Flames 2014 NHL Entry Draft selections: observations & preliminary verdicts?

[FlameZilla]

Originally Posted by AC

Discussion regarding the players is one thing, but to try and render a verdict on the draft as a whole is just a silly concept.

You're right; 'verdict' is the wrong word.

Thoughts/observations instead? Wanted to analyse the whole crop of new recruits in one place, rather than in a half dozen other threads.

[killer_carlson]

To the extent you are inquiring to my satisfaction as a fan rather than an evaluation of talent, I am pleased.

I like we got the top ranked forward
I like we got the top ranked goalie
I like we picked a giant who rocketed up the rankings this season
I like we used a late round pick - rather than an early pick - taking a guy who had slid
I like we flipped a late third round pick for a cup winning grinder
I like we picked the grinder after we had three good picks in the draft already

I really wanted us to trade up and grab another top 10 pick, which tempers my satisfaction to some extent

[StrykerSteve]

4: C Sam Bennett
Best forward in this draft. Absolute no-brainer.

34: G Mason McDonald
Big body, could be the best goalie in this draft. Can never have too much quality goaltending depth.

54: RW Hunter Smith
Huge body, a giant amongst men, can't wait to see how this one develops.

64: D Brandon Hickey
Big body, one of the best skaters in the draft.

LW Brandon Bollig
Big body, Cup champion, affordable contract, led his team in hits last year. What's not to like?

175: D Adam Ollas Mattson
Big body, ranked much higher than he went. Seems like great value.

184: RW Austin Carroll
Big body, solid progression through the last three years.

Very pleased overall.

[JJ1532]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

I really wanted us to trade up and grab another top 10 pick, which tempers my satisfaction to some extent

Once that 24th pick went off the board and Anaheim only had the 10th, I don't get the impression any of the other 9 teams in the top 10 were willing to give up their firsts and not get a higher/lower one in return. The only deals I saw happening were pick swaps. I think it would have had to have been a ridiculous offer to get a top 10 pick without giving up our 4th. And for what we would have probably had to give up, I don't believe it what we would have drafted would have been worth it, even a Ritchie or a Virtanen.

What would you have given up for what pick out of interest?

[kehatch]

4: C Sam Bennett
Was my top guy. Glad to have him.

34: G Mason McDonald
I like the prospect. But I there were some really good RH D on the board that I would have preferred.

54: RW Hunter Smith
Tough to know what Smith is. Is he a late bloomer with offensive skill. Or is he an overager that has a 3-line ceiling. I love the pick though due to the potential of the former.

64: D Brandon Hickey
No comment. I don't know enough about the player.

83: traded for LW Brandon Bollig
I don't like it. Every season we waste picks on Westgarth's, PLL's, MacDermid's, Ivanan's, etc. When will we learn? If you feel you absolutely need these guys pick them up in free agency. That is where we have found our best guys anyway. That said, at least he can play some hockey. Not the end of the world.

175: D Adam Ollas Mattson
No comment. I don't know enough about the player.

184: LW/RW Austin Carroll
No comment. I don't know enough about the player.

[blankall]

Obviously I'm ecstatic with Bennett. For me, the BPA. Not a huge fan of defencemen being chosen with a #1 pick. Too unpredictable and take too long to develop.

The rest of the draft kind of gave me bad memories of early 2000s drafts. Goalies being chosen unnecessarily high. Big farm boys being chosen over skilled players, etc.... that being said the problem with the Flames old drafts was that we didn't have the skill to play in front of the bruising depth.

Hopefully a lot of these later guys turn into the Boyd, Pardy, Prust, Mosses etc... to play behind players like Bennett, Monahan, Baertschi, Gadreau, etc..

With a player like Bennett there is less pressure to hit a home run with a late round skilled player. Still don't feel good about using 2nd and 3rd to pick up a goalie and Bollig. Would have been much happier choosing two defencemen. We can always use more 2nd pairing defence prospects.

[Bar-Down]

Decent draft for Calgary.

Bennett is a home run. Getting the top rated goalie is good considering we have question marks at that position.

I like Hunter Smith, it is risky but I like the risk at a chance he turns into a Lucic type. (I'd rather risk that at #54 than take Ritchie at #4).

Bollig: meh, don't love it, don't hate it. However, we can always use the size especially in our division.

Hickey: Don't know much about him but we need dman so I like it.

I like the Swedish dman, he's huge and was rated as high as #50 on some lists, no problem here with a 6th pick.

Austin Carroll: not sure. Would've preferred more risk with a guy like Spencer Watson, but Carroll is a big RW so no big complaints.

I think we did well, I just wish we could've got a top tier D prospect (Really wanted Mckeown or Dougherty). Too bad we didn't have 3 2nd rounders...

