Erixon or Brodie?

[Oilbert]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

From what I've seen of him, RHN is basically at best Tanguay or in that ball park. Good player, but not exceptional. None of the players in this draft are in that exceptional category. A lot of decent 2nd/3rd liner types but definitely no superstars. Larsson looks to me like Roman Hamrlik. Solid at both ends but not spectacular, a solid #3 but not someone you'd jump for joy at. Even the goalies suck badly this year which is unusual.

Thanks for the insight! Who do you think the flames should draft with the 13th pick?

[Caged Great]

Honestly, I have no clue. There's about 6 players that are more or less equivalent in that range, so it's somewhat hard to pinpoint who's better than the other.

Any of Zibanejad, Armia, Bartschi, Saad, Schieffle, or Jensen would work for me. Personally, if I had to take one of them, It'd be Zibanejad followed by Jensen but it's somewhat hard to distinguish between them really.

It's not like one or two of those guys are projected to be first liners. All of them seem to be in that 2nd/3rd liner mould.

[Johnny Rotten]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Honestly, I have no clue. There's about 6 players that are more or less equivalent in that range, so it's somewhat hard to pinpoint who's better than the other.

Any of Zibanejad, Armia, Bartschi, Saad, Schieffle, or Jensen would work for me. Personally, if I had to take one of them, It'd be Zibanejad followed by Jensen but it's somewhat hard to distinguish between them really.

It's not like one or two of those guys are projected to be first liners. All of them seem to be in that 2nd/3rd liner mould.

I doubt Bartschi will be available; same with Zibanejad. I wouldn't them getting McNeil. Played well for a so-so team.

[Oilbert]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Honestly, I have no clue. There's about 6 players that are more or less equivalent in that range, so it's somewhat hard to pinpoint who's better than the other.

Any of Zibanejad, Armia, Bartschi, Saad, Schieffle, or Jensen would work for me. Personally, if I had to take one of them, It'd be Zibanejad followed by Jensen but it's somewhat hard to distinguish between them really.

It's not like one or two of those guys are projected to be first liners. All of them seem to be in that 2nd/3rd liner mould.

Any chance McNeil drops to the Flames, like Fowler did for the Ducks?

And you say they project to be 2nd liners, but I disagree it's determined on how well their development goes.

[DropIt]

I think you would be surprised with Bartschi. Looking at other teams' needs and the top ten staying relatively the same I think he has the potential to fall to us

[DropIt]

Originally Posted by Oilbert

Any chance McNeil drops to the Flames, like Fowler did for the Ducks?

And you say they project to be 2nd liners, but I disagree it's determined on how well their development goes.

If Calgary takes McNeil, it wont be seen as a drop. McNeil is anywhere from a 10-20 spot player at this time.

And development has alot to do with it, yes. But the talent pool compared to the past 4 or 5 years is very watered down and weaker this year. Even RNH was looked at as most likely a 2nd line centreman with first line potential coming much later in his career

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Oilbert

Any chance McNeil drops to the Flames, like Fowler did for the Ducks?

And you say they project to be 2nd liners, but I disagree it's determined on how well their development goes.

Based on most projections McNeil wouldn't even have to drop that much. I see a clear top six followed by 2-3 other guys that will go 7-9. After that - it gets pretty wide open.

[Oilbert]

Originally Posted by DropIt

I think you would be surprised with Bartschi. Looking at other teams' needs and the top ten staying relatively the same I think he has the potential to fall to us

What is the biggest knock on him? I heard size was the big issue with him, but he seems to be having a good playoffs.

[kirant]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Based on most projections McNeil wouldn't even have to drop that much. I see a clear top six followed by 2-3 other guys that will go 7-9. After that - it gets pretty wide open.

We can always hope though. I don't think anybody saw all three defencemen (expected to be gone within 3-7 I think) falling to 9-13 last year.

[Oilbert]

Originally Posted by DropIt

If Calgary takes McNeil, it wont be seen as a drop. McNeil is anywhere from a 10-20 spot player at this time.

