[GranteedEV]

I actually think Flames fans are justified in saying our prospect pool is stacked. I mean since 2007 we've gotten pretty damn good value once from at least every draft (#2 Shutdown C in Backlund @24, #1 Defenseman in Brodie @ 110, 2nd line Power Winger in Ferland at #133, #1 star winger in Gaudreau at #104 [Brossoit/Granlund/Wotherspoon/Baertschi are all turning out pretty decently too]).

We had a legitimately bad prospect pool before Sutter implemented a philosophy based around skill and intelligence but since then, who can argue with the actual results?

2012 is looking like another draft where we got much higher value than draft position in both Kulak and Jankowski. 2013 might be a bad draft but you can't argue with Monahan's success as a #6 overall. 2014 might also be a bad draft but Hickey and AOM could both be decent bottom pair guys which for their draft position would still be a win. 2015 and 2016 are looking like two of the best drafts in franchise history, but only time will tell.

We've also signed some free agent prospects who are looking like possibly notably impactful NHLers (Hathaway/Pribyl/Rittich), without being New York, Chicago, or Toronto. Doesn't mean we're swimming in future first liners, but the breadth and depth of our prospect pool is by far something Flames fans should feel proud about, even with Monahan, Tkachuk, and Bennett making the jump to the NHL right after their drafts.