Craig's List 2014 Prospects

[Crumpy-Gunt]

We will be able to tell how strong the draft is in a few years. The top 10 is not as refined as last year. So I can see why people call it a weak draft..

If its a weak draft does that means theres no chance of us striking gold with 2 2nds and 2 3rds?

I'll take my chances with those picks - and still have one of the top 5 players available.

I dont like how fans overly base their opinion on ISS. "Ritchie, whos that, hes ranked 15th, this is the first ive heard of him - i will kill myself if we take him" (not an actual quote)

Reminds me of the fits some people threw when we took Poirier above Shinkaruk.

I trust our scouts. They have been working hard all year and they probably have some players they really like who will be there after the 1st round is done. To me this is more valuable than grabbing one of the 3 nicest toys in the draft.

PS who knows how some of the players will develop after they are drafted ? Ala Gaudreau - or even Shea Weber.

I can see why everyone wants Ekblad but I just hope we keep all our picks and make them all count as much as we can.
We could be looking back in a few years thinking about how the top 5 on ISS 2014 arent even in the top 5 players from that draft. You never know - thats my point.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

can someone check on snipetype? Burke saying Fleury is not a top 5 pick may have sent him in a spiral of rage or depression.

Status: Meat and Potatoing.

[djsFlames]

I like Ekblad a lot. I'm just not sure if he's that much better or more of a sure thing than the top forwards in this draft. Everyone knows that d-men have historically been more of a risk to take in the top few picks than forwards. I think he's getting even more hype because he's the only top 10 defenseman this year as well.

[AC]

Originally Posted by Crumpy-Gunt

I dont like how fans overly base their opinion on ISS. "Ritchie, whos that, hes ranked 15th, this is the first ive heard of him - i will kill myself if we take him" (not an actual quote)

Reminds me of the fits some people threw when we took Poirier above Shinkaruk.

It happens every year like clockwork, and its always hilarious to watch.

A player will "fall" that was ranked high on the popular ranked lists, and as we get closer and closer to the Flames pick several posters start to lose their minds. Then when we inevitably pass on the falling player, #### hits the fan.

I seem to recall Angelo Esposito was a fun example of that.

[Crumpy-Gunt]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

I like Ekblad a lot. I'm just not sure if he's that much better or more of a sure thing than the top forwards in this draft. Everyone knows that d-men have historically been more of a risk to take in the top few picks than forwards. I think he's getting even more hype because he's the only top 10 defenseman this year as well.

I think most of the Ekblad hype comes from him being granted exeptional status to play in the OHL as a 15 year old. Off the top of my head Tavares, Crosby, Ekblad, McDavid and Sean Day (2016 prospect) are the only ones to get that.

I dont want Ekblad if we have to trade up - but I dont want the Oilers getting him either.

Someone compared him to doughty and it made me face-palm. Look at what doughty did in his 16 year old season and 17 year old season and compare with Ekblad. Its not the same.

[Flamin' DBag]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Who do you think has more value? A 40 goal scorer or a 25 goal scorer? There is a big difference in stats alone.

Also, if you look up Kassian's player profile (think I posted snippets of it here a while back) and compare them to Ritchie, you see differences in key areas:

1: Hockey sense - Ritchie is rated very high in hockey sense, Kassian was rated very low.
2: Speed - Again, Ritchie is ranked 'average' in speed, and 'above average' in agility. Kassian was rated as 'slow' and 'needs to really work on his skating to get to the next level." (which, unfortunately, he has increased - though I think he is still dumb as a doorknob out there).
3: Skill level - Kassian had 'ok' hands, but Ritchie has wonderfully soft hands and can make high-level plays, feeding his linemates with nice saucer passes.

As the poster right below you showed - Ritchie is actually the focus on the team, and provides the bulk of his team's offence. He is a very difficult player to stop.

I really recommend you watch the highlights that AC posted. You can see good examples of his shot, his speed, his passing ability (I can't believe some posters said he doesn't know how to pass the puck!), etc. He is a much, much better prospect now than what Kassian was at that age. Kassian's skating has improved, but I would bet that Ritchie is still much faster and much more agile - and imagine how much quicker he can get with some serious training.

Thanked for adding some perspective on Kassian's draft profile. I hadn't been aware his skating was such a question mark leading up to that draft.

Have you had a chance to watch Ritchie much? I've watched the highlights you mentioned and I always find it hard to tell if big junior players are scoring because of their size (that won't be as effective in the NHL), or if it's based on their skill also. I guess I had the same concern with Nichushkin at the WJC last year and he's done just fine.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

I like Ekblad a lot. I'm just not sure if he's that much better or more of a sure thing than the top forwards in this draft. Everyone knows that d-men have historically been more of a risk to take in the top few picks than forwards. I think he's getting even more hype because he's the only top 10 defenseman this year as well.

The thing with Ekblad is that he has a very high floor. I would be very shocked if he doesn't at the very least become a 2nd pairing defencemen within the first couple of years. It is such a 'safe' pick.

