Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - 2016-17 Flames' NCAA Prospects, General Discussion Thread

getbak · 09-28-2016, 08:57 AM

The NCAA Hockey season kicks off this weekend with numerous teams playing Exhibition games and even a few regular season games.

The Flames saw most of their College prospects graduate last season, but a couple of new draft picks have been added to the ranks.

Mark Jankowski grew into his game over the last four seasons at Providence and signed with the Flames at the completion of Providence's season. Now he's making a push to debut with the Flames in a couple of weeks.
Jankowski's Providence teammate, John Gilmour also graduated but the Flames chose to not offer him a contract. He signed his ELC this summer with the Rangers.
Matt DeBlouw had an inconsistent College career and was also not offered a contract by the Flames. He signed an ECHL contract with the Wichita Thunder (Ottawa's affiliate) in August.

But enough about the guys who are no longer in College, let's look at the ones who are...

BRANDON HICKEY (3rd Round, 64th overall in 2014) | Defence | Boston University (JR)

After a strong freshman season, Hickey struggled a bit last year, as did his whole team.

BU is expected to be much improved this season with the addition of some high-ranked prospects and the continued growth of established players like Hickey. The Terriers had 4 committed players drafted in the first round of the NHL Draft in June: Clayton Keller (7 - ARI), Charlie McAvoy (14 - BOS), Dante Fabbro (17 - NSH), and Kieffer Bellows (19 - NYI).

In the USCHO.com preseason poll, BU was ranked 4th overall. BU was also ranked First in the HockeyEast coaches poll, receiving 10 of 12 first place votes.

Yesterday, the Terriers announced a deal that will see all of their home games streamed live worldwide for free this season. That will be a great chance to follow Hickey's progress through the season.

The Terriers have their first Exhibition game this Saturday night against the University of PEI. Their regular season schedule kicks off next Saturday night (Oct 8) on the road against Colgate.

http://www.goterriers.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey

TIM HARRISON (6th Round, 157th overall in 2013) | RW | Colgate University (SR)

Harrison has shown steady, if unspectacular, progress through the first three seasons of his College career. He's a big body forward with some offensive upside. He will wear an "A" for Colgate this season.

Colgate was unranked in the USCHO.com preseason poll. Their top-four point leaders from last season have all graduated, so this might be an opportunity for Harrison to move into a bigger scoring role with the team. Harrison is the only NHL drafted player on their roster.

The Raiders start their regular season schedule this Saturday night, as they open a brand new arena against the US Army.

http://gocolgateraiders.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhock

ADAM FOX (3rd Round, 66th overall in 2016) | D | Harvard University (FR)

Fox makes the move to the NCAA after a solid couple of seasons in the US National Development Program. Last season, Fox was a member of the US Under 18 team that won a bronze at the World U18 Championships. He was named to the Tournament All-Star team and the Tournament's Best Defenceman.

Harvard has a lot of Defencemen on their team, so I'm not sure how much ice time Fox can expect to see as a Freshman. He is one of only three NHL-drafted Defencemen on the roster.

Harvard plays an Exhibition game against Fox's former team, the USNDTP U18 team, next Saturday night. Their regular season schedule doesn't begin for another month. On October 28 & 29, they play a two game set at Arizona State.

Harvard was ranked 12th in the USCHO.com preseason poll.

http://gocrimson.com/sports/mice/2016-17/schedule

MITCHELL MATTSON (5th Round, 126th overall in 2016) | C | Bloomington Thunder (USHL 2016) / UND - 2017

Mattson is going back to the USHL for one more season and is committed to the University of North Dakota for next year. This opens the door for a Justin Schultz style UFA ploy in the summer of 2020, but there's a long way to go before that point. He'll have to show that he's even worth an NHL contract long before that. He had 2 goals in 21 games in the USHL last season.

North Dakota is one of the top programs in the NCAA, and are currently the defending NCAA Champions. When Mattson finally makes his move to College, he should be in good hands.

