Craig's List 2014 Prospects

[Enoch Root]

5'9" 161 lb

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

5'9" 161 lb

Ouch. I think the Flames would probably pass given who is heading this team now + existing high-skill prospects.

[sureLoss]

Reinhart now has a 21 game point streak.

2G 1A tonight.

43 pts in 18 games since the WJC

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Reinhart now has a 21 game point streak.

2G 1A tonight.

43 pts in 18 games since the WJC

He is putting to bed any thoughts people had that he was not a high-end prospect, or didn't project to be a 1st line center. What this kid is doing is amazing, and he is playing a full 200ft game while he is at it. Unreal.

[saXon]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Hockeyprospect.com top 10. Ehlers is a surprise at #3

Spoiler!

http://www.hockeyprospect.com/februa...kings-preview/

Funny how there is no Virtanen. That has to sting for those who have a love affair for the kid.

[GoFlamesGo1989]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Brayden Point, the Calgary kid playing on a god awful hockey team is starting to really take off at the end of the year. Looks like he will be top 15 in the WHL in scoring in his draft year, he is in on 44.5% of Moose Jaw's goals and leads the second leading scorer on his team by 30 points. It is too bad that he does not really have anyone to play with otherwise he probably would be leading the league in scoring in his draft year. I sure hope Burke takes a look at him in the 2nd round.

That would be a waste of a pick, no thanks.

[Money Baer]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Reinhart now has a 21 game point streak.

2G 1A tonight.

43 pts in 18 games since the WJC

Was at the game last night and he was a man among boys. His intelligence is off the charts and he dictates the play every single shift. Didn't make a single mistake, and could have easily had a couple more assits if players finished. This is the best player i've ever watched in the WHL! (imo)

[sureLoss]

Updated Flames draft pick chances (includes lottery odds)

1st overall 11.4%
2nd overall 4.0%
3rd overall 17.4%
4th overall 25.3%
5th overall 24.9%
6th overall 10.9%
7th overall 3.7%
8th overall 1.2%
9th overall 0.1%
10th overall 0.0%

Flames still have an 83% chance of getting a top 5 pick. 33% chance they get a top 3

[Mass_nerder]

Holy hell. Ritchie is playing at 230lbs?
That kid is a monster.

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by Mass_nerder

Holy hell. Ritchie is playing at 230lbs?
That kid is a monster.

One scout thinks he is too heavy though:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/junio...nked-prospect/

Yet it’s not really position that sets Ritchie furthest apart from most high-end kids. More to the point, Ritchie has holes. Consider the assessment of a scout who, as noted, would take Ritchie first overall.

“Conditioning is a question. He’s too heavy. His skating would be better if he wasn’t dragging around that amount of weight. And if he was in better shape, he might not be taking shifts off, which he does.

[Canada 02]

From the above article on Ritchie
This

And if he was in better shape, he might not be taking shifts off, which he does.

or this

Nick has a great motor compared to Brett,” the scout said. “He’s all-in on every shift.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

At least this draft has a couple powerforwards and large forwards. If we miss out on the big 3 we can still fill a glaring need by adding some size/strength at top two line wing.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by GoFlamesGo1989

That would be a waste of a pick, no thanks.

I agree that Burke will not take him, he will probably take some lumbering 6'3 forward who has 25 points and 185 PIM's in the 2nd round. But Point is on quite a tear right now on an awful team. 39 points in 2014 in only 23 games. 1.7 PPG. Point has scored at every level of hockey he has ever played in, he was nearly a PPG player in Moose Jaw's playoff run when he was called up as a 16 year old. But he probably is a waste of a pick, better to let him succeed on some other team. Somewhere there must be a Tyler Biggs or a Stuart Percy we can waste our draft pick on.

[GoFlamesGo1989]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

I agree that Burke will not take him, he will probably take some lumbering 6'3 forward who has 25 points and 185 PIM's in the 2nd round. But Point is on quite a tear right now on an awful team. 39 points in 2014 in only 23 games. 1.7 PPG. Point has scored at every level of hockey he has ever played in, he was nearly a PPG player in Moose Jaw's playoff run when he was called up as a 16 year old. But he probably is a waste of a pick, better to let him succeed on some other team. Somewhere there must be a Tyler Biggs or a Stuart Percy we can waste our draft pick on.

Career AHL'er

[devo22]

would love the Flames to take a run at Nikita Scherbak if they could acquire another pick in the bottom 15 of the 1st round. Must bulk up to fill out his frame, but the skill is undoubtedly there. Can play both wings apparently (listed RW at WHL.com and by Morreale, but saw him as LW in most lists).

[Calgary4LIfe]

Since this looks like it has morphed into the "2014 Draft Thread" more than just a discussion around Craig's own list, thought I would leave this here - some interesting tidbits from different scouts on some of the highly-ranked players.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/junio...014-nhl-draft/

Bennett

If you’re looking at one of the top-three picks, you’ll focus on him and Reinhart and a couple of others, but of all those guys he’s the most consistent of them.” Trending up.

Reinhart:

What sticks out for me is the way he can use his skates to make plays—I saw him make a move, letting the puck go back to his skates like he was over-skating it and then kick it up to his stick. He just bamboozled this defencman.

Virtanen

He could have 50 goals, but Calgary spreads the ice time around. It’s not like he gets rolled over on every power play or double-shifted or anything like that.

Also tidbits on Draisaitl, Ekblad, Ritchie and DeAngelo.

I like reading these little 'insights' that scouts share. Things that aren't always covered in scouting reports. I had no idea that Reinhart using his skates like that is a 'lost art', for instance.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Worrying comments on Draisaitl. Echoes a bit what I've seen from him in the highlights, his skating is a concern and he tries to slow everything down. He's dropping on my list.

Man do I hope we land a top 3 pick somehow. All of Bennett, Reinhart and Ekblad sound brilliant.

Don't forget Ritchie:

"Nick Ritchie (OHL, Peterborough)
Said an Ontario-based scout: “Ritchie’s game has been all over the place, but it’s been a lot better in the couple of games I saw him play since Christmas. I think he’s figured it out. It helps that the team is playing better since getting [centre Hunter Garlent] from Guelph. Physically he’s the most ready player to move into the NHL next year. He could play this year. He’s practically 230 lb.

“Some games [earlier in the season] it looked like he didn’t want to play. But he’s completely taken off. Every time I’ve seen him and every report I’ve read [from our other scouts] he has just taken it to another level. We had a guy there the night he scored five goals [three weeks back against Bennett and Kingston]. You can compare him to Lucic but Milan wasn’t scoring five goals, not at 18, not at 19. To me, he’s [Todd} Bertuzzi. Maybe better hands than Bertuzzi.” Trending up."

Too bad there is no comments about Dal Colle, Fleury or Perlini.

[Tbull8]

Really hoping the Oilers end up drafting Draisaitl if Ekblad's somehow gone. He seems like he has the highest bust potential out of that top 5 group.

[The Fonz]

From a month ago:

Originally Posted by The Fonz

My personal ranking:
Reinhart
Ekblad
Bennett
Draisaitl
Dal Colle
Fleury
Perlini

Would now change to:

Reinhart
Ekblad
Bennett

Virtanen
Dal Colle
Draisaitl
Fleury
Ritchie
Perlini

[GoFlamesGo1989]

Originally Posted by The Fonz

From a month ago:



Would now change to:

Reinhart
Ekblad
Bennett

Virtanen
Dal Colle
Draisaitl
Fleury
Ritchie
Perlini

Couldn't agree more with your list