Summer Prospect Ranking Poll Round 9

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Wow, no love for Granlund who shone in the WJC and prospect camp.

Ranking purely on skill, my ranking would be:
Gaudreau/Jankowski (really can't decide)
Monahan
Baertschi/Granlund (Baertschi is more proven a a much harder worker, Granlund has a better shot and does some really cool things sometimes I think).

Baertschi is easily a better and more important prospect. Granlund just isn't as developed as Baertschi, and has a bit more holes in his game. Skill-level, I think it is really close.

With that being said, the biggest thing about Granlund's game to me is his release. Exceptional hard, accurate and it happens QUICKLY. I think his release is arguably the best amongst the prospects. Calgary's most pure sniper prospect (which is why I actually think he will transition to wing rather than remain as a center).

I like Poirier's over-all game a bit more - skating, grit, forechecking, and he has some playmaking ability and generates offence himself. Trying to figure out if Klimchuk's over-all game puts him on top over Markus or not, or if Markus' shooting and offensive vision ranks higher than Klimchuk's ability to do everything really well.

[RyZ]

Went with Klimchuck again. I think he's going to leave a big mark on this team in a number of years. Even more so than some of the guys voted ahead of him. He's gonna threaten 50 in the WHL this year if he plays the full season. I was pretty surprised he wasn't at the Hockey Canada WJHC development camp this past week and think he will be in consideration by the time December rolls around.

[cral12]

Now my 6th time (round) voting for Klimchuk; 7 times lucky?

[Southside]

Looks like Poirier will be the first guy to carry a clear (50+%) majority in a round since Jankowski in Round 5. Encouraging that we have the prospect depth to keep the debate going like this.

Going Granlund to round out the Top 10.

How many rounds are we going?

[Bingo]

I certainly don't men to disparage Horak in any way, and I agree the guy has exceeded expectations to date and is over looked.

It's tough to pick one, even at the 9th spot because I still have a good 14 guys on the list that I find intriguing. That's what makes the Flames prospect list so different than in previous years.

I'm with whoever mentioned Reinhart the other day. I was pumped about a guy like that exceeding his 3rd round pedigree and looking so polished in camp. He didn't disappoint with the big club and I expect he'll be a mainstay at some point.

But he's just not in my radar yet in this process which is shocking when you think we are 9 deep.

Hopefully the kool aid isn't affecting us, and the Flames have a great system and a huge jump on the rebuild, like many of us are thinking.

Personally I'm just happy they have the Dome on schedule so we have preseason games this year. Season ticket holders complain about them, but man will that be fun to see who's in the lineup each night and fighting to make the team.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Southside

How many rounds are we going?

20 at least

But I'll keep going if we continue to post 200 votes and 5 pages or so of discussion on each.

[djsFlames]

Markus ####ing Granlund.

Him and Poirier are probably on the same tier as to their projections, but Granlund is closer right now.

[Freddy]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

I like Bouma. IMO he's a 4th liner who can fill on the 3rd line. So his ceiling is pretty low. He's almost a lock to make the big team this year however. Not sure I'd even consider him a prospect still.

Much like Backlund, Horak, and Brodie; Bouma's early ice time in the NHL was spent on 3rd & 4th lines (or bottom pairing) in order to limit the teams exposure to rookie mistakes. Once the coach is completely confident in the players professional 2 way game their roles are expanded and the real tryouts for top line/pairing and special teams begin. I think Horak has put in his time and will be given opportunities to play top 6, Brodie grabbed the reins of top 4 by the end of last season and this season I think Bouma will earn a permanent/prominant spot on the 3rd line as a capable shutdown player against other teams top lines. Delegating that shutdown responsibility to a reliable, fast, in-your-face young guy that could be part of a winning nucleus is why a guy like Bouma is a better prospect than journeyman FA's or players added through trade.

If I look into my crystal ball with rose coloured glasses I see the Flames winning the cup in 2016 (or 17 or 18) with Monahan, Goudreau, Baertschi, Gilles, and Wotherspoon getting all the credit meanwhile the next offseason Bouma (despite a statistically great playoffs) gets the short end of the stick on the resigning priority list and the Flames inexplicably aren't as dominant thereafter. Effective 3 line anchors are not as easy to find as it would seem, I see Bouma's value as potentially one of those anchors.

[expatflame]

Had to go with Granlund. That guy really impressed me at the development camp.

[StrykerSteve]

Agostino. Was very impressed by him at dev camp.

[cral12]

How cool is it to see a high quality prospect pool with depth this early in the finally admitted to rebuild?

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Markus ####ing Granlund.

Him and Poirier are probably on the same tier as to their projections, but Granlund is closer right now.

I was close on Granlund. I think he's got very high offensive instincts and a very good shot. Just depends on his defensive game and managing his size. The other Granlund hasn't done exceptionally well yet because of his size.

No worries there with Poirier, so I went with him.

[PlayfulGenius]

Originally Posted by _Q_

Went with Horak again simply because I think he's already at where Klimchuk/Poirier project to be.

