[Erick Estrada]

I don't know why so many people crap on ESPN. They still have quality hockey articles and IMO less fluff than the Canadian networks that overly focus on Canadian teams and the Leafs. If you are an NFL fan then the insider membership pays for itself. I took out some excerpts;

If you re-selected the 2011 draft, Gaudreau would move from 104th overall to the top 10. Depending on preference, he would likely be behind Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Gabriel Landeskog, and in the mix with other top-10 picks like Adam Larsson, Mika Zibanejad, Mark Scheifele, Sean Couturier and Jonas Brodin.

Yet, it is not a mystery why Gaudreau was picked in the fourth round after being ranked 193rd overall by NHL Central Scouting: He's short and skinny. One year after Gaudreau was picked, ESPN Insider's Corey Pronman -- then of Hockey Prospectus -- wrote:
"He's a high-end -- if not better -- puck-handler who can make highlight-level dekes. Gaudreau's hockey sense is along the same lines, as he has great patience and vision with the puck. His skill level makes scouts regularly go 'wow,' with one NHL executive saying he has a special 'swagger' he carries himself with."
Those were the positives. The only drawback?
"Look at his height-weight splits, and that says it all" Pronman continued. "He's small and needs a boatload of muscle. While Gaudreau is a fine skater who has a solid top gear and is agile, he isn't a high-end skater that you would normally want a 5-(foot)-7 player to be."

When asked about Johnny Hockey's success, one former NHL player said Gaudreau's lack of girth may actually help him.
"He's flexible enough to twist and turn and contort his body in all sorts of ways that allow him to do amazing things with his stick when he has the puck," the ex-player said. "He can also use that flexibility to spin and dodge big hits and sneak around opponents to get to the puck."

Gaudreau is so shifty and skilled that he has the rare ability to slow the game down when he enters the offensive zone with the puck. Like a slightly less rich man's version of Patrick Kane. If a defender attacks, he will make a move to dance away and find more space. If a defender backs off, he will make a pass to an open teammate.

As he grows into his body and possibly puts on the muscle to which Pronman referred, the Flames will be growing around Gaudreau, giving him a great chance to succeed as a major building block.
And while he has is no shoo-in to win the Calder Trophy, history speaks well of forwards who are great right away. Promising forwards Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Huberdeau and Landeskog are the last three winners. Other names in the 2000s include Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Kane.
In other words, the Flames' wonderful little outlier isn't going away any time soon.