Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - [News] With the 21st overall pick Flames select C Mark Jankowski

Calgary4LIfe · 06-24-2012, 12:44 AM

This was the most exciting draft for me in a long time - it was a roller coaster!

I couldn't believe that TT was on board - was ECSTATIC that he was available... and my joy turned into agony listening to trade-down.

I was actually quite angry...

Then when the Flames were called again for the 21'st pick, my anger suddenly turned into excitement as soon as I heard who they were picking.

I personally had him in my 'top 5' list (of reasonable expectations - as in Yakupov and such were not on it). I didn't even have TT on there - I thought for sure he would be a top 10 pick. I was hoping for Griffin to fall, though unlikely, and wanted the Flames to pick up Grigs, Collberg, Jankowski - in that order. After getting so upset at not drafting TT, I completely forgot about Jankowski.. and when that name was called, I did a fist-pump.

Risky move? Yep, you bet it is. High school player.

However, to put it in perspective, this league NEVER has NHL scouts present at any time. Scouts were flooding in to view this kid, and his rankings went up - and kept going up. I bet if they noticed this kid earlier on, his ranking would have been even higher.

What is there not to like about this pick?
1) Quality of competition - definitely a bit tougher to gauge his projection
2) A 'longer-term' pick - will not be playing with the Flames for at least a couple of years - probably 3-5.

I can't really think of anything else that is a 'con'. Let's move on to 'pros':

Pros:
1) The kid has exceptional skill - why else was most teams sending their scouts - over and over again to scout him? Must be a reason, no?
2) Size - You can sure bet that even in 'today's NHL', size is still valued. Having a 1st line BIG and talented center is money.
3) Work ethic - seems like this kid is the type that tries to improve, regardless of the obstacles. Players like this bust much less. This is exactly why Daigle busted - no work ethic to speak of. Not only is Jankowski very skilled, but he has a great work ethic.
4) Age - he is young - we basically drafted next year's choice. Whatever skill and possible ceiling he has now, imagine him in another year with QUALITY coaching and another year of growing into his frame. Imagine him now talking with the Flames' development people, an off-season of actual professional high-level training. He is ahead of the curve, in my opinion.

Nobody is right or wrong with their opinion of him - both sides are actually right. This IS a risky move, and you either like it, or you don't (well, Lt. Spears and his voting for and subsequent 'meltdown' opposing this pick not counted out of pure trolling).

This is one of the picks I hoped that the Flames were aggressively scouting at least because of the way I 'think' about it. He has come a long way, and has made a LOT of professional scouts take time from their schedules to view this kid - and KEEP viewing him (according to the team's coach, I believe). This says something. Now, he seemingly developed exceptionally well, without any really good coaching at a critical point in his age (in my opinion - I would think CHL coaches help to develop players along, and no knock against his high school coach - but I would assume he is a step down).

Given that he is the youngest player in the draft, and still rated so highly - and has done so without 'top-tier' coaching - this bodes well for him. It is as if he gets a full year of additional development, and we get to see where he progresses. Dubuqe scouted him, and they are very high on him. This is also good news - some pretty good players of late have been coming out of there. Better coaching and a better program will develop him further - a 'free' year in a way of development.

Nobody really knows how good this kid is going to be. Next season, we will all have a better feel for what he really projects to be. We can compare him to this year's draft class with the players going back to Junior, and because he is really so young, we can compare him to next year's draft class and sort of see where he ranks there as well. I look at this - though I admit it is kind of lame - as us having traded our 1st in 2012 for a 1st in 2013. Not exactly right to do so, but you can make an argument based on only 2 single days of eligibility (and remember, Sven was 'old' in his draft class if memory serves correctly).

At any rate - the people who are high on this pick, and those that are negative on it will get some 'answers' next season.

I, for one, am happy. Not only did we secure a POTENTIAL 'big elite' center, but I have a higher degree of faith that Jankowski will not bust. Reason? Flames scouting staff has VASTLY expanded and seemingly have been getting better every year. Don't trust our scouting staff? Well, trust the scouting staff of other teams who sent their scouts for REPEATED viewings - this is expensive, and it is also an 'opportunity cost' by not viewing players from established leagues. 25 scouts (I think that is what the coach said in one game) all viewing ONLY him, when they could have used that time to scout a regular CHL game and been viewing numerous possible picks in the same game. This leads me to believe that this kid is 'exceptional', but hard to gauge.

I am POSITIVE that no scout just looked at his stat line. They saw his skating, his release, his vision, etc - all the 'skills' on display regularly, and Jankowski came from NOWHERE to be ranked as a late first/mid-second pick by most lists out there. Can he bust? Sure he can... so can Yakupov! Anyone can bust... but I feel WAY better about Jankowski's ceiling as a POSSIBLE #1 center over Gaunce right now, to be honest, and I am STARTING to feel better about his ceiling over that of TT - size is so important no matter how much the NHL changes.

One other thing of note... and this makes me think even better of this pick...

The fact that he 'exploded' in height but was able to still be so 'skilled' is really exceptional, in my opinion. How many guys that suddenly grow like this become 'clumsy' and 'awkward' for a while? Wait until he catches up with his body, and fills in a bit.

He sure can still be a bust.. but at least the Flames drafted the youngest, fastest-rising, tallest, and PERHAPS the 2nd most skilled center available (I don't agree with Craig - I personally think Grigorenko will translate into a #1 center - but next season we get to see how 'close' Jankowski is).

I like this gamble. I am betting that next year, there will be less people 'hating it'. I am eager to see how he does next season in Dubuqe.

