Quote:
Originally Posted by dammage79
Still cannot believe we got Hamilton and then robbed Kylington at 60. Such a total plundering of the weekend. And then Rasmus Andersson! I mean...if you were banking heavily on D men this is a total dream come true.
|
That is as solid a stable of D-men as you can ask for. It's tough to assess exactly how everyone stacks up, but we should have a good idea after development camp. My preliminary ranking would be as follows:
Now that we've been schooled using the RDSI here's my take on our defense prospects.
1. Hickey - by all accounts he had as good a season as any of the D prospects from 2014. A couple of years away, but has all the tools. Could project to be another Brodie.
2. Wotherspoon - NHL ready, rock solid but unspectacular D man. Safe bet to be a great 3rd pairing guy in the near future with 2nd pairing upside.
3. Morrison - his booming shot and stature remind me of Al. One prospect I am really looking forward to seeing at development camp. He could very well NHL ready.
4. Kylington - Here because of upside. If this were HF he would be a 9 for potential but a D for likelihood of making it. Karlsson upside, total bust downside. Elite skating and offensive awareness; learning the defensive side of the game can only help. Maybe his physical gifts will really suit Hartley's coaching style?
5. Kulak - Slightly more upside than Culkin because he possesses a cannon shot from the point. Time in the ECHL wasn't an issue for me, because he put up great numbers there and then closed out the AHL season very well.
6. Culkin - started the year on a feverish pace, racking up assists left-right-and-centre. Another year in the AHL & he should be knocking on the door.
7. Andersson - great numbers in his draft year, but I'm afraid that and scouting reports are all I have to go on. I've seen him compared to Wideman, so he could eventually prove to be Wideman's replacement. Great offensive skills but some occasional cowboy #### in his own zone.
8. Gilmour - criminally underrated around here. Plays a solid, intense game but is on the smaller side. I think he could surprise some people.
9. Sieloff - can he put his lost year behind him and regain some of that feistiness which made him such an exciting prospect? I don't want to write him off because he's a driven, hungry kid and the path back from a staph infection is long and tough. Good luck to him.
10. Rafikov - to me he's like a meaner Wotherspoon. I want to see him in the AHL soon, but would he ditch the KHL for Stockton? I doubt he would step straight into the NHL, so he has to make that move before I consider him a future Flame.
11. Ramage - Improved a lot but still has a lot to prove. I see 'AHL journeyman' written all over him, honestly, but he may see some time. I just don't see it happening with the Flames anytime soon.
12. Kanzig - big, raw, project. Total beast of a man, so could be a useful guy for the pressbox and bench-pressing McDavid's skull into the Jumbotron.
13. Ollas-Mattsson - big, raw, project.
14. Bruce - big, raw, project.