Most of the questions revolve around his ceiling - is he a legitimate #1 defencemen? Is he more of a '#2' guy? Is he a Shea Weber? People do question his offensive abilities and how he will translate into the NHL. I personally think he will be a very good #2 guy. I don't think he is 'mean' enough to be a Pronger-type, and he doesn't have enough vision to be a Doughty type. However, I also acknowledge the fact that defencemen are so very difficult to gauge at this age. I just see him as a guy who is an extremely 'safe' pick to translate into an impact player at the NHL level, but personally feel he is slightly more of a reach to translate into an elite or 'superstar' player than Reinhart is.

If you think he can translate into a #1 defencemen, it is an easy selection picking him ahead of everyone else. If you see him as a #2 or perhaps even a bit lower, than it is a no-brainer selecting Reinhart - and perhaps even Bennett over him. I can't make any sound arguments as to anyone else in the draft being selected ahead of him, however. It would shock me. He has such a high floor, and the top of this draft isn't as deep as the top of last year's draft, even with Seth Jones being an arguably better prospect than Ekblad. There is no way he drops to 4th.

[moon]

Agree with Calgary4life, Ekblad looks like a number 4 guy at worst.

I know some are concerned that he looks so good because he is do big but everytine I have seen his skating looks great so I am not that concerned about him trasitioning to the NHL and being a Bryan Allen type.

[SuperMatt18]

I was looking today and Ekblad had more points than Doughty did in their draft seasons.

His 23 goals in his draft year are the most of any d-man taken in the top 10 (from the CHL) since 2003 (that is as far as I looked back).

He was also named the best offensive and best defensive defenseman in the OHL this season.

I actually think his offensive game gets underrated at times.

New Ekblad video on the NHL site: http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/con...597730&lang=en

[dustygoon]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

I still think one of Reinhart or Bennett drop to 4.

Buffalo: Reinhart or Bennett
Florida: Ekblad
Edmonton: Draisaitl
Calgary: Reinhart or Bennett

Only way that changes IMO is if Florida decides to go with another forward vs Ekblad at 2.

Oilers liking draisaitl makes the Calgary pick more valuable if we trade up to #1 or #2 to get the one we want out of Bennett, Reinhart, Ekblad

[snipetype]

So I guess I was right and the whole Burke doesn't like draisatl thing is all internet misinformation. Good because he is the clear number four prospect on the board. IMO. And I think he helps us just as much as the other guys. Big guys that can't skate and make plays. Yes please.

[CliffFletcher]

The only reason Ekblad isn't a lock for 1st overall is the Sabres have a wealth of prospects on defence already, and they need someone who will help sell tickets going forward (Bennett). As for Reinhart, I'll ask the question again - can anyone name an elite centre in the NHL who lacks elite speed, elite size, or grit? The guy has great hands and smarts, but great hands and smarts alone don't translate into an elite #1 centre.

[Tacoman]

I mentioned a while back that I sat next to Monahan at the Flames poker tournament. I asked him who he liked out of the OHL eligible players and the first name out of his mouth was Bennett. He really spoke highly of his skill level and compete level. He also was very high on Ekblad. I specifically asked him if he thought he had enough offense to be a top dman and Monahan said "oh yah". Take that for what it's worth but at least it's from a guy that has played against both.

[saXon]

The draft lottery really needs to be done physically, and not electronically, and streamed live during the process.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by Flamin' DBag

Thanked for adding some perspective on Kassian's draft profile. I hadn't been aware his skating was such a question mark leading up to that draft.

Have you had a chance to watch Ritchie much? I've watched the highlights you mentioned and I always find it hard to tell if big junior players are scoring because of their size (that won't be as effective in the NHL), or if it's based on their skill also. I guess I had the same concern with Nichushkin at the WJC last year and he's done just fine.

I only watched Ritchie maybe twice. To be honest, he didn't impress me that much - but watch any of the prospects on any given day, and they often don't impress you much. I didn't watch him when he had a big game though - and this is why scouts view prospects often.

What I did see was the other team keying-in on him. He looked like a player that was very difficult to contain, but he seemed frustrated. He made a few nice passes (very underrated as a playmaker). Just wasn't able to get much going. You could see he was skilled, but just in small 'spurts' here and there.

I am not an expert on this kid though, not by a long-shot. There are some posters here from Peterborough that have seen him numerous times (and are actually not very impressed by him - I would take their word over mine any day).

99% of my take on Ritchie is highlights and scouting reports. They all essentially say he has an NHL-ready shot. They all either say he has 'great hockey sense', or don't mention hockey sense at all. They all say he is a good playmaker essentially. They all say he has great agility and 'average' speed (but to me, he looks above-average speed).

