It’s interesting how spread out the votes are at this point. Honestly, I don’t think anybody can say they’ve intently watched the majority of these players in the last few years. You never know who is going to be the next Jooris.
Rafikov is the most intriguing guy on this list to me. It looks like he finally established himself in the KHL last year. If I understand correctly, the Flames have his rights until he is 27. At some point, Brodie/Stone/Hamonic will move on. It is a pipe dream, but getting Rafikov on a cheap 1 year deal might be a good value stopgap for the Flames at that time.
The odds of him ever coming over to the NHL are slim, but if he does continue to develop, I think his value to the Flames is higher than anyone else left on the list.
|