09-28-2016, 08:57 AM	#1
getbak Franchise Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Calgary, AB Exp:	2016-17 Flames' NCAA Prospects, General Discussion Thread The NCAA Hockey season kicks off this weekend with numerous teams playing Exhibition games and even a few regular season games. The Flames saw most of their College prospects graduate last season, but a couple of new draft picks have been added to the ranks. Mark Jankowski grew into his game over the last four seasons at Providence and signed with the Flames at the completion of Providence's season. Now he's making a push to debut with the Flames in a couple of weeks. Jankowski's Providence teammate, John Gilmour also graduated but the Flames chose to not offer him a contract. He signed his ELC this summer with the Rangers. Matt DeBlouw had an inconsistent College career and was also not offered a contract by the Flames. He signed an ECHL contract with the Wichita Thunder (Ottawa's affiliate) in August. But enough about the guys who are no longer in College, let's look at the ones who are... BRANDON HICKEY (3rd Round, 64th overall in 2014) \| Defence \| Boston University (JR) After a strong freshman season, Hickey struggled a bit last year, as did his whole team. BU is expected to be much improved this season with the addition of some high-ranked prospects and the continued growth of established players like Hickey. The Terriers had 4 committed players drafted in the first round of the NHL Draft in June: Clayton Keller (7 - ARI), Charlie McAvoy (14 - BOS), Dante Fabbro (17 - NSH), and Kieffer Bellows (19 - NYI). In the USCHO.com preseason poll, BU was ranked 4th overall. BU was also ranked First in the HockeyEast coaches poll, receiving 10 of 12 first place votes. Yesterday, the Terriers announced a deal that will see all of their home games streamed live worldwide for free this season. That will be a great chance to follow Hickey's progress through the season. The Terriers have their first Exhibition game this Saturday night against the University of PEI. Their regular season schedule kicks off next Saturday night (Oct 8) on the road against Colgate. http://www.goterriers.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey TIM HARRISON (6th Round, 157th overall in 2013) \| RW \| Colgate University (SR) Harrison has shown steady, if unspectacular, progress through the first three seasons of his College career. He's a big body forward with some offensive upside. He will wear an "A" for Colgate this season. Colgate was unranked in the USCHO.com preseason poll. Their top-four point leaders from last season have all graduated, so this might be an opportunity for Harrison to move into a bigger scoring role with the team. Harrison is the only NHL drafted player on their roster. The Raiders start their regular season schedule this Saturday night, as they open a brand new arena against the US Army. http://gocolgateraiders.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhock ADAM FOX (3rd Round, 66th overall in 2016) \| D \| Harvard University (FR) Fox makes the move to the NCAA after a solid couple of seasons in the US National Development Program. Last season, Fox was a member of the US Under 18 team that won a bronze at the World U18 Championships. He was named to the Tournament All-Star team and the Tournament's Best Defenceman. Harvard has a lot of Defencemen on their team, so I'm not sure how much ice time Fox can expect to see as a Freshman. He is one of only three NHL-drafted Defencemen on the roster. Harvard plays an Exhibition game against Fox's former team, the USNDTP U18 team, next Saturday night. Their regular season schedule doesn't begin for another month. On October 28 & 29, they play a two game set at Arizona State. Harvard was ranked 12th in the USCHO.com preseason poll. http://gocrimson.com/sports/mice/2016-17/schedule MITCHELL MATTSON (5th Round, 126th overall in 2016) \| C \| Bloomington Thunder (USHL 2016) / UND - 2017 Mattson is going back to the USHL for one more season and is committed to the University of North Dakota for next year. This opens the door for a Justin Schultz style UFA ploy in the summer of 2020, but there's a long way to go before that point. He'll have to show that he's even worth an NHL contract long before that. He had 2 goals in 21 games in the USHL last season. North Dakota is one of the top programs in the NCAA, and are currently the defending NCAA Champions. When Mattson finally makes his move to College, he should be in good hands. __________________ Turn up the good, turn down the suck!