Tod Button on Flames prospects

[sureLoss]

Tod Button on Flames prospects with Shane Malloy and Russ Cohen

tried to indicate when Malloy of Cohen's thoughts were injected into the interview

http://www.hockeyprospect.com/calgar...th-tod-button/

Emile Poirier:

• Malloy - reminds of Marty Gelinas - versatile player that has offense
• needs to learn consistency with being a professional hockey player
• has really good speed, needs to learn how to use that speed more consistently - not just only when he has a scoring chance
• had a good rookie year
• going into this year had a chance to make the team, but it doesn't hurt for him to go back
• missed a lot of time with his shoulder injury - came back from injury part way through season
• this will be his first full year in terms of going through training camp and going down to the American league
• have a lot of faith in development staff and coaches - Emile is on the right track
• Cohen - has a great hockey speed. great stick handling. he follows up on his shot which you don't see often in hockey
• Emile has the knack to get into the tough scoring areas and passionate energy to score - something they would like other prospects to emulate

Morgan Klimchuk:

• Malloy - was he a step behind in Penticton and pre-season?
• definitely think he will benefit being in the AHL
• progress has been stalled by injuries
• every time he seems to take that step, he would get injury, take another step, another injury
• not just one specific injury, but things that would sideline him for 4-6 weeks
• Morgan is very tough on himself - wants to be the perfect hockey player
• trying to get him out of that - telling him just play, play by your instincts
• hard to criticize a player that is so coachable
• sometime he is constantly trying to think about what he is supposed to do and where he is supposed to go and the instincts don't take over and he is not getting there
• going to be a great development and learning year for Klimchuk
• can play multiple positions, hard working, coachable, accountable, can shoot the puck
• doesn't need any work on intangibles
• just needs to free himself up and play the game
• he is like a Swiss army knife - can play multiple roles (e.g. kill penalties, checking line)
• end to end he has really good speed - this summer had him working on quickness and in zone speed (half-wall to in front of the net needs to be quicker)
• didn't expect him to be a NHL player in his first year pro
• aside from the injuries that have set him back a little bit, everything is on track with this kid

Hunter Smith:

• our projection on Hunter is that he will be a valuable bottom 6 forward in the NHL
• still needs time - needs to get up to speed and develop more physically
• want to build his base where he can contribute every shift
• not so much the foot speed holding him back but the pace of the game mentally
• was a late bloomer in junior and once he got up to speed mentally he got better and better and was able to keep up with a championship team
• Hunter doesn't score many goals from further than 8 or 10 feet
• he has good hands in tight and is a big package to handle once he gets there
• working on him getting down the ice so that he can get to those areas - but that will take time with physical development and maturity

Mason McDonald:

• improved steadily since we drafted him
• real calculating player - understands where he has to be and understand his position
• professional attitude - calm and poised - can never tell if he is rattled - speaks to his mentality and one of the things , along with his physical abilities, that attracted us to drafting him
• Cohen - movements are really smooth. is a workhorse
• Mason was so consistent with his upward trajectory that he took out some of the guess work that is really common with drafting goalies
• we are fortunate that we have other goalies ahead him
• biggest thing with Mason is he just needs to go out to play
• has a chance to play in the WJC for Canada
• got to make sure we have nets available for him
• Button suggests McDonald maybe playing in the ECHL next season to get a lot of starts - plenty of goalies started there
• need to be patient and need to realize goalies learning curve is longer than compared to other players

Rasmus Andersson:

• Malloy - played really well, played smart with and without the puck
• first watched him in Sweden when he was 15, but certainly opened up some eyes (of those who didn't know him) last year with his play
• worked really hard on his fitness levels and conditioning
• he understood where he was when we interviewed him, he understood where he was at development camp and where he was at training camp
• he has improved a lot but still a ways away before he is NHL condition
• he has the brains, the hands, and the poise
• biggest challenge is sending him back to junior and playing consistently and doing the stuff off the ice nutrition wise and fitness wise so he has that base going forward
• he is a big kid and sturdy on his skates
• only 6' big lower body that can hold off bigger and stronger players
• development crew will be all over him to make sure he doesn't cheat or take shortcuts on the ice because sometimes players will do that when they are better than their opponents

Oliver Kylington:

