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Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
Reeks of the guy doing the list being a Canuck fan or something. Shinkaruk is certainly not our best prospect, wouldn't make my top 5 I don't think.
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He writes mostly about the Ducks and the Kings. I would say his rankings are based on woeful ignorance more than anything. Mind you, much of our own fanbase follows the same methodology; look at draft position, stats, and then make a call. Unless you really follow these guys it is hard to understand the challenges each player is facing and how they are addressing the holes in their games. The best examples of this are Jankowski and Poirier.
Jankowski was brutalized by the navel gazers because he wasn't scoring enough. The stats just didn't support what they thought was a developing player. Those that actually watched him were telling these people to chill because of the roll Jankowski was cast in and the style the team played. They were confident that when the player became a senior, and was cast in the scoring role, the numbers would come, which they did. Jankowski has been a great prospect because he has continued to work n his game and refine his tools. He should be a good one going forward.
Poirier is getting discounted because his numbers aren't there. He posted great offensive numbers last season but was weak defensively. This year he's working on that 200' game and his numbers have naturally tailed off. But he is progressing because is two way game is improving. He now shows he has some idea of what to do away from the puck. He is showing growth and coachability. This is another good year of development for the player even if his numbers are down. He's still on track and will get there as he finds consistency in this aspect of his game.
Guys that don't follow our team and prospects closely are not going to know this or acknowledge it. They are going to fall into the "what have you done for me lately" camp and go with what they see in the hockeydb, and think that variance in points is indicative of growth. It would be nice to have a Flames writer to provide this content on hockey's future but I don't think there are many informed Flames fans that frequent that site. At least none capable of writing a concise review of our prospects and their overall development.