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by JJ1532

Once that 24th pick went off the board and Anaheim only had the 10th, I don't get the impression any of the other 9 teams in the top 10 were willing to give up their firsts and not get a higher/lower one in return. The only deals I saw happening were pick swaps. I think it would have had to have been a ridiculous offer to get a top 10 pick without giving up our 4th. And for what we would have probably had to give up, I don't believe it what we would have drafted would have been worth it, even a Ritchie or a Virtanen.

What would you have given up for what pick out of interest?

Hudler or wideman with 50% retained, a second, and perhaps a prospect.

[OzSome]

Pretty happy with the draft. The Flames added every positions in their prospect pool and they all big men. They added a centre in Sam Bennett. Bennett is a good two way player and a pretty good player. He was rated as a first pick overall a few months ago but for some reason his stock dropped. They drafted a big goaltender Mason MacDonald. He started picking up his play in the 2nd half of the season last season. He was good in the under 18 tournament and I thought he was good in the CHL Prospect game in Calgary last season. Then they added a big RW Hunter Smith, RW/LW Adam Carroll, D Brandon Hickey, Adam Ollas Mattsson, then added a gritty winger Brandon Bollig from Chicago via trade. So, that is pretty much every positions. So I guess I am pretty happy.

[JJ1532]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

Hudler or wideman with 50% retained, a second, and perhaps a prospect.

Seems steep to me. And do you think, in your opinion, that that deal would have seen us get a pick, and which one? Who do you think would have taken that deal?

[FlameZilla]

Originally Posted by Bar-Down

Decent draft for Calgary.

Bennett is a home run. Getting the top rated goalie is good considering we have question marks at that position.

I like Hunter Smith, it is risky but I like the risk at a chance he turns into a Lucic type. (I'd rather risk that at #54 than take Ritchie at #4).

Bollig: meh, don't love it, don't hate it. However, we can always use the size especially in our division.

Hickey: Don't know much about him but we need dman so I like it.

I like the Swedish dman, he's huge and was rated as high as #50 on some lists, no problem here with a 6th pick.

Austin Carroll: not sure. Would've preferred more risk with a guy like Spencer Watson, but Carroll is a big RW so no big complaints.

I think we did well, I just wish we could've got a top tier D prospect (Really wanted Mckeown or Dougherty). Too bad we didn't have 3 2nd rounders...

I liked Mckeown and Dougherty as well, but there must be a reason they dropped like lead balloons.

To me, getting a goalie who some scouts say is the best from this draft & getting a wild-card RW power forward beast outweighs getting a couple of potential 2nd pairing D (who fell dramatically anyway). McDonald and Smith are very unique prospects who don't come around that often. Those D men are pretty standard issue.

Potential 2nd pairing D in the system: Wotherspoon, Kulak, Culkin, Gilmour and now Hickey. Potential bottom pairing D: Kanzig, Sieloff, Ramage, Rafikov and now Mattson. It's not like the cupboards are bare.

[GettinIggyWithIt]

My thoughts:

1. Bennett - Ecstatic to have Bennett. Glad he fell to us at 4.

2. McDonald - Admittedly I was hoping for Barbashev or McKeown but selecting the top goaltender in the draft is not a bad thing at all. I am excited to see how he does with more playing time next year.

2. Smith - I knew very little about him but after watching some clips and reading some articles, I like this pick. A big W with top 6 potential. Apparently learned a lot from Jenner and watches JVR quite a bit. I'm happy with this pick.

3. Hickey - I know nothing about him. Hoping he does well next year in college.

3.*Bollig for 83 OA* Essentially traded pending UFA Stempniak for 3 years of Bollig. I like this deal. I think Bollig could bring what we've lacked since trading away Prust. Bollig and Bouma will make things interesting.

6. Mattsson - I love this pick. I was hoping for him with the 83 so this is great.

7. Carroll - 7th round so I am not too concerned but I was really hoping for Tkatchev.

A lot of 2-4 round picks seemed to drop. I would have liked to pick up a dman but we have the depth up front to trade for that now and there weren't any can't miss D prospects in my mind.

[trackercowe]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

Because they just aren't very good.

The one thanks for this point is exactly my feelings as well.

[JiriHrdina]

Somewhat surprised that didn't make D more of a focus but that clearly means they just didn't think there were guys in those spots that were worth passing on others. I thought making D a priority this year would be smart, but you can only reach so far beyond BPA.

Early 2nd is about the right time to look to the net - and I think the kid has starter's potential. Gillies/Ortio are the only legitimate netminding prospects in the organization so this does address a need.

Hunter Smith is an intriguing prospect - certainly a unique guy in the draft.

Beyond that - don't know the kids and I'm not going to pretend I do.

