Craig's List 2014 Prospects

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by KelVarnsen

I love how people judge players based on the WJC. Dustin Boyd looked good in the WJC. Dustin Boyd!

Nigel Dawes as well.

[CliffFletcher]

There are lots of draft-eligible 6-4 defencemen. Ekblad stands out for his hockey smarts. He's not one of those freak athletes where the assessment is that they have all the tools, they just need to develop a toolbox. Ekblad has the hockey IQ and the willingness to learn. I don't know if he has the dynamic offensive skill to become a Norris-candidate d-man. But he projects to be a very strong workhorse on the back end. It would be foolish to pass him over for anything other than a blue-chip #1 centre, and I don't see one of those in this draft.

[herashak]

keith = toews
Doughty > kopitar
Chara > krejci
#1 dmen are used more when it comes playoff time for most teams. For success it's been a horse on the back end eating up huge minutes, and depth at C but not necessarily the best #1 C. Really can't go wrong with either pick, ideally its ekblad this year and mcdavid/ eichel next year. but Noah hanifin is better than ekblad imo.

[saXon]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

No, I agree, but Dal Colle or Draisaitl or Bennett are not in the same tier as Reinhart.

Purely opinion. And I'll take it as that.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by herashak

keith = toews
Doughty > kopitar
Chara > krejci
#1 dmen are used more when it comes playoff time for most teams. For success it's been a horse on the back end eating up huge minutes, and depth at C but not necessarily the best #1 C. Really can't go wrong with either pick, ideally its ekblad this year and mcdavid/ eichel next year. but Noah hanifin is better than ekblad imo.

Toews>Keith with their first Cup, at least in my opinion. As good as Keith was, Toews easily deserved his Conn Smythe.

I would put Doughty close to Kopitar, I know I saw that one differently than others but Kopitar would have been my second pick for the Conn Smythe behind Quick.

Chara was easily the more important player. No argument there.

Malkin and Crosby were far more important than Gonchar.

Zetterberg definitely earned his Conn Smythe shutting down Crosby. Lidstrom was no slouch of course.

Niedermayer, Pronger and even Beauchemin who averaged over 30 minutes a game each were more important than Getzlaf though.

Staal vs Hedican wasn't even close.

It's nice when you got both, but I think at worst a number 1 center is as important as a number 1 defenseman.

[bucksmasher]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

No, I agree, but Dal Colle or Draisaitl or Bennett are not in the same tier as Reinhart.

Ekblad is the better prospect than any one else in my opinion, so you don't take the lesser prospect when the team's need for a stud defencemen is just as great.

I think you're bending to positional need more than BPA. Ekblad could be BPA at 2-3 pick but you have to take a bigger gamble. The fragility of the Flames would cause a giant implosion if Ekblad wound up not being a 1-2 stud D. IMO safe pick is forward.

[sureLoss]

If Ekblad were to turn into a player similar to what Erik Johnson is now would anyone be upset?

[PeteLFan]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

If Ekblad were to turn into a player similar to what Erik Johnson is now would anyone be upset?

Yes.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

If Ekblad were to turn into a player similar to what Erik Johnson is now would anyone be upset?

If there was a Toews picked after him, definitely.

But that was a fairly weak draft, so not a completely terrible pick considering the crop.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

If Ekblad were to turn into a player similar to what Erik Johnson is now would anyone be upset?

What if Sam Reinhart turns into a RNH or a Yakupov?

[moon]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

If Ekblad were to turn into a player similar to what Erik Johnson is now would anyone be upset?

If we drafted him then disappointed would be better word but I guess upset as well.

Originally Posted by Ashasx

What if Sam Reinhart turns into a RNH or a Yakupov?

If we drafted him I would be fine with him being like RNH, although he isn't so small so doubt he has the injury trouble. Pissed if he were Yak but hard to see that. Already a much better attitude and much better 200 ft. game.

[The Original FFIV]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

If Ekblad were to turn into a player similar to what Erik Johnson is now would anyone be upset?

Absolutely. Burke has made it clear the team can't afford to make mistakes at the draft and this would be a huge miss. Beware the can't miss defenceman.

[Table 5]

Looking back a little closer, Toews, Backstrom, Giroux, Kessel, Lucic were all in that draft.

If I'm the team that has the #1 overall pick, and end up with Erik Johnson, yeah I would consider that to be a weak pick.

[nik-]

Reinhart isn't dumb like Yakupov and he's already more robust than RNH.

[YogiBerra]

Future considerations posted their january rankings:
http://futureconsiderations.ca/fc-re...014-nhl-draft/

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). LW/C Michael Dal Colle, Oshawa (OHL), 6-2, 180
5). C/LW Sam Bennett, Kingston (OHL), 6-0, 180

I would be happy with any of the top five, love that they all have decent size picking good years to draft in for that consideration at least.

[FlameZilla]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

If Ekblad were to turn into a player similar to what Erik Johnson is now would anyone be upset?

Erik Johnson is only 25 & he's starting to put it together. I believe he is quietly one of the reasons for the Avs' dramatic improvement this season. Last season he was terrible & the Avs were just as bad. I think there's still upside there & we will see Johnson start to get mentioned with the elite defencemen over the next few years.

We all acknowledge that defencemen usually take more time to develop. Pronger took a few years (and a couple of different teams) to hit his stride. Once he did there's no denying that he was worth the #2 overall pick.

If we are lucky enough to draft Ekblad we have to expect him to take 5 to 7 years to fully develop. Any lack of patience would be disastrous. So, to answer your question: no I wouldn't be upset if he turned into an Erik Johnson, as long as the Flames are patient enough to let him reach his prime in our jersey.

[Erick Estrada]

I'm on the Ekblad bandwagon but I feel the Flames will have to draft 1st overall to get him and I don't know if Buffalo is going to give up that spot.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I'm on the Ekblad bandwagon but I feel the Flames will have to draft 1st overall to get him and I don't know if Buffalo is going to give up that spot.

If its close - I think Buffalo would go forward. They picked two defensemen in the first round last year

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by nik-

I'm still scared of the "Physical freak show in the CHL" dominance. I'd still prefer Sammy, but if he's gone and Ekblad is on the board with our pick, I'd be ok if we took him.

He played in the OHL at 15 and was good and I doubt he was throwing guys around at 15.

He also isn't some super physical guy who relies on size and strength out there, it helps but that's not his game. Just because a guy can grow a beard doesn't mean he's some kind of caveman that can't be moved.

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by FlameZilla

Erik Johnson is only 25 & he's starting to put it together. I believe he is quietly one of the reasons for the Avs' dramatic improvement this season. Last season he was terrible & the Avs were just as bad. I think there's still upside there & we will see Johnson start to get mentioned with the elite defencemen over the next few years.

We all acknowledge that defencemen usually take more time to develop. Pronger took a few years (and a couple of different teams) to hit his stride. Once he did there's no denying that he was worth the #2 overall pick.

If we are lucky enough to draft Ekblad we have to expect him to take 5 to 7 years to fully develop. Any lack of patience would be disastrous. So, to answer your question: no I wouldn't be upset if he turned into an Erik Johnson, as long as the Flames are patient enough to let him reach his prime in our jersey.

Even if the next 3 picks turn into a Toews, Backstrom, or Kessel?

edit: I guess my point is, that you are right in that you have to be patient with draft picks, but you also need to account for what you are potentially missing out on while you wait on development.

Toews, Backstrom and Kessel have all made much more meaningful impacts to their respective teams to date than what Johnson has or arguably will ever do for his teams