I think the Flames did really well here today. The prospects selected seem to have high-upside. Time will tell if they become NHLer's, and if so, what their impact will be, but for today, it is hard not to feel good about it overall.
Fallers and risers are always tricky. This is an 18 year old draft, not a 22 year old draft. There is just a much higher degree of uncertainty. I think it is probably more interesting to figure out why some of the prospects were taken ahead of where they were ranked, and why some were taken after. Then wait and see if the answers hold up.
I graded the draft an A. The only disappointment (outside of not drafting Tij), was Conroy not making a move to acquire a bad cap hit with sweeteners, but I am sure that this is coming soon. Calgary really has to weaponize this cap space. There are franchise players to be found throughout the draft, as well as high-end support players. Yes, rare, but the more bullets, the better. It also allows Calgary to move up in the drafts better when you have a deep prospect base. Calgary is very deep now on defence and in net. Just need to build the forwards now (especially centres) starting next draft.
This was excellent.
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