The Drive for 30th

[Bar-Down]

Mackinnon and Barkov are two of the youngest in this draft as well being born sept 1 and sept 2, 1995 respectively.

Mackinnon is going to be incredible and him being a great skater and being Canadian, I would take him first if he was available.

Monahan would be my pick if we are in the 6-10 range though.

[topfiverecords]

30th isn't going to matter. The Oilers will be in 12th spot and will win the lottery.

[mister__big]

Originally Posted by kukkudo

Anyone know what teams in the 2-5 range usually give up to move up to 1st?

That very rarely happens, because the team with the 1st pick wouldn't trade down if they knew the player they want will be taken, and the team trading up wouldn't do it if they know the player they want isn't being taken anyway.

The only time I can remember this happening was when Brian Burke willingly traded his 1st overall pick down to the Thrashers in exchange for the 2nd overall pick (Daniel Sedin) and a 3rd rounder. Even then, the Thrashers didn't want to make the trade at first and Burke had to convince Don Waddell that having the 1st overall pick would generate excitement and buzz for Atlanta fans as they were a brand new franchise. Of course, as part of the deal Burke also got a verbal guarantee from Waddell that he would draft Patrik Stefan and not one of the Sedins.

[Split98]

I just realized that for the first time I could possibly turn on TSN and see them FOAMING at this prospect in Flames duds.

Calling him 'the next big thing' and the 'answer to this franchise'.

I could get used to that...

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by Split98

I just realized that for the first time I could possibly turn on TSN and see them FOAMING at this prospect in Flames duds.

Calling him 'the next big thing' and the 'answer to this franchise'.

I could get used to that...

Please, we could trade Iggy to Flordia for their 1st, Bouwmeester to Washington for their 1st, and Kipper to the Av's for their 1st. Then draft Barkov, MacKinnon, Drouin and Jones. Then trade Gio, Cammy and Tangs for more 1sts, pick up Nurse, Monohan and Ristolainen and TSN would still have nothing positive to say.

[BruceCody]

Calgary farm club - place where prospects dissolved. Great Black Hole.

[RedMileDJ]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

If it happens, it happens.....but cheering for it to happen?

Not this Flames fan.

This. All this.

I know I'm late to thread, but has it really come to this? Fans hoping for a dead last finish. Yuk.

I know that the reality of the situation isn't good, but come on.

[Spinach]

Righteous indignation over hoping the Flames finish low and thereby get a high pick is misplaced. It's not like we go out and honk our horns whenever our team loses. It's just taking a big-picture approach.

I'm certainly not "cheering" for last. Finishing 29th-25th overall is more than sufficient. Finding that vaunted #1C is at least as good as getting the first overall pick and landing Jones.
This team probably won't finish dead last anyway; Florida is just simply pathetic, the Sabres are a train wreck, and there are a couple of teams pretty comparable to the Flames.

If drafting 2nd overall-MacKinnon
3rd overall - Drouin
4th - Barkov
5th - Monahan
6th - Lindholm
7th - Nurse
8th - Nichushkin

After that it gets a bit hazy. Shinkaruk & maybe that Zadorov behemoth are probably up there. As long as they go top-7/8 and do not trade down, the Flames should get a very good player.

Just imagine getting a high-end C this draft, and then a highly rated D next year, not to mention acquiring prospects through trades and in later rounds of the next two drafts. There is a huge opportunity for this team to be very well stocked within 2 seasons. (Of course, I'd prefer a playoff run, but let's be realistic).

[Caged Great]

I want the flames to win the cup, and I want them to make moves that furthers that goal. I am not going to be cheering for the Flames to lose, but I do want the Flames to be in a position where they have no other choice but to rebuild. That is the necessary step to get us a cup.

We are not going to make the playoffs this year. We are not going to make the playoffs next year, regardless of whether we keep all of our guys or we trade them off for picks/prospects. The important thing is the year after that. Either we're going to have a nice stable of the prospects we get in return from Iginla etc. + Drouin/Barkov + Baertschi etc., or we are going to have a slightly thinner group, which will cause us to have a longer rebuild. I'd prefer to minimize the whole suckage phase that we are in as much as possible, so we have to get more assets overall and that we can move on to possibly building a contender instead of being garbage for 10 years (we're in year 4 of that)

[bubbsy]

if we can get one of mackinnon, barkov, druin, monohan i'd be pretty damn content.

If we can manage to get 2 top 10 picks, i think i might shed a tear as a flames fan.

Tough year, never like cheering for losses, but let's be real, almost all franchises in all sports do have to hit rock bottom at some stage to get back to greatness.

