I've seen Chychrun a few times and he has a bit Ekblad in him with added toughness. They actually used him at forward a bit last year because they needed some offense. He's a very good player.
I haven't seen Tkachuk but I would caution that the London PP is killer and he's got 19 power play points and they have a stacked forward group (Marner/Dvorak/etc) so he's not exactly carrying the load yet.
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I agree about Chychrun, the kid looks like he could have Pronger type potential, it's hard to say if he's #2 or #3. I guess there's a lot to happen between now and then but it's a great year to watch prospects!
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Fan of the Flames, where being OK has become OK.
If we do end up last and win the lottery this year, do we move Matthews to wing or stick him to center?
I'd like to see our first line have a big-body presence that can tire out a team and still have the offensive upside: (Average weight: 204lbs) Matthews-Monahan-Colborne
This brings in our second line that is a very fast and skilled line that can get down in the dirty areas: Gaudreau-Bennett-Frolik
From what I know of their games (and I haven't seen anything of Matthews outside of clips) I would think Bennett might be the best fit to more to the wing should we draft another franchise centre. This is because he is gritty, physical, feisty and speedy and therefore would do better work along the boards than the other two. He has also played wing in the past and looked good.
That would give us Matthews/Monahan as top two centres. And Gaudreau/Bennett as top two LWs. Frolik and perhaps one of Poirier, Ferland or Colborne?
Chance of getting Matthews is slim. But as a consolation it really looks like Chychrun, Puljujarvi, Laine, Tkachuk would all be fantastic fits too. If a crap season guarantees us one of those then the rebuild gets another fantastic piece.
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I'm all for taking Chychrun if he's available. Between the two Finns, I like Laine as he seems to be able to finish. Puljujarvi is big and fast but not much gets done.
Don't get caught up in the stats. He plays on a team starved for offense. At 17 he's the best defender in the OHL and was ranked #2 player overall in the coaches poll behind only Marner.
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Re Chychrun- He was pretty much consensus #2 before season ow I'm seeing him at 4-5 a lot.
There's been some injury concerns plus questions about his intensity. Not that he takes shifts off or is lazy just if he has that killer instinct in him like a Sam Bennett.
Note: So if you are like me you mispronounced Kylingtons name i your head for 2+ years leading up to the draft. Let's not do it with Jacob Chick-Rin
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If I were GM, and Matthews was not going to happen, I'd want to add one of the RW's. They're both precisely what the Flames need to fill the gap in the prospect pool.
The Flames went real heavy on D last year (yes, you must include Hamilton) taking 3 of them with their 5 picks.
Chychrun looks good, but even if you went BPA, I feel that the Flames would put big, fast skilled RW's ahead of D men on their list. Perhaps if the Flames are out on the Finns and Matthews, then sure, he'd certainly be a better pick than Tkachuk.
I find myself hoping though that the Flames can nab a middle 1st round pick on top of their and nab Tyler Benson too. Looks like a good fit with the kind of game he plays.
