Quote:
Originally Posted by TheScorpion
But the thing is, the bigger skaters the Flames drafted in 2021 are the ones who look the worst... Stromgren, Huckins, Whynot, Jordan, and Ciona all had really lacklustre D+1s (to say the least), significantly worse than Francis'. Whereas Coronato and Beck both look great.
Wouldn't be surprised if the Flames end up signing only three of their 2021 draft picks: the two small guys, and Sergeev. The others, like Francis, don't look like they're good enough. But the Flames' success rate has been much higher with smaller, skilled players.
I'm not saying Francis is a difference-maker but I think the Flames' past drafting methodology didn't need to change. The Flames were notorious for drafting big, low-upside players from ~2000–2014 and they were one of the league's worst drafting teams.
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You are right, if you draft JUST for size, you'll fail every time-we all remember the Sutter years when we seemingly looked for grit and size only. There's so much speed and skill in the game these days that you should be trying to find players that fill that description,however-as long as it stays a contact sport, size, toughness, and grit will be important, especially in the playoffs. Those are attributes that contending teams always look to improve at the deadline.
Of the players you mention from the 2021 draft, I would say that a few of them have had a bad rap. Stromgren was one of the youngest players of that draft (he turns 19 in June)and was affected by his move to a different organization. He's still top-10 in our prospect pool IMO. Huckins had 25 pts in 28 games before he was banished from his team (which in itself might make him a bust), and I'm waiting to see what's going on with Whynot and Jordan-IMO, both are better than what they showed this year. Both might need a change of scenery. All of these guys, though, can skate (albeit Huckins needs work), and they have some skill. Ciona was a head-scratcher for me, but time will tell with all of them.