Quote:
Originally Posted by Caged Great
I wouldn't be surprised if the draft ended up going that way for the Flames. It would be a disappointing haul though for Calgary. Ever since the emphasis on size over talent came in starting with the Kanzig pick, the Flames have tossed away a number of picks taking guys that if they pan out will be maybe become versions of Bollig or Engelland.
If you're using 6ths or 7ths on those types of guys, that's great because if they do pan out, it's great value. Auston Carroll, Adam Ollas Mattsson, Tim Harrison, and Riley Bruce are all good picks to infuse size and toughness into the organization.
Using 2nd's and 3rd's on those types is a waste. The players in the immediate area after Kanzig were Nick Baptiste, Mattias Janmark, and Anthony Duclair. In between the Smith and Hickey picks (54 & 64) the Flames could have had Christian Dvorak (121 pts this season in the OHL) or Brandon Montour (57 points as a D-man in the AHL, taken 1 and 4 picks after Smith.
Instead the Flames have an ECHL defenseman, and a forward that looks like he may take another 2-3 years before cracking the NHL lineup, if he does.
It would be fine if they added Bastian, Lindgren and Fredric, they just would not be getting the value they could going in other directions.
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Agree 100%
And also why I hated the Burke quote where he mentioned prioritizing size in the later rounds.
Size is a preferred trait - meaning a guy that is big who is actually good enough to play is going to be going in the first 30-45 picks of the draft.
After that point big guys you draft usually can't play at a high level - if they could they would be ranked higher.
Later in the draft you should be focusing more on high end skill set and/or fixable flaws.
Maybe a guy has all the tools but is a poor skater (Jaime Benn) , maybe he has all the talent but is small (Gaudreau/Mangiapane), maybe it's a smooth skating d-man with questionable play in his own end (Brodie).
Those are the types of guys you should be focusing on in the later rounds - not guys who are just big for the sake of drafting big guys like Smith and Kanzig