Brock Otten reviews the Flames' OHL prospects

[sureLoss]

as always a good write up from a guy who watches a lot of OHL hockey

reviews Tkachuk, Mangiapane, Andersson, Parsons, Falkovsky, and Bruce

http://ohlprospects.blogspot.ca/2016...ry-flames.html

Interesting points:

• if he had to bet on it: Tkachuk will likely need another year in the OHL but that can change if Tkachuk puts a lot of work in during the summer
• can see Mangiapane put up 50 pts in Stockton this year
• has concerns if Andersson's game will translate at the pro level
• thinks Parsons is the front runner for OHL goaltender of the year and starter for team USA at the WJC
• if Falkovsky doesn't go pro, he will be a top 4 defender and anchor the PP for Ottawa
• Bruce still needs to improve in all areas to earn a NHL contract

[1qqaaz]

He seemed to be pretty cold on Andersson. Assuming his list was in order, he thinks Mangiapane is the better prospect. Interesting stuff.

It was also interesting to read about Falkovsky. With his stats/size, I wouldn't have guessed that he was a healthy scratch. I'm just glad that he has decent skating. Hopefully he can continue to improve.

[Vulcan]

Here's he's commenting on Andersson, where everyone was up in arms about.

I think the biggest step forward I saw Andersson make this year was in conditioning and I know from talking to people, he worked really hard to get his weight down and get in better shape. This was noticeable on the ice as he was more consistently involved in the play and was able to eat up greater minutes more effectively.

I guess his conditioning still isn't up to par but it looks like he's improving.

[oldschoolcalgary]

great stuff... really interesting.

Excited to hear that Mangiapane has evolved to being a premier skater... kid might turn out to be a huge steal if he continues to develop.

a little surprised about Andersson being middling in his evaluation... hopefully, he will also continue to get better and learn that getting to the pros will take a lot of work.

[Bingo]

^and I think that's key

no matter what you think of his projection he won't get there if he doesn't get in shape. So he may be right about his game and he isn't an NHL player, or others may be right and it's a good sign that he's getting in shape.

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Here's he's commenting on Andersson, where everyone was up in arms about.



I guess his conditioning still isn't up to par but it looks like he's improving.

I think anyone expecting him to completely turn it around in a calendar year was fooling themselves. I was pretty surprised the flack this guy took for development camp considering he hadn't played in months and everyone knew this was an issue when we drafted him.

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by Fire of the Phoenix

I think anyone expecting him to completely turn it around in a calendar year was fooling themselves. I was pretty surprised the flack this guy took for development camp considering he hadn't played in months and everyone knew this was an issue when we drafted him.

I think most people were willing to give him a pass on it until Treliving publicly stated he need to talk to Andersson about conditioning after camp ended.

[JTech780]

My biggest issue with Andersson is that for an offensive player he doesn't have that dynamic-ness in any part of his game. He is strong on his skates but he doesn't have that explosiveness to his stride that will allow him to be a puck rusher at the next level.

That's why I have Kylington and Hickey ahead of Andersson, their skating will allow them to skate the puck out of danger Andersson will always be looking for that outlet pass even if it isn't there.

[timbit]

I believe Andersson has some major improvement areas that will be strong determinants in whether he will be a successful NHLer or not.

Specifically, his foot speed related to acceleration, agility and mobility.
He is a long ways behind Hickey and Kylington in these areas.
His lack of conditioning accentuates the problems.

( I see JTech has identified some of the same issues)

[Strange Brew]

Encouraging analysis for Mangiapane. Stockton needs some prospects to emerge and begin to build a pipeline. That would be great for the franchise.

Rather sobering analysis for Andersson. Conditioning is a big issue for him but sound like he has parts of his game to work on too.

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

I think most people were willing to give him a pass on it until Treliving publicly stated he need to talk to Andersson about conditioning after camp ended.

All part of the process

[AltaGuy]

I still think Andersson is our best D prospect. While the other two are much better skaters (miles), I think Andersson's "hockey IQ" is miles better than either.

[timbit]

Originally Posted by AltaGuy

I still think Andersson is our best D prospect. While the other two are much better skaters (miles), I think Andersson's "hockey IQ" is miles better than either.

IMO, between the three D, the gap in processing the play offensively and execution wise is narrow, with Andersson and Kylington leading at this point
Defensively, Hickey is tactically and processing- wise , head and shoulders above the other two.
Hickey and Kylington are exceptional skaters.
Andersson is an average skater.
Average skaters have a very difficult path to being top pairing or second pairing D.

[Badgers Nose]

I'm not sure what people were smoking when voting on the prospect polls. Mangiapane should have been a few spots higher.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

I'm not sure what people were smoking when voting on the prospect polls. Mangiapane should have been a few spots higher.

If you look at guys who were voted higher they mostly had pro experience or were drafted higher or both.

[Rick M.]

Also, Mangiapane didn't take part in development camp due to injury.

[Roughneck]

Once Andersson hits the AHL the best thing to happen to him will probably be to struggle. He's clearly got top tier skill and hockey smarts which makes the CHL pretty easy for him. I think getting pushed around and left behind is the kind of kick in the ass he'd need to show his skill and smarts alone won't make him succeed at the pro level and help kick that conditioning into another gear. That 'some improvement' against CHL competition just isn't good enough against pros, minor league or otherwise.

[Point Blank]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

I'm not sure what people were smoking when voting on the prospect polls. Mangiapane should have been a few spots higher.

Yeah I did a whole lot of smoking to have a different opinion than yours