Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Revisiting 2009 draft

getbak · 07-20-2013, 12:51 PM

All things considered, it worked out much better than we could have expected. Horak, Wotherspoon, and Granlund all have the potential to be NHL players (possibly all three will see NHL action this season).

So far, statistically, Horak and Josefson don't seem to be all that different from each other, and while Johansson has put up better numbers, he has done so on a higher-scoring team, and I think the collective group of Horak, Wotherspoon, and Granlund are still preferred.

In fact, even if Erixon had gladly and willingly signed with the Flames, I would still prefer the return.

Horak has already far exceeded the expectations of a fifth round pick and should be in Calgary full time this year.

Wotherspoon just keeps getting better every time I watch him (and between the Winterhawks playoff runs over the last three years, and last year's World Juniors, I've watched him a lot). Most people didn't expect him to even make Team Canada, and by the end of the tournament, he was arguably Canada's best defensive d-man. I don't think we can put a ceiling on him at this point. I expect him to be taking a regular shift in the NHL by the time the calendar turns to 2015.

Granlund is a bigger question mark. One of the frequent comments about him at the camp last week was that he already has an NHL shot. Unfortunately, that shot isn't packaged inside an NHL-sized body. My instinct on Granlund is that if he does become a regular NHLer, it will be somewhere other than Calgary. He does have a skill level that could make him attractive in a trade package.

Also of note, when the Flames traded with New Jersey at the 2009 Draft to move down from 20 to 23, they received a third round pick that they later packaged with a fourth round pick to get a slightly higher third round pick, which they used to draft Ryan Howse. So far, Howse has been a disappointment, but it was while scouting Howse that Conroy took notice of his line mate, Roman Horak, and he told Feaster to keep Horak in mind if a trade with the Rangers was ever in the works.

07-20-2013, 12:51 PM	#5
getbak Franchise Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Calgary, AB Exp:	All things considered, it worked out much better than we could have expected. Horak, Wotherspoon, and Granlund all have the potential to be NHL players (possibly all three will see NHL action this season). So far, statistically, Horak and Josefson don't seem to be all that different from each other, and while Johansson has put up better numbers, he has done so on a higher-scoring team, and I think the collective group of Horak, Wotherspoon, and Granlund are still preferred. In fact, even if Erixon had gladly and willingly signed with the Flames, I would still prefer the return. Horak has already far exceeded the expectations of a fifth round pick and should be in Calgary full time this year. Wotherspoon just keeps getting better every time I watch him (and between the Winterhawks playoff runs over the last three years, and last year's World Juniors, I've watched him a lot). Most people didn't expect him to even make Team Canada, and by the end of the tournament, he was arguably Canada's best defensive d-man. I don't think we can put a ceiling on him at this point. I expect him to be taking a regular shift in the NHL by the time the calendar turns to 2015. Granlund is a bigger question mark. One of the frequent comments about him at the camp last week was that he already has an NHL shot. Unfortunately, that shot isn't packaged inside an NHL-sized body. My instinct on Granlund is that if he does become a regular NHLer, it will be somewhere other than Calgary. He does have a skill level that could make him attractive in a trade package. Also of note, when the Flames traded with New Jersey at the 2009 Draft to move down from 20 to 23, they received a third round pick that they later packaged with a fourth round pick to get a slightly higher third round pick, which they used to draft Ryan Howse. So far, Howse has been a disappointment, but it was while scouting Howse that Conroy took notice of his line mate, Roman Horak, and he told Feaster to keep Horak in mind if a trade with the Rangers was ever in the works. __________________ Turn up the good, turn down the suck!