Quote:
Originally Posted by The Fonz
Again, this is what scares me. We just had a fat lazy kid, Howse, quit hockey on us last fall.
If Ritchie has conditioning problems, I wouldn't touch him. He's been playing high level hockey his whole life... If he isn't eating right and isn't getting in the proper workouts, it's because he doesn't care enough. I remember friends of mine who were drafted into the WHL @ 15 years old, and the direction these teams provided 12 years ago was pretty intense. I can't imagine it's taken a step back.
If this is all the case, he'll struggle in the NHL. Unless he's playing against the Oilers, there aren't any kids in this league that he'll have the upper hand on simply due to out-weighing them by 40-60 lbs.
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I, for one, completely agree with you. If Ritchie does have these issues, I would prefer the Flames to draft someone else. Just his size/skill/agility and apparently his IQ are all fairly high. Combine + interviews both with him and the people around him will dictate how high (and even if at all) he gets ranked in the Flames' own draft list.