Quote:
Originally Posted by CF84
There seem to be many "1st line centers" available in the mind of fans, but if the scouts have any doubts about hockey sense and intelligence about certain players, I hope they stay far away even if they do fall to us. I don't know enough about the hockey sense of any of the top draftable centers, but I'm sure the scouting staff and people like Sandman have a well informed opinion. Hockey sense/intelligence is just something that can't easily be taught.
I'd pick a smart winger over a "#1" center or defenseman with questionable hockey sense any day. That's how you end up with Yakupov or Nurse.
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And if you look at most drafts, it’s really hard to get 1st line centers outside of the top 5 or 6. But it’s not that uncommon to get 1st line wingers or a top pairing defenseman outside of the top 5 within the top 20.
A team like the Flames that has holes pretty much everywhere shouldn’t be too picky. You need top end talent period to build a winner. If we already had blue chips prospects at wing or defence, then I can see reaching for a center, but right now there is too much to do to be that picky.