I will personally guarantee that the Flames will not take Nichushkin with the sixth pick. I am pube-eating certain of it. There is too much importance and emphasis on getting a really quality player with this pick to risk it him. Whether rightly or wrongly there will always be that question of whether he would come over and stay here long term. MacKinnon, Jones, Douin, and Barkov will go 1-4 (not necessarily in that order) and the Flames will pick one of Monahan or Lindholm depending on what Carolina (or whoever ends up picking fifth) does.
Should Nichushkin be taken fifth and Lindholm and Monahan are available I don't know which player the Flames would prefer. I think they should take Monahan, he seems like he has the frame, skill, and hockey sense to be the top line center we've needed for so long. His skating style and demeanor are so reminiscent of Eric Staal. Not that I wouldn't be happy with Lindholm but if it's a choice between the two I'd rather have the guy who's 6'3 rather than 5'11.
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"If the oceans was whiskey and I was a duck, I'd swim to the bottom and never come up, but the oceans ain't whiskey, and I ain't no duck, so I'll play the Jack of Diamonds and toast to my luck..."
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