Hypothetical: Reinhart or Ekblad?

[devo22]

Obviously we're still very early in the season and given how poor some Eastern teams are, it's far from a sure thing that the Flames will end up at rock bottom this season. A lot can happen between now and June 27, and I don't want us to turn into the bunch up there where draft day has become the most important day of the year, but this one is an interesting question to me nevertheless: let's pretend the Flames are up in the draft and both Sam Reinhart and Aaron Ekblad are available. Who do you take?

THE CASE FOR SAM REINHART

Kootenay Ice (WHL)
Center -- shoots R
Nov 6 1995 -- Vancouver, BC
6'1'' -- 186 lbs
2013-14 stats: 28 GP, 15 G + 30 A = 45 P

My gut feeling tells me that if you have to choose between a forward and a defenseman, especially that early in the draft, it's better to go with the forward ... although I'm not so sure when I see a guy like Seth Jones log over 23 minutes a game as a rookie. If you choose the forward, it's going to be Sam Reinhart. Youngest son of Paul Reinhart and brother of Max and Griffin, Sam could very well turn out to be the best of the brothers. Skill, hockey IQ, good 200 ft game - even if he isn't necessarily a surefire 1st line center in the NHL, Reinhart checks a lot of boxes in terms of what you want a top 6 center to be. The idea of having Monahan and Reinhart as a 1-2 punch down the middle is really intriguing and with some other promosing center prospects like Jankowski in the system, the Flames would be set down the middle for years.

THE CASE FOR AARON EKBLAD

Barrie Colts (OHL)
Defense -- shoots R
Born Feb 7 1996 -- Belle River, ONT
6'5'' -- 216 lbs
2013-14 stats: 24 GP, 8 G + 13 A = 21 P

Even if you buy into the "forward first" mentality, it's hard to turn down the opportunity to add a defenseman like Ekblad. A mobile defenseman with offensive skills who can play in all situations, and is already 6'5'' and 216? Hell yes. Granted exceptional status to join the OHL earlier, he excelled at that level and even found another gear in the playoffs (7 goals and 17 points in 22 games last season). What makes Ekblad even more interesting for me as a Flames fan is the fact that our prospect system lacks a defenseman with real 1st pairing potential, and drafting Ekblad would improve the Flames tremendously in that regard. Add to the fact that the Flames barely have any right-shooting defensemen and you have a really good case of choosing Ekblad.

Sooo ... based on what they hopefully bring to the table and where the Flames are right now, who do you take?

[Iniggywetrust]

I think the Flames have to go defense this year. It can take so long for a defenseman to develop into a top tier player in this league. The sooner we take one, the sooner they can make an impact. I thought they made a mistake taking three forwards last year. We need blue chip D prospects, otherwise we end up as the Oilers. If Ekblad is that guy who can defend, run a powerplay, and make a good first pass, you take him.

[Heavy Jack]

You do what Edmonton wouldn't do and draft Ekblad. All the way.

[killer_carlson]

While I really, really like Ekblad, I am keen on the idea of getting a second Reinhart and trading for the third from the NYI. I think these kids have good heads on their shoulders and a good idea of what it would take to become a pro. I see them as high upside with great leadership capabilities.

My vote is for Reinhart, but you can't go wrong with either.

[Vinny01]

Put me in the Ekblad camp. I would be okay with Reinhart as well considering we don't have a lot of right handed shots in the system. The only way you get defensemenn like Ekblad is drafting them and his size and 2way ability makes him worth it. We have Monahan and now we need our stud Dman

[neo45]

Reinhart. Build up the middle

[getbak]

Part of me wants to collect the whole set of Paul's kids, grab Sam and swing a deal with the Islanders to get Griffin too.

Then I see a picture like this...

...and I think that a kid who looks like that 3 months after his 17th birthday probably isn't 5 years away from being an impact player like a lot of d-men are.

[Heavy Jack]

The Flames have enough good young forwards who they have a lot of stock and investment in like Monahan, like Baertschi, like Gaudreau, like Jankowski etc. That we need to start looking at top-end guys who help keep the puck out. I want us to draft Ekblad more than I wanted us to draft Monahan. Here's hoping!

[djsFlames]

Reinhart looks good, don't get me wrong. But he doesn't look exceptional. By that I mean on the same level as the top 3 forwards picked last draft. He looks like he could be on the same tier as Monahan when he was drafted (although Monahan looks like he could possibly exceed his own projections - a 2-way 2nd line C - that were set then). To me, potential 1st line forwards and 1st pairing d-men come before anything else. Reinhart doesn't look as much of a sure thing to be a top line forward as Ekblad looks to be a top line D-man. There's definitely the makings of an eventual top pairing guy there, which we lack entirely in our prospect pool. Even the team we presently have can put up decent offensive numbers - averaging close to 3g/g. But our D is still sticking out like a sore thumb most nights (despite the issues in net). And we don't have much promise coming out of the farm, outside of Sieloff and Wotherspoon. But even Wotherspoon looks like a guy who'll likely top out as a second pairing player at best.

