Who’s on First?

[Jay Random]

Since we already have a What thread, a Why, and a couple of Wheres, it seems only logical that we should have a Who to round out the 5 W’s. (I was taught by MAD Magazine that the 5 W’s of journalism are Wine, Women, Welshing, Wasting, and Woolgathering. Sounds legit.)

No, this is not about Abbott and Costello skits, despite the title. I have a question for everyone:

If you could take any player with the Flames’ first pick in the draft, but NOT McKenna, who would you choose? I think it would be interesting to open up the discussion, as there’s a significant chance the Flames draft 2nd, 3rd, or 4th overall.

I’m leaning towards Ivar Stenberg, who’s doing things in the SHL that no kid his age has done before. Yes, he’s a winger, but I get the feeling he’ll have no difficulty translating his game to the NHL, which is the current question about McKenna.

What do you all think?

[EVERLAST]

Ditto

[Macho0978]

I would not be surprised if Stenberg goes ahead of McKenna. He would be my choice after McKenna though.

I also think Verhoeff would be a good pick. Come playoff time, I think he could be the most valuable of the 3.

[Robbob]

I have not seen Stenberg at all so I am looking forward to the WJC. I think think draft is critical for the Flames to add a dynamic forward to the prospect pool. From all accounts it looks like he fits that bill.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Tynan Lawrence.

Flames will not be picking Top Five... because that's just the way it goes.

[serratedmuffin]

Lawrence or Verhoeff. A top dman can carry a team to a finals but this team hasn't had a number 1 center in a long time and I think it's easier to find strong dmen later in the draft. If it's between a 100 point winger and an 85 point center, I'm taking the center even if that's wrong as the Flames have done the winger thing multiple times without success.

[Rejean31]

I think I would go with the hulking 6'4 defenceman Verhoeff. Think a slightly more offensive minded Robyn Regehr.

[SuperMatt18]

My generally theory on the importance of building a team is C > D > W.

It just happens to be that I think the two most impactful players that have the chance of being true elite talents are wingers in McKenna and Stenberg.

So even though I think it's the least valuable position, I think this team really needs elite offensive talent, so those two go to the top.

After that though I think it becomes a bit of a toss up between Verhoeff and Lawrence. My heart wants the offensive center, but my head says you can't pass up the 6'4" Dman that is an all-round d-man already. But I also worry that his size is causing him to be overrated a bit.

I feel like if you look at top 5 picks in the salary cap era that big d-men tend to be the the most consistent trend where teams get a good player, but not a true difference maker.

Looking at guys that were 6'2"+ and taken top 5.

Erik Johnson
Alzner
Bogosian
Pietrangelo
Schenn
Hedman
Gudbranson
Adam Larsson
Griffin Reinhart
Seth Jones
Ekblad
Hanifin
Juolevi
Heiskanen
Dahlin
Sanderson
Power
Luke Hughes
Reinbacher
Levshunov
Schaefer

You hope you get a Hedman or Heiskanen type, but those guys tended to combine size with the elite offensive talent at the draft too.

So if you're taking Verhoeff you have to make sure you're sold on the complete package of his skating and offensive skill too, and don't just end up getting a big defensive d-man.

[Jiri Hrdina]

I waffle between Lawrence and Stenberg.
I think Stenberg will be an elite winger in the NHL, like a Rantanen.
But Lawrence is a great complete center. And as I've said, I think you can carve an identity around he and Reschney up the middle (if they both develop well). Neither will be at the top of the scoring race, but that'll be a tough team to play every night.

I think right now I might lean more to Lawrence.

[YyjFlames]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

My generally theory on the importance of building a team is C > D > W.

It just happens to me that I think the two most impactful players that have the chance of being true elite talents are wingers in McKenna and Stenberg.

So even though I think it's the least valuable position, I think this team really needs elite offensive talent, so those two go to the top.

After that though I think it becomes a bit of a toss up between Verhoeff and Lawrence. My heart wants the offensive center, but my head says you can't pass up the 6'4" Dman that is an all-round d-man already. But I also worry that his size is causing him to be overrated a bit.

I feel like if you look at top 5 picks in the salary cap era that big d-men tend to be the the most consistent trend where teams get a good player, but not a true difference maker.

Looking at guys that were 6'2"+ and taken top 5.

Erik Johnson
Alzner
Bogosian
Pietrangelo
Schenn
Hedman
Gudbranson
Adam Larsson
Griffin Reinhart
Seth Jones
Ekblad
Hanifin
Juolevi
Heiskanen
Dahlin
Sanderson
Power
Luke Hughes
Reinbacher
Levshunov
Schaefer

You hope you get a Hedman or Heiskanen type, but those guys tended to combine size with the elite offensive talent at the draft too.

So if you're taking Verhoeff you have to make sure you're sold on the complete package of his skating and offensive skill too, and don't just end up getting a big defensive d-man.

Good post. Agree with you. McKenna and Stenberg have the skill to be absolute game breaker superstars. I feel McKenna 1 and Stenberg 2 on talent.

Verhoeff is going to be an NHL defender, and I think having him come in with Reschny could be good for both of them, so I can see the love for him, but defence is a low need for the prospect base.

Lawrence is starting to really grow on me. Having a couple of skilled, two-way responsible team-focused centres in him and Reschny centreing the top two lines into the next competitive window could be incredible. The team also has a bunch of winger prospects that could really break out with skilled centres like them.

So surprisingly as I think about it, I think it's Lawrence right now for me at 2.

[Tbull8]

Stenberg
Lawrence
Verhoeff

in that order

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I waffle between Lawrence and Stenberg.
I think Stenberg will be an elite winger in the NHL, like a Rantanen.
But Lawrence is a great complete center. And as I've said, I think you can carve an identity around he and Reschney up the middle (if they both develop well). Neither will be at the top of the scoring race, but that'll be a tough team to play every night.

I think right now I might lean more to Lawrence.

I like the thoughts around building identity. Offence costs money and makes managing the cap much harder. Florida has an advantage of no state tax, but they also have built a team around players that do more than score and in some cases their strength is the defensive game over their offensive game.

I would be ok with Lawrence as well and it will be very interesting to see what happens with teams drafting 2nd through 4th OV.