When I watch highlight packages (which always show the strengths of course, not their flaws - and in Ritchie's case, he doesn't have strong games as often as the prospects ranked ahead of him do) I look for how they were creating offence. I compare Ritchie's speed with those players around him to gauge how fast he is. He isn't a one trick pony (which is why I don't like Virtanen much - just a big shot and bulls his way through with his size and incredible speed, but doesn't show himself as being dynamic). With Ritchie, you saw him make moves at times, burn a defender with his speed at times, go through players at other times. You saw him power to the net, and you saw his ability to score from distance fairly regularly against different goalies. He wasn't leaching off of other players - and I saw him set-up other players with nice passes as well, which is important. This is what I see - someone else watching his games/highlights might see something else. I just try to see how a player was being successful, and see how 'dynamic' they are, rather than just being strong in one particular thing or having a limited skill-set that they keep using over and over. I find Ritchie very dynamic, and this is why I rank him very high.

I still think he is a big step-down from Dal Colle. I rank Dal Colle's skills as elite, and he is a better skater. He just isn't physical, and I would never project Dal Colle to become a 'bruising powerforward' - just a guy that is difficult to contain due to his size and speed - sort of how Nash is difficult to contain. I think Dal Colle's skating, IQ, agility, passing and shooting are all higher than Ritchie's, with Ritchie just having a much, much stronger powerfoward game. They both generate offence for themselves, and in different ways - and that is what I want to see in a highly ranked prospect.

I am not going to compare Ritchie to Iginla. They are not the same type of player. I just see the Virtanen - Iginla comparisons and I don't see it as much, and feel Ritchie is a more comparable prospect IF you are inclined to compare a prospect to Iginla. Why? Iginla was a very good distributor of the puck (playmaking) and was fairly dynamic. Look at how many career years he gave other players put with him. Why? He was able to distribute the puck very well when he was getting focused on. Virtanen (to me) doesn't have that quality, but Ritchie does, and I always rank players higher that make other players around them better.

[sureLoss]

So this is what Burke had to say about the draft today on the Fan 960:
http://pmd.fan960.com/audio_on_deman...-Interview.mp3

starts at the 7:05 mark

Well it is an odd draft because, up until the final rankings came up, there was only one defenceman in the top 10. So if you are a guy that likes to draft by position, which I am not, it is a strange draft. It is very unusual to have no defenceman to choose from when you get to 4 or 5. Now they moved the Fleury kid up so he is in the top 10 but still not in the top 5 or 6. So that leaps out at you. If you look at the ratings you got Aaron Ekblad and then you got a bunch of forwards.

But we like the forward group. If someone picking at 4 or 5 or wherever we end up lottery wise, if someone takes a defenseman, that's fine we like the forward group that's there. There is skill there with the Reinhart kid. There is skill and grit there with the Bennett kid. There is size and skill there with the German kid, I can't say his name... Draisaitl. And uh there is a lot to like in that grouping. Ritchie is a power forward, a big hard nosed kid in there.

So, there really is, if you are filling in your boxes on how we scout, which is a player has got a fill a box for us top 6 or bottom 6 whatever. Theres guys that fill every different box in the forward group. So that part is cool.

But having one defenceman in the top 10 in the midterm rankings, well that is very unusual.

[saXon]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

So this is what Burke had to say about the draft today on the Fan 960:
http://pmd.fan960.com/audio_on_deman...-Interview.mp3

starts at the 7:05 mark

So he's content with the consensus top 5 and Ritchie. There's your template. It's all speculation from here on out.

Also, from listening to it, it sounds like Ekblad would be a no brainer if the Flames choose 1st.

[bucksmasher]

Sounds Like Burke changed his tune on "the German kid"

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by bucksmasher

Sounds Like Burke changed his tune on "the German kid"

Not exactly, he alluded to the comments reported by other posters here actually by saying "we have boxes that need to be checked off on different players, top six, bottom six, every one of those boxes has been checked in this forward group in this draft, I guess that's kind of cool"

Draisaitl would be the bottom six box being checked off, and I would think the way he brought Ritchie up he also checked that one off.

It was a tad odd though that Dal Colle wasn't brought up. maybe he's the one Burkes not too high on. Fun thing is, we won't know until after the draft.

But I do agree with others, from that you can certainly make a safe assumption that if the Flames picked first, Aaron "The Beardy Man" Ekblad would be the guy he would take. And that makes me very happy.

[bucksmasher]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Not exactly, he alluded to the comments reported by other posters here actually by saying "we have boxes that need to be checked off on different players, top six, bottom six, every one of those boxes has been checked in this forward group in this draft, I guess that's kind of cool"

Draisaitl would be the bottom six box being checked off, and I would think the way he brought Ritchie up he also checked that one off.

It was a tad odd though that Dal Colle wasn't brought up. maybe he's the one Burkes not too high on. Fun thing is, we won't know until after the draft.

BUt I do agree with others, from that you can certainly make a safe assumption that if the Flames picked first, Aaron "The Beardy Man" Ekblad would be the guy he would take. And that makes me very happy.

Ya I don't get that DC is being left out of the convo. Maybe that's the smoke screen and they actually like him. I agree with you and I think the best organizational move if there is a first overall would be to pick Ekblad.