Your profiles really help keep this thread alive Sandman. Keep it coming please! I look forward to reading a lot of them again right before the draft, and then right after the picks are made. Your fantastic work is highly appreciated!
As for the Tij talk - I would take him in the top 10 of this draft even if Jarome never played in Calgary. I would bet that he ends up more like Mathew and Brady as compared to the their Dad, then Brendan Lemieux is to his. Nobody really knows for years after the pick is made, but I would bet that he has that same drive. Kid certainly can score goals.
The most important thing for the Flames is to acquire as many franchise-level players period. Sure, centers and top pairing defencemen are more important than wingers, but Iginla was often more of a difference maker here in Calgary than a lot of #1 centres were on some teams. Draft the BPA, but as part of the figuring out who the best player is, intangibles in a kid like Iginla do help. Flames are likely to have a few kicks at the can at the top end of the draft.
Also, wingers are typically less important than defencemen, but boy are some high-picked defencemen just underwhelming. Even when they do make it, they often somehow are more disappointing. For instance, I love Hanifin - he is a great minute-muncher out there that gave the Flames plenty of mistake-free minutes. He was picked 5th. Who here would still pick him ahead of these wingers from the same draft:
Rantanen (10th)
Aho (35th)
Connor (17th)
Konecny (24th)
Kaprizov (135th)
However, I do pick Hanifin over many centres that were picked high that draft as well, like:
Zacha (6th)
Strome (3rd)
Eriksson Ek (20)
Roslovic (25)
I also think that Hanifin is the best defencemen out of his draft class. Werenski is the only guy that I think about trading Hanifin for (i mean, if Hanifin was still Calgary's player). Chabot (10th) was the run-away best D-man for a while out of that draft, but his injuries have hurt him. Dunn and Provorov are both really good, but Hanifin is better.
I think the biggest weakness in the Flames' organization is in centre, then on defence (even with the recent additions, a 'blue chip can't miss #1' seems to still be missing, with some possibilities of that being filled by Morin, Poirier or Brzustevicz internally, albeit lots has to go right for that to happen), then on wing, with arguably the strongest being in net (the only really legitimate 'superstar potential' being in the organization, as well as good depth in the position).
However, I never think that a team should draft by position, but instead, should always draft BPA. Calgary needs franchise players, and if Tij is the most likely superstar (or tied) then draft him without even thinking about it. I bet he has a lot of his old man's intangibles.
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