Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike F
If you believe that the Flames see a cliff after 6, IMO you have to believe they have either Nylander (the most skilled forward of any remaining) or Brown (the most intriguing package of any other player) as their #6... I personally don't see enough daylight between Juolevi, Chychrun, and Sergachev to have one guy on one side of a cliff and the other two on another.
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I think the Flames see a cliff after 8. I think there's a small ledge after 6. I think there could easily be reasons why they have one d-man as their preferred one and in their top grouping while the other two are below. Just because its hard to us to differentiate those 3 doesn't mean the scouts don't have extremely strong opinions as to which one is best.
As noted above the scouts Mackenzie talked to either see Chychrun as the top d-man or they see him out of their top 10. So the Flames could have Chychrun as the top d-men and in that elite 6. Or perhaps his mediocre hockey sense has him out of the top 10 completely for the Flames because we know hockey sense is important to the Flames. If the Flames are prioritizing hockey sense then Juolevi and Fabbro rise.
I just don't agree with your reasoning that it has to be Brown or Nylander. I still think that they have one of the defensemen in that top grouping. I keep waffling between Juolevi, Chychrun and Sergachev.
Here's some arguments for all 3:
Chychrun: Had a dominant age 16 year. Some have said he's one of the best defensemen they've ever seen at that age. The Flames have been scouting him for the last two years and aren't going to forgot that just like they didn't forget Kylington's excellent 16 year old year when they were analyzing his disappointing 17 year old year. Lots of scouts liked most of his work this year as well. He stepped up his offensive production in the 2nd half and had a strong playoffs. He made a few glaring errors at the U18s but is that a pattern? Does it show poor hockey sense? Or was it just a 17 year old kid failing to make perfect decisions? If his U18 performance was representative of his entire year then I would be worried. But if that was an aberration then its dangerous to read too much into it. His elite skating means his floor is still quite high. For example Phaneuf is a defenseman with a lot of tools but questionable hockey sense and his skating is nowhere near as good as Chychrun's is. But Phaneuf still played top pairing for a long time and is still a valuable 2nd pairing guy. Imagine Phaneuf with Brodie like skating. That seems to be Chychrun's downside if you think his hockey IQ is meh. And if you don't believe his hockey IQ is meh then the sky is the limit.
Sergachev: Has all the tools you're looking for. Skating, size, shot, puck handling, hitting, joins the rush. One of the top defenders in the OHL. Calm and poised with the puck. Only consistent knock on him I've heard is that he's got to polish up a bit in the defensive zone, something that can usually be taught. I don't see why he doesn't have top pairing potential,
Juolevi: Smartest of the bunch. Always knows where his teammates are, always knows where the safe place to outlet the puck is. Extremely smooth skating. Nice size but needs to continue to fill out. Good shot blocker. He also seems like he could have top pairing potential. Least sexy of the three but very efficient.
I think the Flames would take a top pairing d-man over a 1st line finesse winger. But I know that isn't the popular opinion.