[sureLoss]

Weisbrod thinks Gillies might be ready to go pro after this season if he keeps playing lights out

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That being said, Weisbrod feels the day Gillies joins the Flames might come sooner than his future employers originally expected.


“I mean, we all knew he had this kind of potential,” Weisbrod said of the third-rounder (75th overall) from their 2012 litter. “But I think it’s been a pleasant surprise he’s climbed the ladder and made such progress so quickly. At the same time, being a goaltender is the hardest position to transition into. There’s a big difference between a top amateur goaltender and a top professional goaltender.


“It’s very easy to damage kids by trying to rush them into the environment to quickly.”


Weisbrod said they’ll likely re-evaluate him again next summer and, depending on his progress, they might sign him after his sophomore year.


“When we drafted him last year . . . I thought maybe a good reasonable time frame was he spent a good three years in college,” he said. “Conceivably, he’d be ready to sign after his junior year. Since he’s performed so well, in a lot of ways, he’s probably ahead of schedule. Maybe that conversation — if he stays on track and stays healthy and everything continues to go as it has and he makes another step forward this year — maybe we have some discussion about that signing time being next summer.


“We try and ballpark projections as far as our planning but, really, the time frame is in control of the player.”