[united]

Same as the last two rounds and likely a few more rounds to come in Cole Huckins.

My main concern with Pettersen at this point is similar to that of Phillips: I'm not sure his offence is going to translate to the NHL level and his game doesn't offer enough elsewhere to make it as a role player. In his time with the University of Denver Pioneers, Pettersen scored 30 of his 65 points on the powerplay including 57% (20/35) last season. Yes, goals count whenever they are scored, however the point of the exercise is projecting future potential and production which is where the concern lies. For players who struggle to score at even strength but feast on the powerplay in the junior/college levels, what happens when they level up - or make the NHL - and no longer receive powerplay opportunities or see a significant reduction in time? If you can't dominate your peer group in lower levels at even strength, it is awfully tough to make it in the NHL, even as a specialist. This is the similar situation that encountered two similar-sized and profile players who did make it for a short period of time due to their skill but quickly found themselves replaced with better all-around players as they were ineffective without powerplay time: Stephane Da Costa and Linus Omark. There is no denying Pettersen's skill and in a tough transition from the the NCHC to the AHL I thought he had an okay season. I will be looking for a breakout offensive season this season or he's probably in tweener territory.

Spoiler!

With Poirier and Pospisil off the board, I had to mull over this one: a reliable defenceman already comfortable playing in the KHL, a two-way forward who missed the season, and a potential size-skill unicorn. I went with Cole Huckins but these three are fairly interchangeable to me at this point. Looks like I will be voting Huckins for some time.


Considered
Ilya Solovyov
Rory Kerins
Cole Huckins
Martin Pospisil
Emil Heineman
Adam Ruzicka
Yan Kuznetsov
Jeremie Poirier

Ilya Solovyov
An intriguing late bloomer, Ilya Solovyov arrived in central Michigan as an unheralded 19-year-old Belarusian where he quickly earned the trust of his coaches and teammates and saw his usage rapidly increased as the year progressed, ultimately dominating the OHL seemingly out of nowhere. Liking what they saw, the Flames took a smart gamble on the twice-passed over prospect and he rewarded the decision by moving to the second best league in the World, the KHL, and not looking out of place or outmatched at all. In fact, Solovyov exceeded the 20-minute mark in a handful of games this season while ultimately finishing with an average of just under 17 for the season - nothing to be scoffed at for a 20-year-old defenceman in the veteran-heavy KHL. Likewise, while 9 points in 41 games doesn't stand out, this is a 20-year-old in the low-scoring KHL and the Flames were quick to sign their recent draftee ahead of earlier 2020 draft picks even. As things stand, we don't have the sample size on Solovyov we have for most drafted players, but I liken him stylistically to another defenceman who was passed over twice in the draft before getting a chance and never looking back: Alec Martinez.

Ceiling: #4 defenceman (Style: Alec Martinez)
Probable: #6/7 defenceman or KHL
Floor: AHL washout

Rory Kerins
A prospect who, like many OHL players, found himself in an extremely difficult situation in a critical development year, Rory Kerins played just a four-game stint in the AHL giving us comparatively little information to go on: was his 2019-20 explosion an outlier or a sign of rapid improvement? Team Canada perhaps thought a little more of the latter as they extended an invitation to Kerins to attend their World Junior Summer Showcase which he accepted and attended three weeks ago here in Calgary alongside talent such as Cole Perfetti, Shane Wright, Brandt Clarke, Dylan Guenther, Seth Jarvis, Cole Sillinger, and others. Regardless, Kerins, in the theme of recent Flames' picks, is a bit "undersized" by metre stick but not playing style. Happy to drive to the home plate area, Kerins has developed an extremely heavy shot for any prospect, never mind one his size, and continually demonstrated an ability to beat OHL goalies from the mid to top of the circles, in addition to hammering one-timers from the right dot on the powerplay. An added benefit to the Kerins' game is his all-around ability as he centered all three units and was relayed upon to take late-game faceoffs by his coach. Again, hard to project missing a year of information, and factoring in he missed a critical year in development, but the average CHL forward sees a 55% increase in offensive production between 17.5 and 18.5 years of age, which, if assumed with Kerins, puts him on the same track as Ryan Francis and Jakob Pelletier. I think that has to be discounted somewhat as a year cannot be recovered, but regardless the Flames have a potential two-way C/W in the ever-growing ranks which is awesome.

Ceiling: C2
Probable: C4/tweener (Style: Jean-Gabriel Pageau)
Floor: AHL then Euro leagues

Cole Huckins
A scrappy player with a long professional hockey player lineage, Huckins is a forward who has played both centre and wing, but transitioned to mostly wing this season. The Fredricton native already possesses a large frame despite turning 18 years old in May. I don't see him filling out into the thicc Tom Wilson/Ryan Reaves/Milan Lucic build, but he is certainly a rangy player who will likely play pro with the size of players like Vincent Lecavalier, Chris Kreider, Alex Barkov, Tomas Hertl, to name a few. Demonstrating hands unexpected for his size, like fellow Flames 2021 draftee, William Stromgren, Cole Huckins brings the coveted blend of functional size but adds an element of toughness as well, and thrives when crowding the paint in front of the opposition's net where he is able to cause mayhem while simultaneously cleaning up the garbage. Though a player with a decent hockey IQ in all three zones, Huckins isn't beyond undisciplined moments leading to penalty issues, not dissimilar to those experienced by two of his cousins, Ryan and Brad Malone, but not even remotely comparable to the next prospect in my brief.

Ceiling: 2nd-line winger
Probable: 4th-line winger (Style: Scott Hartnell)
Floor: AHL agitator