Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkGio
Alot of the guys you pointed out statistically won't make it. From a manager's perspective I would much rather have the deck stacked with guys like Russell, Andersson, Culkin, etc. than to have a Kanzig, who's very unlikely to pan out. You can always trade for a guy like Kanzig if you have a full deck of potential top 4. In previous eras, guys like Reghre, Gill, Sarich, and Kanzig might have been successfully due to their physical tools, but current hockey is so much about possession, staying out of the box, avoiding suspension, stretch the ice with good saucers and skating.
I would agree that Kanzig is not a roadblock to Gilmour, or to any other prospect IMO. You have to better than someone to be a road block.
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Well, I guess we will have to agree to disagree. The 2013/14 cup winning LA kings had 3 physical defensive defencemen (Greene, Mitchell, Regehr) - and they spent two second round picks in acquiring Regehr while having 2 already on the team. Look how expensive Coburn was to Tampa when they felt they needed to have his type. Physical defensive defencemen are still prevalent in the game today - and obviously help at least some teams win championships, right?
When you want to acquire one - they are expensive. Good defencemen are always expensive, regardless if they are of the stay-at-home type, or the offensive puck-moving type. More than a 3rd round pick is, anyways.
Disagree again on the roadblock comment completely - Kanzig doesn't have to be 'better' than Gilmour - not at the offensive end anyways. Or you can look at it the other way - perhaps undersized Gilmour has to be better physically than Kanzig since this is something that the organization needs? See the general fail at comparing apples to oranges here? That is why neither one of them will be a roadblock to the other.
If it was about the Flames looking for a mobile puck moving offensive defencemen, they wouldn't have drafted Kanzig in the first place, and they wouldn't have offered him a contract hence. Obviously they value the type of prospect that Kanzig is, and they feel they have enough guys equal to or greater than Gilmour. Does that make sense?
Something tells me.. agree to disagree, right?
Regardless, Flames are loaded with 2-way and offensive puck-moving defencemen throughout the organization - especially after the last draft and off-season. Gilmour needed to show more in my opinion, considering he is slightly undersized. He isn't a poor prospect, but in an organization that is fairly deep in the type of defencemen that he is, I can see why the Flames have decided not to offer him an NHL contract, but still think enough of him to offer him an AHL contract to see how a year of pro goes for him (just in case he is the next Giordano).