progresses he likely will be a coin flip compared to McDonald.

That's assuming McDonald stays stagnant and doesn't progress, which all goaltenders do somewhat at this point in their career. Where either's ceiling is, I don't really know, but both are still projects for at least 3 years.

Why do you think Smith is at least a 3 year project? Is it because of his size? Do you think because he's 6'7" that he is therefore similar to Kanzig?

Kanzig is a prospect because of his size. And especially being a defenseman, he has a very long learning curve ahead if him if he is going to make it.

Smith has size, but that's not all - he has good speed, solid hockey IQ, and soft hands.

He is not a 'size' project, he is a legitimate prospect. I would assume his development is on a similar pace with most other forwards.