FC's 2014 NHL Draft Thread

[sureLoss]

I think it is safe to say after not drafting a goalie in 2013 and the loss of Brossoit, the Flames will look to keep the goal-tending pipeline filled with another pick, this year.

Weisbrod isn't a fan of picking a goalie with a 1st round pick and Flames probably will not use their 2nd round pick on a goalie either (still a lot of holes to fill elsewhere).

But from the 3rd round or later, there should be at least one goalie the Flames will snag.

Article from September that looked at some of the higher ranked goalies in this draft:
http://flames.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=684200

[iLoveLamp]

Went to the Hitmen game tonight to check out Virtanen and Shinkaruk.


Virtanen will be a good player. If I were to describe his speed, I would say he is explosive. There were several times where he caught the Medicine Hat dmen turning around and he just blew right by them. That's a big plus, and obviously his size is a big plus, you can't teach that. But, his decision making isn't the best, there were more than a few times where he made blind passes to no one, and ended up turning it over or putting it in his own zone. He still has a lot of time to work on that obviously, and I will probably check him out a few more times this season.

Shinkaruk wasn't too bad. His skating was good and would probably cut it in the NHL. The goal he scored tonight wasn't terrific though, he was standing in front of the net and the puck happened to come to his stick and he just tapped it in. He also gets knocked off the puck VERY easily, there were medium sized guys on the Hitmen that were knocking him down routinely. And he scored a goal on his own net. I'm not entirely sure what he was trying to do, but a Hitmen player took a shot and it went off the goalie's pads, Shinkaruk was right there and from a bird's eye view it looked like he just shot it into his own net.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

I think it is safe to say after not drafting a goalie in 2013 and the loss of Brossoit, the Flames will look to keep the goal-tending pipeline filled with another pick, this year.

Weisbrod isn't a fan of picking a goalie with a 1st round pick and Flames probably will not use their 2nd round pick on a goalie either (still a lot of holes to fill elsewhere).

But from the 3rd round or later, there should be at least one goalie the Flames will snag.

Article from September that looked at some of the higher ranked goalies in this draft:
http://flames.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=684200

A team with no legit starter like the Flames should take at least one guy per year until they find one. Last year it was Berra, the year before that it was gillies, the year before that it was Ramo.

It's really throwing darts at the dartboard when it comes to goalies, that's why I wouldn't mind if we used a 6th or 7th on one or even two if they look good enough. Worst case scenario is that multiple guys develop and you trade them off for good picks/prospects.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by FCAV

New November Ranking for the 2014 NHL Draft! And yes, there's a new No. 1.



Top-30 available HERE.

If the Flames get any of the top 6 I'll be happy. There isn't a huge difference between Dal Colle and Reinhart or any in between. After that it drops off a bit.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Just taking a quick look at those Top-30, this is going to be a really big draft class. Lots of 6'1" and 6'2" guys in the first round.

[devo22]

I see right wing Vaclav Karabacek is doing fine at Gatineau ... projected to go somewhere between the 2nd and 4th round I think. I remember him playing in the Salzburg youth system here ... would be funny if he ended up on the Flames. They surely have a good read on him from watching Poirier.

[Hockey_Ninja]

If I'm Aaron Ekblad I try to do whatever it takes not to be drafted by the Oilers. Even if I had to pull a Lindross and be hated on for years.

[herashak]

Kingston is playing on sportsnet right now, (bennet and mckeown) two top prospects. Mckeown is probably the #2 dman in the draft behind ekblad.

[Francis's Hairpiece]

Originally Posted by herashak

Kingston is playing on sportsnet right now, (bennet and mckeown) two top prospects. Mckeown is probably the #2 dman in the draft behind ekblad.

And he's a right handed shot. I like his offensive potential, too.

[herashak]

Originally Posted by Francis's Hairpiece

And he's a right handed shot. I like his offensive potential, too.

Yeah he seems like right handed brodie to me. I think if we dont get ekblad we should drop down and draft him.

[The Original FFIV]

With Florida and Buffalo sucking bad and along with the bottom feeders in the east and our northern neighbors, can anyone else see us finishing just good enough to fall in the 3-8 slot? Looks like we will be in a Monahan type spot again where we will be lucky for someone to fall to us.

THN is reporting the top 45 players are good and plummets after that. Given that we might be dealing with playoff teams with our ufas, hope Feaster gets 1sts if he can and if not, ask for 2015 2nd rounders or prospects, 2nds outside the non playoff teams appear to hold little value given the talent drop off.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by The Original FFIV

With Florida and Buffalo sucking bad and along with the bottom feeders in the east and our northern neighbors, can anyone else see us finishing just good enough to fall in the 3-8 slot? Looks like we will be in a Monahan type spot again where we will be lucky for someone to fall to us.

THN is reporting the top 45 players are good and plummets after that. Given that we might be dealing with playoff teams with our ufas, hope Feaster gets 1sts if he can and if not, ask for 2015 2nd rounders or prospects, 2nds outside the non playoff teams appear to hold little value given the talent drop off.