• Malloy - one of the most polarizing players in this draft class. clearly has wonderful skating ability and does things that some people only dream of.
• it wasn't take a chance on him and hope he becomes a NHL player
• we did our homework on him
• Bobby Hagelin (Swedish scout for Flames) did a lot of legwork
• we did a lot of background checking
• we knew the pitfalls in drafting Oliver
• we had 2 picks coming up that we used to trade up to pick Oliver - part of it was we really liked Oliver. The other part was that a couple of the guys we thought we would get with those picks were already gone.
• tremendous skater. good hands and good vision
• anyone will tell you he needs to work on defence
• if the kid is coachable. wants to put the work in, wants to learn, and recognize that this will take seasons and not weeks and monts - then we were willing to take that pick
• has tremendous upside
• trust Huska and Gill immensely with Oliver's development
• it is a skating game right now
• needs time to mature physically -needs to put on weight and keep it on
• trains with Johnny Odyua, Carl Hagelin, and Markus Krueger so has good role models
• kid is on track
• Malloy - reminds of Keith Yandle and his play in the QMJHL and how Yandle took a while to play without the puck
• he is very intriguing - confidence plays a big part
• Oliver is very confident with his abilities with the puck and skating
• he is really NOT confident when he has to outmuscle a guy or it becomes a 1 on 1 battle with a larger opponent
• *pharaphrasing* one of the things Bobby Hagelin had to parse out was whether Kylington really played bad defensively or just lacked the confidence to play with physicality
• if Gill and Huska can establish some fundamental basis - the physicality will come.
• put in a lot of work this summer and needs to do it the next couple of summers and hopefully one day he is a premier top defenceman and everyone will be wondering how he went at 60

[CroFlames]

I'm extremely impressed with Rasmus thus far and extremely excited about Kylington's potential.

Hopefully these two lads will one day form the middle pairing for the Flames.

[Imported_Aussie]

Klimchuk's description sounds like Frolik - guy who can play a number of roles, will have a fit in the "middle six" of a lineup. In a couple of seasons, he might be a handy utility guy in the lineup - may even end up playing with Frolik to model off of him.

Poirier, once he establishes consistency, is going to be a guy who thrives on this team. Skates well, follows up on his shot... imagine him and Bennett together? Add Gaudreau to open up the ice and find these guys as they burst into good positions...

As much as this season is not up to where we would like it, it is good to remember that this is a rebuild and there are some very intriguing prospects coming up.

[Strange Brew]

Thanks for the great update. I hear Malloy and Cohen on XM radio rather frequently. In general, it seems as though they like every prospect and think they will all make it. Always pointing to a NHL player comparable. So I have a hard time deciphering when they don't believe in a player and think he won't make an impact in the NHL.

Seems like their questions on Klimchuk were a little more pointed. Should we read into that?

[ClubFlames]

Surprised they didn't ask about Jankowski especially with the start he has had so far.

[Heavy Jack]

Love the write-up on Emile, I still have hopes he can be a good top 6 forward for us down the road, this season is a big year for him development wise and I am hoping he takes advantage of it. I have to say though it must be hard for the guys on the farm with the less games scheduled, they are waiting sometimes as much as 8 days in between games to start the season this year which is no doubt tough on the mental side of the game.

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by Imported_Aussie

Klimchuk's description sounds like Frolik - guy who can play a number of roles, will have a fit in the "middle six" of a lineup. In a couple of seasons, he might be a handy utility guy in the lineup - may even end up playing with Frolik to model off of him.

I think this is a very apt comparison.

[Camronius]

we're not trading any prospects

[N-E-B]

Originally Posted by ClubFlames

Surprised they didn't ask about Jankowski especially with the start he has had so far.

He's the Flames most underrated prospect IMO. I think he's the true #3 centre behind Monahan and Bennett. That could be a really really really good top 3.

[YYC in LAX]

How's Hickey looking? Before Andersson and Kylington were drafted he seemed to be regarded as our top D prospect.

Is the plan for him to finish university and develop there before potentially turning pro?

[devo22]

Originally Posted by YYC in LAX

How's Hickey looking? Before Andersson and Kylington were drafted he seemed to be regarded as our top D prospect.

Is the plan for him to finish university and develop there before potentially turning pro?

3 goals in 6 games so far. I'd be shocked if he played all 4 years of college ... if he keeps progressing, it's probably the same as with Gaudreau and Gillies - turn pro after 3 years.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

He's the Flames most underrated prospect IMO. I think he's the true #3 centre behind Monahan and Bennett. That could be a really really really good top 3.

I think Arnold will be duking it out with Jankowski for that #3 center position.

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

I think Arnold will be duking it out with Jankowski for that #3 center position.

I considered Arnold to be Stajan's successor and for Jankowski to supplant Backlund.

[Harry Lime]

Monahan - Bennett - Jankowski- Arnold is how you build a winning lineup through the centre position. Each player good enough to be pushing the player ahead of him, and no massive sudden dropoff.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

Monahan - Bennett - Jankowski- Arnold is how you build a winning lineup through the centre position. Each player good enough to be pushing the player ahead of him, and no massive sudden dropoff.

Although not a massive drop off, there is certainly a significant difference in quality from Monahan & Bennett to Jankowski & Arnold.

Which is by no means a terrible thing. You can't have 4 #1C in your lineup.