Fans who can tunnel vision about certain prospects that they want to see drafted almost always find this day disappointing.

[Freeway]

4: C Sam Bennett
Great pick.

34: G Mason McDonald
Little early for a goalie, but they probably wouldn't have gotten a comparable goalie at 54 (or later).

54: RW Hunter Smith
He's older but he's bigger. Gotta see his skating before I judge.

64: D Brandon Hickey
Heard he's decent. Going to college, so a longer-term project.

LW Brandon Bollig
He's inexpensive but is merely a role player. Would've preferred a prospect here but he's an upgrade over Westgarth.

175: D Adam Ollas Mattson
Like the pick, but need to see his skating/mobility.

184: RW Austin Carroll
Wouldve been available as a UFA. Would've rather seen the team grab a younger project player here.

[Hanna Sniper]

I'm just amazed that Sam Bennett fell to 4

I'm very proud of the players that refused to give up and "tank" and the fans that didn't cheer to loose. At the end of the day we walked away with the No.1 ranked player.

What a great draft/day to be a Flames fan, and to have the Oilers pass on him makes it even greater

Rating - 100/10

[CliffFletcher]

Love the Bennet pick. But since d-men typically take 2-3 years longer than forwards to develop, the clock is ticking on drafting a core that will develop together. I wouldn't be surprised if Treliving makes a trade this season - a major trade - for a young d-man.

[Clever_Iggy]

Bennett at 4 was a homerun. As excited about that pick as I was about Monahan last year.

Had really high hopes for 34, 54, 64 and 83. I'm far from an expert on any of these players but with Wotherspoon and possibly Sieloff "graduating" in the next year or two, the number of picks the Flames had in the 2nd and 3rd rounds and the number of (IMO, really good) defensive prospects available (see: Dougherty, Grover, Jacobs, Collins) I thought this year would be a great chance to replenish the system. Oh well.

Never a fan of taking goalies that early (first 3 rounds). I guess if you're going to get a goalie, it's best to get one of the top rated ones and not have to blow a 1st rounder.

Bollig - I'm not a fan of pure goons which is why I don't mind this trade. Bollig is a hockey player and if the Flames insist on having two tougher guys in the lineup, at least Bollig does more than skate laps and punch people.

[djsFlames]

B- grade from me, thanks to Bennett.

Goalie taken too early. Not enough high projecting prospects taken in second and third rounds. Trading pick away for Bollig somewhat unnecessary. Still bolstered the size of our prospect pool and added one of the best high end center prospects we may have ever brought in.

[Gaskal]

4: C Sam Bennett - A+

Spoiler!

34: G Mason McDonald - B

One of the best goalies, if not the best goalie in the draft from what I've been reading. I definitely like that we picked the first goalie this year and considering the other reactions around the league (6 goalies in the 2nd was it?) I felt like we did it at the right time. I did want a goalie somewhere along the way, just didn't expect him to go so high.

I'll admit I wanted McKeown with this pick but I'm content with a solid goalie in case Ortio or Gillies don't pan out. McDonald's got a few years to patiently develop and apparently he's a goalie that sees a lot of shots in junior, which should be great for his development. I see him taking over the Alaska Aces starting job from Gillies when Ortio is NHL ready and Gillies is AHL ready.



54: RW Hunter Smith - B
Big giant right-handed winger, and big is good!

I actually selected Smith with CGY's 3rd in CP's multi-round mock, just after the 54th. He seems to be a project but already he's showing big signs of trending upward - this tells me he's readily coachable and willing to identify the weaknesses in his game. Any time a guy jumps steadily up the rankings all year is a good sign.

Besides that he's showing more finish in his draft year, decent hands, needs work on skating (like all the giants do though) and he can drop the mitts. And big. Maybe we have our Lucic - but if not I'm perfectly happy to accept him as a bottom 6 giant who can occasionally chip some offense in.



64: D Brandon Hickey - B-
Finally! A defenceman! Seems to be an offensive guy, smart and a great skater too. Projects to be similar to Gio's playstyle. I gave him a B- because he's a leftie - and Thomas was on the board and they let the scumbag Lightning get their filthy claws on him in the next round. Still miffed.


83: traded for LW Brandon Bollig - B+

I love this move. Bollig's a great locker room guy, knows how to win, and is good enough as a face puncher to play some double digit minutes on a championship team without being scratched once. With this move I think Westgarth is sure to walk next week but I feel that Bollig's a big step up from Westgarth.

The only reason why this didn't get an A from me is because we could've used the pick on Thomas - but to get Bollig is a perfectly acceptable price.



175: D Adam Ollas Mattson - C

Basically a poor man's Niklas Kronwall. Big and strong but sadly a left shot. Defensive defenceman with massive reach.


184: LW/RW Austin Carroll
Who?