This year is hopefully the flames starting of a new chapter.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

I want the flames to win the cup, and I want them to make moves that furthers that goal. I am not going to be cheering for the Flames to lose, but I do want the Flames to be in a position where they have no other choice but to rebuild. That is the necessary step to get us a cup.

This. I wouldn't still watch Flames games in the middle of the night if I cheered for them to lose ... but I want the Flames to be in a position at the deadline where their hands are tied. I don't want another deadline with the "fool me thrice, answers are in the room, yada yada yada" BS. The Flames have to start making decisions for the long-term health of the club and I doubt they'd do it if we're still "in the hunt" at the deadline.

[stignasty]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

Please, we could trade Iggy to Flordia for their 1st, Bouwmeester to Washington for their 1st, and Kipper to the Av's for their 1st. Then draft Barkov, MacKinnon, Drouin and Jones. Then trade Gio, Cammy and Tangs for more 1sts, pick up Nurse, Monohan and Ristolainen and TSN would still have nothing positive to say.

... and HNIC would recap with Sweet Georgia Brown playing in the background.

[gargamel]

I was trying to see how the draft lottery works under the new CBA, so I googled NHL draft lottery 2013. It made me sad that the first search result was from the Flames official site.

In case anyone else is curious, though, any non-playoff team can get the #1 pick now, but the worst team still has a 25% chance of getting the first pick and is guaranteed to pick in the top 2. As long as we're one of the 3 worst teams, we're guaranteed to get a top 4 pick.

[StrykerSteve]

I want Mackinnon.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by StrykerSteve

I want Mackinnon.

If he is available when the Flames pick I feel they have to take him. Heck if the Flames pick 1st overall I feel they need to pick him.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

If he is available when the Flames pick I feel they have to take him. Heck if the Flames pick 1st overall I feel they need to pick him.

I agree 100% he is the exact player this franchise needs and is a huge building block. The scouts might like Jones but if we get the chance we need to draft that big Canadian #1 centre even if we have first overall

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

If he is available when the Flames pick I feel they have to take him. Heck if the Flames pick 1st overall I feel they need to pick him.

Mixed feelings on that one because I now am on board with those that think Jones is a very special player - and an elite #1 dman can be just as important to a cup win as a #1 centre.

The tough decision comes if the Flames are sitting in the 3-hole with Mackinnon and Jones off the board. Do you take Drouin - who looks fantastic but is a winger? Tough call indeed.

[Caged Great]

My thoughts when it comes to prospects are, if you have two players playing the same position and are roughly similar in their overall talent level, then take the bigger one. The reason being, is if they hit their potential, they will be just that little bit better. The difference between McKinnon and Barkov is relatively small, with McKinnon being slightly faster, but no more or less dynamic. That's why I would take Barkov instead of McKinnon.

If I had to rate the 4 by preference it would be

1. Barkov


2. Jones
3. McKinnon
4. Drouin

[saillias]

Not sold on Jones, he gets approximately as much hype as Bouwmeester did. All the internet armchair scouts are saying Jones and even Drouin have passed MacKinnon now. The curse of no #1 C continues?

Whatever the case we should have more than 1 pick in the first.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Mixed feelings on that one because I now am on board with those that think Jones is a very special player - and an elite #1 dman can be just as important to a cup win as a #1 centre.

The tough decision comes if the Flames are sitting in the 3-hole with Mackinnon and Jones off the board. Do you take Drouin - who looks fantastic but is a winger? Tough call indeed.

Yes you take Drouin. Wether it be football, hockey, or whatever I feel when you are picking at the top of the draft you take the best player over position of need if a can't miss prospect is available when you pick. You can argue that he's the best player if picking at number one but you can also make cases for Jones and Mackinnon so if faced with that proposition you have more flexibility to choose based off need but given the lack of organizational depth at center I feel you have to take what is likely the best center prospect the organization may get a chance to pick in a long time. Barkov is right there but I would rather take a North American at this position as there are just too many variables with European players. Right now it's hard to discuss given we don't know exactly when the Flames will pick as it's possible they are at a lower position where they will be happy to get their hands on Barkov.

My personal opinion on Jones is that he's a no brainer for any teams that is looking for a franchise defenseman but it usually takes them longer to develope and there are a lot of can't miss defenders that go on to have pretty average careers. I remember that Hedman was hyped by many to be possibly the best player in the 2009 draft but looking back I don't think he's even better than Larsson and I would certainly rather have Tavares or Duchene. I feel that top line center is the most important skater position in hockey and the Flames have to address this position more than any other.