And development has alot to do with it, yes. But the talent pool compared to the past 4 or 5 years is very watered down and weaker this year. Even RNH was looked at as most likely a 2nd line centreman with first line potential coming much later in his career

I agree, but I think RNH is above Seguin. I have watched both player pre draft and RNH is the bigger difference maker. Seguin got spoon fed ice time with Plymouth and the goalies were even being pulled so he can have a chance to take OHL scoring lead. I think RNH may have went top 5 in last years draft.

And 2010 draft is looking like a good one so far.

[Oilbert]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Based on most projections McNeil wouldn't even have to drop that much. I see a clear top six followed by 2-3 other guys that will go 7-9. After that - it gets pretty wide open.

Top 6 includes RNH, Larsson, Landeskog, Couturier, Huberdeau, Strome
In that order

Followed by:
Hamilton, Murphy, Siemens, McNeil, Armia.

Who do you see the Flames targeting?

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by Oilbert

Any chance McNeil drops to the Flames, like Fowler did for the Ducks?

And you say they project to be 2nd liners, but I disagree it's determined on how well their development goes.

It's just a personal opinion, but I think McNeil has a high potential to bust. He does have size, but from what I've seen he seems to be a similar type of prospect as Nemisz. It seems a little redundant to get the same type of player when it looks like Nemisz might top out at David Moss' level.

What I mean by projecting to be 2nd liners, they don't have that special thing that some prospects have that elevates them from being just average. RHN is probably the only one in the draft that has that special something and even he doesn't look like a star prospect. That's not to say that the lot of them are bad, they just don't have anything that really separates them from the rest. That's why I think it'll come down to who develops the prospects best because there's not really anything that separates anyone in the group from 10-25.

[DropIt]

Originally Posted by Oilbert

I agree, but I think RNH is above Seguin. I have watched both player pre draft and RNH is the bigger difference maker. Seguin got spoon fed ice time with Plymouth and the goalies were even being pulled so he can have a chance to take OHL scoring lead. I think RNH may have went top 5 in last years draft.

And 2010 draft is looking like a good one so far.

I would be incredibly surprised if Hopkins turns out better then Seguin. Seguin is much more multi dimensional and has much more talent. Attitude and effort level is the only thing I can come up with that would hold Seguin back, and I dont see any sign of anything like that from Seguin.

I think Seguin is like Hall, a future franchise player, where Hopkins is a comlimentary player as I mentioned earlier. Hopkins hasnt been short shifted by any means either, and Seguin was on a typically average team and carried them.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Oilbert

Top 6 includes RNH, Larsson, Landeskog, Couturier, Huberdeau, Strome
In that order

Followed by:
Hamilton, Murphy, Siemens, McNeil, Armia.

Who do you see the Flames targeting?

A skilled forward. Tough to say who - once you get past Strome I think things become a little more uncertain. And Murphy is a wildcard - could go as high as 4 or 5 or drop out of the top 10.

[DropIt]

I think Zibanejad (being a longshot drop), Scheifele, Armia or Bartchi would all be good picks for the Flames. Zach Phillips could also be a stretch off the board and be a good contributor.

[moon]

Originally Posted by Weiser Wonder

I don't think people are assessing Brodie properly for fear of overrating him. Truth is, he has a lot of potential. He's not limited to Brian Campbell levels. Don't get me wrong, he probably won't ever reach his full potential but there's nothing glaringly obvious holding him back from being another Duncan Keith or the like. I'd say the chances are extremely small of him reaching that potential, but he's not undersized, he's a great skater, seems to have a head for the game offensively. If he can develop defensively and bring his offense to the NHL, he could be a top 2 guy.

Duncan Keith has at times been a top 5 defenseman in the league for the past 3 seasons. No way does Brodie come close to projecting to that level.

The thing holding him back from playing turning in to that player is that at no level has he shown any indication of coming close to a top 5 defensemen in the league.

Originally Posted by Caged Great

From what I've seen of him, RHN is basically at best Tanguay or in that ball park. Good player, but not exceptional. None of the players in this draft are in that exceptional category. A lot of decent 2nd/3rd liner types but definitely no superstars. Larsson looks to me like Roman Hamrlik. Solid at both ends but not spectacular, a solid #3 but not someone you'd jump for joy at. Even the goalies suck badly this year which is unusual.