I expect the Flames to finish between 3 and 5, realistically. Buffalo and Florida are just too bad, but other than that ... the Isles are a good team on paper and with Snow obviously still looking to strengthen the team, I'm sure they'll finish ahead of us. Normally, the Coilers should finish ahead as well. I think we'll miss out on Ekblad and Reinhart, and go home with one of Dal Colle/Draisaitl/Bennett, which is fine for me. If Feaster could add another 1st so we could draft a good defenseman, I'd be even more ecstatic.

[FCAV]

Should note we have a ton of new coverage up on the site, including our December ranking:

1). D Aaron Ekblad, Barrie (OHL), 6-4, 215
2). C Sam Reinhart, Kootenay (WHL), 6-1, 185
3). C Leon Draisaitl, Prince Albert (WHL), 6-2, 210
4). C William Nylander, Rogle (Allsvenskan), 5-11, 170
5). LW Sam Bennett, Kingston (OHL), 6-0, 180
6). C Michael Dal Colle, Oshawa (OHL), 6-2, 180
7). LW Brendan Perlini, Niagara (OHL), 6-2, 205
8). LW Nick Ritchie, Peterborough (OHL), 6-2, 230
9). D Haydn Fleury, Red Deer (WHL), 6-3, 200
10). D Roland McKeown, Kingston (OHL), 6-1, 200

Full Top-30 HERE
Full Top-100 HERE (via newsletter)

[PeteMoss]

Bunch of OHL guys... I should try to watch a few here...

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by FCAV

Should note we have a ton of new coverage up on the site, including our December ranking:



Full Top-30 HERE
Full Top-100 HERE (via newsletter)

Michael Dal Colle is still being listed as a Center? I thought his team has moved him permanently to LW?

Ekblad over Reinhart.
Draisaitl over Nylander
Bennet over Cole
Fleury over McKeown

All very interesting. Seems like the draft order this year might have much more movement than in the last few years. Also interesting to note that the 1st RW is at #14.

What was Kapanen's ranking in the summer? I kept hearing he would most likely be a top 10 pick. I anticipated that both him and Nylander will fall as some others have done (like Forsberg) due to their size. Seems like NHL clubs are once again trying to load up on size, unless they already have it or the player is just too attractive to pass up (like Drouin, of course).

Should be a great season for those that watch the draft races. I bet Draisaitl ends up in the top 3, possibly in the top 2. Highest drafted German if that is the case, I think.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Highest drafted German if that is the case, I think.

easily ... he actually has the chance to become the highest draft pick from a German speaking country ever:

5th overall - 2003 - Thomas Vanek (Austria)
5th overall - 2010 - Nino Niederreiter (Switzerland)
13th overall - 2011 - Sven Baertschi (Switzerland)
14th overall - 1997 - Michel Riesen (Switzerland)
14th overall - 2006 - Michael Grabner (Austria)
19th overall - 1989 - Olaf Kolzig (Germany)
19th overall - 2008 - Luca Sbisa (Switzerland)
20th overall - 2001 - Marcel Goc (Germany)
21th overall - 1996 - Marco Sturm (Germany)

unless, of course, you count Dany Heatley, who has dual citizenship (Canada-Germany).

[Roof-Daddy]

That Draisaitl looks intriguing.

6'2" 210 lbs at 18? ..and a Center?

44 points (1.52 points per game), and the next closest forward to him on the team has 25.

Anybody see him play much?

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

That Draisaitl looks intriguing.

6'2" 210 lbs at 18? ..and a Center?

44 points (1.52 points per game), and the next closest forward to him on the team has 25.

Anybody see him play much?

I have only seen him play twice myself. He looked impressive out there for sure. Guys on HF were saying how he has many elite traits, but seems to lack hockey IQ at times. I didn't really pick up on that (but once again, saw him twice anyways), but he seems like a good bet to have a future as an impact forward. If Flames are picking in the top 5, and Reinhart, Ekblad and Dal Colle are all gone, I would be very, very happy to snag this kid.

[Francis's Hairpiece]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Michael Dal Colle is still being listed as a Center? I thought his team has moved him permanently to LW?

Ekblad over Reinhart.
Draisaitl over Nylander
Bennet over Cole
Fleury over McKeown

All very interesting. Seems like the draft order this year might have much more movement than in the last few years. Also interesting to note that the 1st RW is at #14.

What was Kapanen's ranking in the summer? I kept hearing he would most likely be a top 10 pick. I anticipated that both him and Nylander will fall as some others have done (like Forsberg) due to their size. Seems like NHL clubs are once again trying to load up on size, unless they already have it or the player is just too attractive to pass up (like Drouin, of course).

Should be a great season for those that watch the draft races. I bet Draisaitl ends up in the top 3, possibly in the top 2. Highest drafted German if that is the case, I think.

Agree with all of your picks. However, as much as I like Fleury, McKeown is a RHD. That makes it tougher, in my mind.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by Francis's Hairpiece

Agree with all of your picks. However, as much as I like Fleury, McKeown is a RHD. That makes it tougher, in my mind.

Sorry, I wasn't really clear about that. I was actually commentating on some guys that were ranked ahead of the other ones that seemed to have a bit more noise to start the season, but not necessarily guys I have ranked ahead, or my favorites. Personally, I still prefer Reinhart over Ekblad for example. I do like Draisaitl over Nylander. Some I agree with, some others I don't - but more commenting on how much the lists I see flip-flopping a lot thus far.