I think Nichushkin is ranked higher than Lindholm and Monahan on most professional scouting lists out there because Nichushkin has the higher ceiling and higher floor. Out of the 3, he is the most likely to play next year in the NHL - the most 'NHL-ready' of the bunch. His offensive ceiling combined with the physical size he possesses (harder to shut down, ability to dictate play on the ice) is higher.
Lindholm I have often rated as having a higher offensive ceiling than Monahan, and a lot of scouting lists agree with this. However, tough to gauge because of the different leagues and role (Lindholm was playing wing most of last season), and Monahan was the only star forward on a very lousy team.
I don't think the Flames can possibly go wrong here. I hope they manage to jump up a bit and take Barkov - safe, cerebral, big and with a huge ceiling and high floor. Nichushkin I have heard comes with a higher ceiling than Barkov, but Barkov's floor is much higher than Nichushkin's. I personally would prefer the Flames to select Barkov (as I am sure 90%+ of the posters on here would as well).
Moon brought up an interesting point. I haven't seen it touched on any other threads yet - and that will be Feaster's review. I would assume he had some dialogue with Edwards and King. The Flames are in a rebuild. How do people think Feaster's job will be reviewed here? Would the expectation be an increase in points from this upcoming season to the following? Or would it be based upon how the prospects are seemingly doing? I would hope it is more judged on the drafting and development side of things in terms of asset management, rather than standings. Will be interesting to see what happens with management in the next 1-3 years.
|