RNH potential is way beyond that of Tanguay. At worst that is what he turns into. He has the potential to easily be as good or better than Duchene and looks like a guy that is easily a top line player.

Originally Posted by Caged Great

It's just a personal opinion, but I think McNeil has a high potential to bust. He does have size, but from what I've seen he seems to be a similar type of prospect as Nemisz. It seems a little redundant to get the same type of player when it looks like Nemisz might top out at David Moss' level.

Again I disagree. McNeil looks like a guy that has very little potential to bust because he should be a 3rd line guy at worst for many teams. For a pick that should go arund13-20 that is a pretty decent return if you can get a second line center potential with 3rd line center almost assured. He may not have the top line potential of some but I would take him over a lot of flashy guys who seem to be top 6 or bust with bust being a heavy favorite (i.e. Armia or Zmendjbidnbsdafbasdjkfbhasdk)

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

It's just a personal opinion, but I think McNeil has a high potential to bust. He does have size, but from what I've seen he seems to be a similar type of prospect as Nemisz. It seems a little redundant to get the same type of player when it looks like Nemisz might top out at David Moss' level.

Barring a team taking him ahead of the Flames or someone dropping out of the top 10 it's looking like a marriage between McNeil and the Flames. Obviously it's entirely possible the Flames scouting covets aonther player but it would be pretty hard for the Flames to pass on a center of his size and skill and it has to be a near certainty that the pick will be used on a forward. The fact that he's from Edmonton almost makes it a certainty.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

It's just a personal opinion, but I think McNeil has a high potential to bust. He does have size, but from what I've seen he seems to be a similar type of prospect as Nemisz. It seems a little redundant to get the same type of player when it looks like Nemisz might top out at David Moss' level.

Yes but as long a top centerman is a position of need and the team isn't picking top 5 you pretty well have to keep taking guys like this and hope that one of them pans out into a 1st line center. Even if Nemisz turns into a solid 3rd line player that's one less position to fill from free agency.

From what I have read Zibanejad sounds more like a 2-way center so if he slips to the Flames I'm not sure if he would be a better pick than McNeil.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Yes but as long a top centerman is a position of need and the team isn't picking top 5 you pretty well have to keep taking guys like this and hope that one of them pans out into a 1st line center. Even if Nemisz turns into a solid 3rd line player that's one less position to fill from free agency.

From what I have read Zibanejad sounds more like a 2-way center so if he slips to the Flames I'm not sure if he would be a better pick than McNeil.

It's definitely difficult when the entire draft kind of looks mediocre. McNeil could very well be a decent pick. I just don't think he has much upside, from my point of view, he looks like Wayne Primeau, who wouldn't necessarily be a bad pick, but I think we should be shooting a little higher.

With Zibanejad, the only reason why I like him a little more is that he looks like he could possibly be a crash and bang winger with offensive talent, basically Bourque without the dumb penalties.

Only problem is that they all look like they're in the same jelly mould unfortunately. Usually there's some different types of players but they all look like they're decent two way forwards with some offensive upside. It'll make the scouts jobs a bit tougher.

If we could get Catenacci with a 2nd round pick (I know we don't have one), I would be thrilled. He looks like a possible Cammalleri type. The only drawback is his height (he's the fastest player in the draft)

I wouldn't mind at all trading down to get a 2nd round pick as I don't think there's any difference between any of the forwards in the 10-25 group

[thymebalm]

Brodie is under-rated on CP..

Heat's top scorers
1. Keith 35Pts in 77GP
2. Rheault 34 in 79
*3. Brodie 34 in 68
Heat's PPG leaders
1.Ales Kotalik .88 (25gp)
2.*Carter Bancks .66 (29gp)
3.*Brodie 0.5
*rookie

Brodie nearly took the scoring title as both a defender and a rookie. He's good.

Erixon is probably the safer bet right now, but I think Brodie could be as good (in his own right) as Erixon, given he continues to build on his last two seasons.