Yikes, I don't Feaster would have taken either in the 1st round if he expected hem to be what Horak is now, which a border line NHLer... Weak comment.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

People tend to make light or not realize how exceptional Horak has done to date... from the 2009 draft he is #22 in NHL games played (81) ..... only 16 guys drafted in the First round have more NHL games than him.

Not too much of a stretch to say that Horak would have been a good pick at #17-20 in that first round.

Overlooking the team he played for. Realistically on 25+ other teams he barely steps on NHL ice if at all.

And I guess it depends how you want to define a a good pick at #17-20. He's looking like he has a good chance of becoming an NHLer so in that regard he'll accomplish more than a lot of other players picked in that area. However, he's not looking close to the top 20 of players coming out of that draft in my opinion. There's a lot of decent defenseman like de Haan and Rundblad that will take more time to develop but have higher ceilings. There's really a lot of players that have had only a cup of coffee in the NHL but are probably projected to have more upside than Horak but have less games played due to their teams depth. The Ducks alone might have 3 players from that draft in Palmieri, Holland and Vatanen.

I also disagree with the previous poster who compared Klimchuk and Poirier's upside to what Horak is now. I know it wasn't a perfect analogy and even Horak's upside is higher than it is now, but that would require both of the 2013 1st rounders to get weaker pretty much. Horak's lack of strength really hurts his potential. He's only 22 so he can buff up and he's not without skill but this Horak would never be able to touch the third line of a competitive team. At least with Poirier if his offense doesn't completely translate to the NHL has a chance of getting bigger, more physical and with his speed make him a plausible 3rd liner. He's not nearly as top 6 or farm team like Horak is (should be).

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by PlayfulGenius

Yikes, I don't Feaster would have taken either in the 1st round if he expected hem to be what Horak is now, which a border line NHLer... Weak comment.

What does that mean exactly? Borderline NHLer?

Horak looks to be a lock to be a 3rd line C/W and perhaps can develop into a 2nd liner.

Not sure how that makes him a borderline NHLer.

Weak comment by you I'd say.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Horak has proven to be serviceable but not noteworthy on a bubble team and little more

[PlayfulGenius]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

What does that mean exactly? Borderline NHLer?

Horak looks to be a lock to be a 3rd line C/W and perhaps can develop into a 2nd liner.

Not sure how that makes him a borderline NHLer.

Weak comment by you I'd say.

Do you watch the games? He's been in the AHL a fair amount, that makes him a borderline NHLer at he moment, how can you possibly argue that.

The original comment referred to Horak as he is right now...not even speculating what he might become...I hope he becomes a 2nd line player, I'm certainly a huge fan.

Are you also of the opinion that Feaster has his fingers crossed, pleading with the Hockey Gods, praying that Poirier might somehow find a way to, over the length of his career, somehow achieve all that Roman Horak has achieved to date???

I guess I shouldn't be too hard on you as you have your hands full watching the draft, I know.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Horak has proven to be serviceable but not noteworthy on a bubble team and little more

Sure. At age what, 21? Very few players have hit their peak at that age. Very few players are fully developed at that age.

Backlund was pretty mediocre before last season as well. Horak shows a lot of smarts, skill and has improved a lot of his weaknesses, namely strength on the puck.

To write him off as a borderline NHLer or serviceable NHLer on a bubble team is to not understand that young players develop over time. Horak is an important piece going forward unless he takes a step back.

Apparently he's quite underrated by some of you. As far as young players go, he was one of our top 4 young players last year behind guys like Brodie, Backlund and Baertschi. I get that some people don't consider him a prospect anymore. But you haven't been watching him closely at all if you think he's a borderline NHLer in the future.

Go Horak IMO.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by PlayfulGenius

Do you watch the games? He's been in the AHL a fair amount, that makes him a borderline NHLer at he moment, how can you possibly argue that.

The original comment referred to Horak as he is right now...not even speculating what he might become...I hope he becomes a 2nd line player, I'm certainly a huge fan.

Yes I watch the games.

I'm not arguing he's been a borderline NHLer earlier in his career. I will argue if people claim that is his upside.

As far as these threads go, it is all about what these players will become. Anybody who is a proven NHLer isn't on this poll, isn't on this list. So the vast majority of these players we are voting for aren't even borderline NHLers yet.

Perhaps we're getting hung up on semantics. When you say borderline NHLer I think of a guy like Krys Kolanos or Jamie Lundmark. Roman Horak to me is a future NHLer who won't be borderline at all. Borderline NHLers are AHL/NHL tweeners, 13th, 14th, 15th forwards.

I suspect this is just a disagreement based on definitions. Sounds like we both like Horak's upside as a 3rd/2nd liner long term.

For the purposes of these polls does it really matter if Horak was a borderline NHLer to this point? Aren't we trying to project what these players will become?

[PlayfulGenius]

Dude, I responded to EXACTLY what the guy wrote... No need to tell me what the thread is about, it's not relevant.