Risky pick but in the same time flames address the lack of topend talent which is crucial for the success in the next decade and for replacing jarome as the leader of this team.
great post, its amazing how people want all these things then when they happen they complain.
"need to draft a #1 center" - that's his potential
"need to draft players with high potential" he has that
"need to pick up a 2nd rounder" - done
"trust Weisbrod's plan" - this was Weisbrod's choice
seems like alot of people just like to talk and suggest solutions but when push comes to shove its all just lip service.
This is exactly why I'm heaping praise on this pick as if I took several doses of E or something.
It's exactly the type of pick that everyone on here has been ranting for years about making. We all should be excited. He does have some warts, but not in regards to his play. Talent wise he is very close to Gaudreau, but is a big center instead of a shorty. This is exactly what everyone has been wanting for the last decade. If he had his growth spurt earlier (and been in the OHL accordingly), he wouldn't have been available at 14 let alone 21.
Teravainen isn't a home run pick either. He was the beneficiary of some media hype for sure. He has skill and would've been a decent pick, but his being a shorter guy that profiles more out to be a winger is not as high of a priority as getting a skilled Center.
Skill wise, Jankowski has everything that we would hope for. Good Speed, Size, Hands, Playmaking ability, and shot. The only negative is that he grew 8 inches the past two years and wasn't drafted in the OHL. That's pretty much it.
Weisbrod is praising him as the next Joe Nieuwendyk lol, I think what transpired had a lot to do with Jbouw and the inability to move him. There was an incredible amount of smoke around him and I think the flames were hoping to get a 2nd rounder and a prospect/younger player for him. Had they done that, they may have taken a Ceci at 14 and tried to trade up to an early 2nd rounder (if they didint get that from Jbouw) to get Jankowski there.
They are saying candidly they had his namepatch on his jersey before the draft today, in the end, it really doesnt matter if we got him at 21 or 33, it's whether our belief in him is warranted. Time will tell.
The Finnish Elite league, or the SM-liiga, is pretty much in a tailspin. The best Finns are increasingly playing in KHL, NHL or Swedish Elite league. The dominant scorers are North American washups like Stephen Dixon and Eric Perrin. The best Finn is Mikael Granlund at sixth, and he's still a kid and I don't think he was at his best all year. (Too many international games, too much attention from everybody.) The defenseman in this league here are even worse than our forwards. The only good thing we have is goalies.
Teuvo Teräväinen getting 18 points (in 40 games) in this league is not impressive at all and having seen him play, here's my conclusion;
If Teräväinen (or someone on his level) was the best player on the board, I'm happy that the Flames went off the board.
Also, Jankowski sounds intriguing. Certainly has all the makings of a real steal.
The Following 21 Users Say Thank You to Itse For This Useful Post:
The more I read about Jankowski, the more I like the pick. It's refreshing to see the Flames going off the board and draft for potential instead of going the same old safe road once again. After all the "safe" picks from Sutter, I think it's great that the Flames are willing to roll the dice. He's a project, but if he fills his frame and his talent translates to higher levels, he'll be a great prospect. He's boom-or-bust, but isn't that what the fans on here have wanted for years? As Caged Great said: Jankowski is exactly the kind of pick everybody was hoping for. High risk, high reward.
If they indeed targeted Jankowski from the get-go, then trading down seven spots and picking up a second-round pick is great asset management. At 42, we can nab a good prospect today ... first-round talent that is still available: Matt Finn, Colton Sissons, Martin Frk, Mike Winther, Dalton Thrower, Phil di Giuseppe, Sebastian Collberg, Pontus Aberg, Ludvig Bystrom, Scott Kosmarchuk, Nicolas Kerdiles. Given that someone will probably take Oscar Dansk early in the 2nd round, the Flames could get one of the above ... they will get a solid prospect out of that pick for sure.
The Following User Says Thank You to devo22 For This Useful Post:
I am hoping the Flames take a D-man @ 42 just for balance unless a good guy like Collberg, Di Giuseppe, or to a lesser extent Nieves or Brian Hart are on the board
I'm just sussing this pick out. No worries. Intriguing pick, no doubt. I don't mind a homerun swing, since our drafting has been pretty garbage anyway.
He gets some high praise from Fighting Saints coach Jim Montgomery:
Mark Jankowski (1st Round, 11th overall) – C – Standstead Prep
“Mark is a tremendously gifted offensive player who has high-end hockey sense, handles the puck with soft hands, and can shoot it. He’s kind of like a 6’3 John Gaudreau.”
