Quote:
Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus
What is this fascination with dreaming that the latest shiny toy in the closet can step in and dominate right away?
There is almost no chance Foo is ready to play 82 games at a higher level than the seasoned pro prospects in the Flames system like Klimchuk, Jankowski, Poirier or even a FA legend like Jagr. At least with these guys you know they have the system down and have a much better chance of standing up to the rigors of the pro game this year.
To top it off Foo would have to beat out these prospects in addition to proven NHL bodies like Ferland, Frolik, Versteeg, possibly Tkachuk for top 9 duty on the wing. Not gonna happen.
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I think its unlikely Foo makes the team as well. However we should acknowledge he's older than Klimchuk, Janko and Poirier and thus arguably more developed than some of them. Good prospects coming out of 3-4 year college careers often step in right away or fairly quickly. Chris Drury did, Steven Reinprecht did, Jordan Leopold did. Not saying he's those guys but there's a lot of precedent for college players to step in more quickly than guys coming out of junior. Jankowski obviously is more NHL ready as he's done a full 4 years of college and a year of pro so even though he's younger than Foo I'd have him as more NHL ready. But Klimchuk and Poirier? Klimchuk has missed a ton of time in the past few years due to injury. Poirier missed part of last season and has struggled. I'd say Foo is way more NHL ready than either of those guys.
Guys who should be NHL ready? Jankowski, Hathaway, Kulak, Wotherspoon
Guys who may compete? Foo, Andersson
That's how I see it.