Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames Fan, Ph.D.
Rask was traded basically right away after being drafted. Was not developed at the time Boston took him. As much of a gamble at that point than had Boston simply drafted him outright.
Bishop was a good commodity and required something useful in exchange. He came to Ottawa for a 2nd round pick, so why wouldn't it be worth drafting a goalie for a 2nd round pick? By the time he got traded to TB he was a known commodity and commanded a higher price. So we shouldn't draft goalies but wait until we're forced to give up a good forward prospect (which, obviously, grow on trees?)...
Varlamov was drafted by the Capitals, developed, and then traded for a 1st and 2nd round pick. That's a much heavier price than the 2nd round pick that people are losing their heads over here.
You can make these types of stories for all positions from the draft. It's not remotely a convincing argument not to take a goalie in the first X rounds. The Flames have a much poorer drafting record of non-goalie position players in higher rounds, so why aren't we losing our heads over that?
I say let the kid develop rather than lamenting the pick right away because of some non-empirical bias.
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I provided some empirical data in the post below yours. Goalies drafted in the first and second round become NHL players less often than skaters. By the 4th round both goalies and skaters become NHL players about 10% of the time, so I would rather take my chances goalies then. Or trade for an already developed goalie when the time comes that we need one.
Also, without question, skaters develop more quickly that goalies. A goalie is likely 4 to 6 years out from contributing to the NHL team. I hope we're a playoff team or even a contender in less than 6 years. This likely means we either already need an elite goalie in the system or will have to trade for one anyway.