LMAO. Weisbrod wasn't even the GM of the Magic yet when Bergeron was drafted.
The amount of credit that guy gets for no results (yet hopefully) is ridiculous.
Last I checked the Magic are in the N.B.A. and Bergeron plays hockey. Weisbrod when he was the G.M. of the Magic selected Dwight
Howard first overall and he got slammed for that pick. Weisbrod. Was hired because he sees the character of the player to go with the talent, his history shows he knows what he is doing.
Weisbrod is praising him as the next Joe Nieuwendyk lol, I think what transpired had a lot to do with Jbouw and the inability to move him. There was an incredible amount of smoke around him and I think the flames were hoping to get a 2nd rounder and a prospect/younger player for him. Had they done that, they may have taken a Ceci at 14 and tried to trade up to an early 2nd rounder (if they didint get that from Jbouw) to get Jankowski there.
They are saying candidly they had his namepatch on his jersey before the draft today, in the end, it really doesnt matter if we got him at 21 or 33, it's whether our belief in him is warranted. Time will tell.
There really was not much smoke around Bouwmeester at all. He was never asked to waive his no trade clause, there was really no legitimate rumors thrown out there about any possible deal. They talked about how they knew that 3 other teams would've selected him in the 1st round, so clearly that was not the case.
I hope that 5 years from now there's at least an inkling that this guy is close to being NHL ready. That will be about the time frame he can probably start being assessed as a good pick or not - it'll be interesting to see if others picked after him in the first round make an impact much sooner than that.
More outside the box thinking and creativity here, similar to the Czervenka signing.
The Finnish Elite league, or the SM-liiga, is pretty much in a tailspin. The best Finns are increasingly playing in KHL, NHL or Swedish Elite league. The dominant scorers are North American washups like Stephen Dixon and Eric Perrin. The best Finn is Mikael Granlund at sixth, and he's still a kid and I don't think he was at his best all year. (Too many international games, too much attention from everybody.) The defenseman in this league here are even worse than our forwards. The only good thing we have is goalies.
Teuvo Teräväinen getting 18 points (in 40 games) in this league is not impressive at all and having seen him play, here's my conclusion;
If Teräväinen (or someone on his level) was the best player on the board, I'm happy that the Flames went off the board.
Also, Jankowski sounds intriguing. Certainly has all the makings of a real steal.
Not interested in a debate on Teuvo since that train has passed, or on your hyperbolic take on the Finnish league, but you're being a bit unfair there. He wasn't a first round pick at all until very late. He's something like a day older than Jankowski. Most of his points came during the latter half of the season and he got 6 points in 9 games in the playoffs. Markus Granlund who is a year older could barely crack his team's lineup in the playoffs let alone contribute offense.
Understandable if the Flames didn't have Teuvo on the list if they were set on Jankowski since December or whatever, but teams draft based on qualities, not how many points they get against men at 17. No one goes, 'Ooh he had 18 points, he must be sniper!' or 'Wow, Filip Forsberg had 17 points in the second-tier league in Sweden! He's a star!' Lots of great European NHLers didn't have stats against men in their draft year.
My only problem with how this all went down is where he was picked. I actually like that we picked Jankowski, and love that we are going for the home run type prospects, but feel he might have been there at around 35-40 (could be way off though) and we could've tried to work something out where we move up 5-10 spots from the 2nd we got yesterday at the cost of a 4th or something similar to get him.
To me, that's a risk worth taking to get a higher ranked 1st rounder and possibly the guy the Flames really wanted in the early 2nd. Maybe it's just me, but I'd much rather be talking about TWO potential 1st liners after today than one.
Still pretty happy with it, happy we got a 2nd if they were gonna take Jankowski anyways, and the more I hear and read about Jankowski the more I like him, but wish things had transpired differently. Hope I'm wrong and he's the steal of the draft though.
I hope that 5 years from now there's at least an inkling that this guy is close to being NHL ready. That will be about the time frame he can probably start being assessed as a good pick or not - it'll be interesting to see if others picked after him in the first round make an impact much sooner than that.
More outside the box thinking and creativity here, similar to the Czervenka signing.
I remember when the Oilers tried some outside the box thinking and took the likes of Niinimakki and M.A Pouliot.
It's better to stay in the box when you do your thinking.
