Watching Bedard tonight he definitely looks like the lock for the Calder but I have really liked what I have seen from Zary. If he keeps up this scoring rate, he should be the runner-up IMO.
Exciting to look at the flames prospects and young guys these days. Zary is looking like a legit top six forward already at this point. Coronato looks like he could be a top six forward in the NHL as early as later this season. Pelletier is poised to be a great two-way middle six player. Klapka could end up being a physical, impact power forward in the middle of the lineup similar to Ferland. Honzek has not missed a step in the WHL since coming back from injury. Also great that all these guys have been developed to be two-way players. I think that can be a big difference-maker when trying to rebuild and be competitive within 3-4 years instead of 5-7 years.
I think the flames have made smart moves focusing on hockey IQ in their draft picks in recent years… it seems to be translating really well into NHLers that can contribute. I know the development of young players is rarely linear and there will be ups and downs for all of them… but it’s exciting to imagine these guys developing into their projected players in a couple seasons. Two-three years from now, the flames top powerplay unit could be:
Honzek-Zary-Coronato
Poirier-Sharongovich
And who knows what other great prospects the team gets from this draft from the Lindholm/hanifin/tanev trades!
|