What a roller-coaster ride it was yesterday.

06-24-2012, 12:44 AM	#755
Calgary4LIfe Franchise Player Join Date: Jun 2010 Exp:	This was the most exciting draft for me in a long time - it was a roller coaster! I couldn't believe that TT was on board - was ECSTATIC that he was available... and my joy turned into agony listening to trade-down. I was actually quite angry... Then when the Flames were called again for the 21'st pick, my anger suddenly turned into excitement as soon as I heard who they were picking. I personally had him in my 'top 5' list (of reasonable expectations - as in Yakupov and such were not on it). I didn't even have TT on there - I thought for sure he would be a top 10 pick. I was hoping for Griffin to fall, though unlikely, and wanted the Flames to pick up Grigs, Collberg, Jankowski - in that order. After getting so upset at not drafting TT, I completely forgot about Jankowski.. and when that name was called, I did a fist-pump. Risky move? Yep, you bet it is. High school player. However, to put it in perspective, this league NEVER has NHL scouts present at any time. Scouts were flooding in to view this kid, and his rankings went up - and kept going up. I bet if they noticed this kid earlier on, his ranking would have been even higher. What is there not to like about this pick? 1) Quality of competition - definitely a bit tougher to gauge his projection 2) A 'longer-term' pick - will not be playing with the Flames for at least a couple of years - probably 3-5. I can't really think of anything else that is a 'con'. Let's move on to 'pros': Pros: 1) The kid has exceptional skill - why else was most teams sending their scouts - over and over again to scout him? Must be a reason, no? 2) Size - You can sure bet that even in 'today's NHL', size is still valued. Having a 1st line BIG and talented center is money. 3) Work ethic - seems like this kid is the type that tries to improve, regardless of the obstacles. Players like this bust much less. This is exactly why Daigle busted - no work ethic to speak of. Not only is Jankowski very skilled, but he has a great work ethic. 4) Age - he is young - we basically drafted next year's choice. Whatever skill and possible ceiling he has now, imagine him in another year with QUALITY coaching and another year of growing into his frame. Imagine him now talking with the Flames' development people, an off-season of actual professional high-level training. He is ahead of the curve, in my opinion. Nobody is right or wrong with their opinion of him - both sides are actually right. This IS a risky move, and you either like it, or you don't (well, Lt. Spears and his voting for and subsequent 'meltdown' opposing this pick not counted out of pure trolling). This is one of the picks I hoped that the Flames were aggressively scouting at least because of the way I 'think' about it. He has come a long way, and has made a LOT of professional scouts take time from their schedules to view this kid - and KEEP viewing him (according to the team's coach, I believe). This says something. Now, he seemingly developed exceptionally well, without any really good coaching at a critical point in his age (in my opinion - I would think CHL coaches help to develop players along, and no knock against his high school coach - but I would assume he is a step down). Given that he is the youngest player in the draft, and still rated so highly - and has done so without 'top-tier' coaching - this bodes well for him. It is as if he gets a full year of additional development, and we get to see where he progresses. Dubuqe scouted him, and they are very high on him. This is also good news - some pretty good players of late have been coming out of there. Better coaching and a better program will develop him further - a 'free' year in a way of development. Nobody really knows how good this kid is going to be. Next season, we will all have a better feel for what he really projects to be. We can compare him to this year's draft class with the players going back to Junior, and because he is really so young, we can compare him to next year's draft class and sort of see where he ranks there as well. I look at this - though I admit it is kind of lame - as us having traded our 1st in 2012 for a 1st in 2013. Not exactly right to do so, but you can make an argument based on only 2 single days of eligibility (and remember, Sven was 'old' in his draft class if memory serves correctly). At any rate - the people who are high on this pick, and those that are negative on it will get some 'answers' next season. I, for one, am happy. Not only did we secure a POTENTIAL 'big elite' center, but I have a higher degree of faith that Jankowski will not bust. Reason? Flames scouting staff has VASTLY expanded and seemingly have been getting better every year. Don't trust our scouting staff? Well, trust the scouting staff of other teams who sent their scouts for REPEATED viewings - this is expensive, and it is also an 'opportunity cost' by not viewing players from established leagues. 25 scouts (I think that is what the coach said in one game) all viewing ONLY him, when they could have used that time to scout a regular CHL game and been viewing numerous possible picks in the same game. This leads me to believe that this kid is 'exceptional', but hard to gauge. I am POSITIVE that no scout just looked at his stat line. They saw his skating, his release, his vision, etc - all the 'skills' on display regularly, and Jankowski came from NOWHERE to be ranked as a late first/mid-second pick by most lists out there. Can he bust? Sure he can... so can Yakupov! Anyone can bust... but I feel WAY better about Jankowski's ceiling as a POSSIBLE #1 center over Gaunce right now, to be honest, and I am STARTING to feel better about his ceiling over that of TT - size is so important no matter how much the NHL changes. One other thing of note... and this makes me think even better of this pick... The fact that he 'exploded' in height but was able to still be so 'skilled' is really exceptional, in my opinion. How many guys that suddenly grow like this become 'clumsy' and 'awkward' for a while? Wait until he catches up with his body, and fills in a bit. He sure can still be a bust.. but at least the Flames drafted the youngest, fastest-rising, tallest, and PERHAPS the 2nd most skilled center available (I don't agree with Craig - I personally think Grigorenko will translate into a #1 center - but next season we get to see how 'close' Jankowski is). I like this gamble. I am betting that next year, there will be less people 'hating it'. I am eager to see how he does next season in Dubuqe. What a roller-coaster ride it was yesterday.