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Franchise Player
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Austria, NOT Australia
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The Flames have moved from 30th to 2nd in four years. Those strengths/weaknesses assessments are a lot of fun to read a few years later, knowing how things have turned out with a few of those players ...
FALL 2010 - 30th
Spoiler!
Strengths: The Flames are deficient in a number of areas, but a couple things they have in spades coming up through the ranks are grit and leadership. Players like Greg Nemisz, Brett Sutter, and Matt Pelech embody the Sutter-esque tireless work ethic and lead-by-example mentality. There are also some quality puck-movers on the back end in Tim Erixon and T.J. Brodie for the Flames faithful to look forward to.
Weaknesses: That said, there is almost a complete lack of elite talent in the Flames system. The team’s 2007 first round pick Mikael Backlund has top line talent and has been progressing nicely, however the talent of the prospects drops sharply after that. Even once highly-touted netminder Leland Irving has failed to progress as expected, joining the ranks of an underwhelming bunch in Calgary.
Top 5 Prospects: 1. Mikael Backlund, C, 2. Tim Erixon, D, 3. Greg Nemisz, RW, 4. Mitch Wahl, C, 5. T.J. Brodie, D.
FALL 2011 - 26th
Spoiler!
Strengths: The Flames have made solid improvements to their overall depth at all of the positions. The biggest improvement has been at the forward position by the adding of high-end offensively skilled talent like Sven Baertschi, Paul Byron, and Roman Horak. The Flames have also seen solid offensive improvement from Max Reinhart, Greg Nemisz, Michael Ferland, Ryan Howse, and Patrick Holland over the past year.
Weaknesses: The Flames don't have a high-end puck moving defenseman and generally lack depth on the blue line. The team's young offensively skilled forwards are still a few years away from replacing the Flames' aging forwards on their starting roster. Leland Irving is a talented goaltending prospect but the pool is thin behind him.
Top 5 prospects: 1. Sven Baertschi, LW, 2. T.J. Brodie, D, 3. Greg Nemisz, RW, 4. Leland Irving, G. 5. Max Reinhart, C.
FALL 2012 - 23rd
Spoiler!
Strengths: After years of poor draft selections, trading away draft picks, and bad player development, the Flames have slowly improved their organizational depth and talent pool over the last few years. Calgary has added some high end talent at the center and the left wing while acquiring and developing more depth and versatile prospects. The Flames also have a very good stock of young goaltenders.
Weaknesses: Calgary has no highly skilled prospects at right wing nor does the organization have any prospects in the CHL, NCAA, or Europe at that position. The Flames' defensive depth is okay but nothing to get excited over. The organization lacks an impactful, puck-moving defenseman.
Top 5 Prospects: 1. Sven Baertschi, LW; 2. T.J. Brodie, D; 3. Max Reinhart, C; 4. John Gaudreau, LW; 5. Mark Jankowski, C.
FALL 2013 - 13th
Spoiler!
Strengths: The Calgary Flames have strengthened their organizational depth and talent in their prospect pool over the last several years. They have added leadership, character, physicality, and better speed to their system. The organization possesses a good group of versatile forwards, including several with high-end potential at center and left wing, led by current NHL players Sean Monahan and Sven Baertschi. The Flames have a good young goaltender with NHL potential in Providence College goalie Jon Gillies.
Weaknesses: The right wing position is lacking in depth and its overall skill level still requires upgrading. Despite having a good mix of size, physicality, and skill among their defensemen, the Flames are still in need of a mobile, offensive puck-mover in their prospect pipeline. The goaltending pool is shallow and the Flames could stand to add more depth.
Top 5 Prospects: 1. Sven Baertschi, LW; 2. Sean Monahan, C; 3. Johnny Gaudreau, LW; 4. Max Reinhart, C; 5. Mark Jankowski, C.
FALL 2014 - 2nd
Spoiler!
Strengths: The Calgary Flames have undergone an incredible amount of organizational turnover the past couple of seasons, but a promising vision for the future appears to be finally taking shape. They currently have a young, talented NHL roster, headlined by prospects such as Johnny Gaudreau, Josh Jooris, Sven Baertschi, and Markus Granlund – not to mention Sam Bennett, who is currently recovering from shoulder surgery. Their AHL system is well stocked, too, with Emile Poirier, Bill Arnold, Michael Ferland, and others pushing for NHL jobs. There are even more talented forwards at the NCAA and CHL levels, with Mark Jankowski, Morgan Klimchuk, and Hunter Smith all showing various degrees of promise. The Flames also have a few promising defensemen, such as Tyler Wotherspoon, who are close to NHL-ready. The goaltending pool is not particularly deep, but the prospects that are there – Mason McDonald, Jon Gillies, and Joni Ortio – have good potential.
Weaknesses: The Flames have great depth on defense, but the system lacks a high-end, puck-moving defenseman who can transition the puck up ice and run the power play. As mentioned earlier, the Flames have several quality goaltending prospects, but the position lacks depth.
Top 5 Prospects: 1. Johnny Gaudreau, LW; 2. Sam Bennett, C; 3. Sven Baertschi, LW; 4. Max Reinhart, C; 5. Markus Granlund, C.
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