Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
Couple more points I thought of Textcritic. A top 5 pick has a high likelihood of landings us an NHL ready powerwinger with size. A player we pick at 7 or 8 may need a couple years or may be a d-man. The Flames have current needs at wing. So while we don't want to rely on an 18 year old, drafting an NHL ready winger with size has the potential to help our depth immediately. And that player would likely be contributing at 2nd line level by his 19 year old season. Therefore drafting top 5 this year may help us achieve the playoffs a year sooner than picking a guy who is 2-3 years away. Which may help us contend a year sooner. So it may affect our immediate future in a big way.
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I agree with all of that. But my question to you and others is this: How important is it for the Flames to draft top 3 this year? Top 5?
From what I can see, not all that important, since there is still a lot of time left in their window to compete, and they already have a high number of core pieces in place.
Does a top-3 draft pick help accelerate the Flames' rebuild? Absolutely.
Does a 6–9 draft pick derail the current rebuild, or set it into serious jeopardy? No chance, which is why I don't believe it is worthwhile bemoaning the very likely possibility that this is precisely what will happen.