Quote:
Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald
I'm selling Lekkerimaki and Willander short? Or is it possibly you overrating them, just like you're overrating Brzustewicz? If these three kids were the A to A+ prospects, as some have suggested, the Canucks would have one of the best prospect pools in the league. Three A to A+ players in their stable? How could they be ranked anywhere from 16 to 22 in organizational rankings? That doesn't make sense. That tells me the best of the bunch are not bluechip prospects (A+) and fall well below that. The Hockey Writers mid season rankings has Lekkerimaki at 25, which is hardly bluechip range. Wallinder is at 40, sandwiched between the Flames Matt Coronato and Samuel Honzek, who are clearly a B level prospects. Brzustewicz is at 55 with Conor Geekie and Easton Cowan, who are B level prospects.
There is nothing wrong with being a B level prospect. You get some good NHL players out of B level prospects and Brzustewicz being a B level prospect while being drafted in the third round is a good thing. As I've said repeatedly in the lead up to the deadline, I'll take all the B level prospects I can get right now as they will fill out the lineup and make the organization immediately better. Those are quality bullets in the chamber, now the team just has to make sure the bullet fires and hits the target.
One last comment, and this is strictly on the power of recency bias creeping into the discussion. Hardly anyone on this site had heard of Brzustewicz before the trade happened. Never mentioned in possible targets, never brought up as a dark horse prospect to be included, not even talked about as prospects to watch coming up. He wasn't on the radar at all. But now that he appears to be the centerpiece in the deal he's being quickly elevated to levels never considered before. If the player was not at that level prior to being a Flame he is not going to magically elevate his game to new heights because he is now in our stable. A player is what he is regardless of the team who owns his rights. Brzustewicz was a "good" prospect as a member of the Canucks and remains a "good" prospect as a member of the Flames. Nothing has changed except his name has been in print more in the last 12 hours than the rest of his life combined. He's going to look really good in the system next to Morin and Poirier as our offensive defensemen prospects.
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I think that this is a good nuanced assessment. I honestly think that he may be a good player but realistically how many times have we seen a player who performed fantastically in juniors fail to make a dent in the NHL because those small flaws in their games are exploited at a higher level. H is trending in the right direction and this is a solid bet by the Flames in turning an expiring asset into 5 assets.
Both teams got exactly what they wanted out of this trade and exactly what they needed. The Canucks have a very unexpected window that they can push for and the Flames have had their window slam shut in the past 2 years and thankfully have taken the approach of rebuilding. The more shots/prospects that they have the greater the chance of success.
I honestly think that this is an exciting time to be a Flames fan.