I'd say you go with the surest thing, and Ekblad has all the tools, smarts and size to become your number one or two d-man for years to come, whereas Reinhart looks to be as good as but not distinguishably better a forward than our 1st round picks last year, to comfortably say he'll be a guy on your 1st line in a couple seasons.

So I'd take Ekblad. Shore up the D, then take a swing for McDavid - a surefire 1st line and potential franchise forward - at the next draft. And it's likely we'll have more than one 1st this year as well, so we can look to further stockpile our RW pool with that.

[$ven27]

The only thing that makes me wary of Ekblad is how he's so large and physically dominate in the OHL.

[DropIt]

I take Ekblad, but in kind of a meh feeling.

From what I have read/understand, this draft is nowhere near as top-heavy as last one. Somewhere it was mentioned that Monahan would have easily blown these two guys out of the water for first overall if he was available this year instead of last.

The fact that there is no player who is head an shoulders above another, I take the position of need and statistically the position that takes longer to groom into NHL calibre.

Plus Eklbad is basically NHL size now (6'3/5 - 215) this guy could get big and dominant

[chummer]

I can't see either being there with the 6th pick.

[Muta]

Ekblad, without question. We are short of high-end defensive prospects in this organization. We just drafted three forwards in the first round, so I think we're in a position to go for defense in 2014.

[Heavy Jack]

Originally Posted by chummer

I can't see either being there with the 6th pick.

That's fine because this team is finishing bottom 3, especially with all the injuries. Further more the lottery also gives all the crappy teams some what of a chance at getting that 1st overall just like Colorado did jumping from 2nd to 1st this year.

[Poe969]

I think Reinhart would be amazing and if we ended up with him we should be happy. I would however pick Ekblad for too many reasons. The kid is big already and probably hasn't finished growing. If he grows in height it would be amazing and you know he's going to beef up over the years too and add more power so that's a plus. If he develops a mean streak in him he could be the next Pronger. The Flames also lack a real defenseman in their system and he could be that guy. Another thing is that we have Monahan as a potential #1 C already on the team and if Janko develops into a top 2 guy on the team then we're doing really well.

If we end up with either of these guys then it should be considered a win.

[Itse]

Just a gut feeling, but I'd go with Ekblad. But I'm sceptical. I don't think we'll get either.

[JiriHrdina]

Ekblad. Team needs a premium d prospect

[N-E-B]

Ekblad. I get drafting centres, but even if we don't get McDavid I know there's plenty of good centres in that draft like Eichel, Strome, and Barzal. I'd take Ekblad this year and a centre in 2015.

[TurnedTheCorner]

I would normally go for the forward over the defenceman.

Ekblad gives me pause though. One of four players granted exceptional player status by the OHL. Tavares worked out OK. McDavid is the consenus 1st overall next year. Sean Day just got granted it, so it's hard to say how things will go for him over the next few years.

Does the exceptional player status really mean a lot? Is it a meaningful attribute to consider ranking one player ahead of another, all other factors being equal? Since only the OHL gives this out, could you argue that a forward like Reinhart or others before wim who played outside the OHL might have been granted a similar status if other CHL leagues had it?

As things stand right now, I would be tempted to pick Ekblad. Good thing there's lots of hockey to be played, and that the Flames don't consult me on these matters.

[Calgary4LIfe]

If given the choice, I would hope the Flames go with Reinhart. As Devo stated in the OP, Monahan-Reinhart as a 1-2 punch down the middle would be huge moving forward. Sam sounds a lot like Monahan - High hockey IQ, leadership ability and the 2-way game. This would make the Flames very difficult to match up against, and would be a huge boon to today's puck possession game.

There is lots to like about Ekblad as well. I would feel more comfortable in garnering another 1st round pick and using that on a defencemen, and hopefully having 2 2nds this year, and using both of those also on D. Scatter-gun approach.

The nice thing about drafting Sam is that even if the Flames decide not to trade for the third brother, there would be a solid chance Griffin would eventually sign as a UFA down the line if both of his brothers were here already. Not something you can definitely count on, or even factor into the equation - but potentially a nice side-effect down the line.

Most teams win with center depth in today's NHL. The majority of #1 defenders in the NHL were also drafted in the late 1st - 3rd rounds. I don't think Ekblad will bust, and I don't necessarily even think he will disappoint - but the chances of obtaining a top-notch center is much lower as compared to drafting a top-notch defencemen outside the first half of the 1st round.