Craig's List 2014 Prospects

[Hockey_Ninja]

The team could easily take a turn for the worst again. Remember how quickly Carolina and Nashville catapulted down the standings? People should just chill out. Wherever we draft we'all be getting a solid prospect.

[strombad]

I'm just going to say it: I hate when people act concerned that we're winning games.

If these were games that we were being handed by teams, or if these wins were pointing to a trading of prospects/picks to prepare for the playoffs then yeah, I'd get it.

But these are hard fought wins. When the rebuild is over, THIS is the type of team you want to have. If the team plays like this right through then this rebuild is going to be a lot shorter than it would be if the team just accepted losses and got down on themselves.

We are going to pick in the bottom three, if not then MAYBE bottom five. But regardless, you cheer for wins, not worry about them. Period.

[SeeGeeWhy]

Completely! That's the culture we want; and besides when the guys play that way, even a loss is worth watching. I love watching sports for the struggle, it inspires me to never stop, so I want to see that in the teams I cheer for. The outcome almost doesn't matter as long as the effort is there

[Vulcan]

As we move up in the standings and out of the Ekblad race, I'm liking Fleury more. He's been moving up the draft rankings and now sits at 6th on McKenzie's list.

[nik-]

I want a good draft pick, but I also like watching my team win. I can enjoy the moment of the win and still be annoyed after that other teams are so bad. At this point though, I've kind of accepted that this is how it works with this team.

Going full Oiler is tanking.

Going full Flame is scrapping your way out of the basement when you really shouldn't.

Nothing to be done, we went full Flame. Might as well enjoy it.

[flamesfan1297]

I would rather we win some games and pick 4-6 then have a loser mentality and pick 1st. We don't want to be like the team up north

[nik-]

Picking high doesn't make us the team up north. Horrible management and relying solely on 1st overall picks does.

[Caged Great]

I would prefer the Flames to be picking in the top 3 personally even if we lose a lot to get there but am likeing what I'm seeing from a bunch of our guys. This year, thankfully, there isn't a huge drop off from Bennett/Reinhart to Dal Colle/Draisaitl. So it's not quite so bad if we pick 4th/5th.

However, next year, we absolutely must finish in the top 4. Each of them would be the #1 pick this year by a fair margin. If we miss out on getting one of those guys, we will be hampered quite a bit in our rebuilding efforts (need that high end skill)

[codynw]

Originally Posted by Phil Russell

This is very possible. And it could be a blessing. In some ways, Monahan fell into our laps as well (would we have taken him had we finished a position or two higher in the draft?) and that is turning out just fine so far.

I'm guessing Feaster's list was something like this

MacKinnon
Jones
Drouin
Barkov
Monahan

He really wanted a center but I don't think he would have passed on Jones/Drouin for anyone other than MacKinnon.

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

However, next year, we absolutely must finish in the top 4. Each of them would be the #1 pick this year by a fair margin. If we miss out on getting one of those guys, we will be hampered quite a bit in our rebuilding efforts (need that high end skill)

Hampered quite a bit? That's nonsense.

There are more examples of thrasher, jackets, oilers, panthers rebuilds than there are penguins and Blackhawks.

Burke's job is to build a winner starting a month ago. High picks are not a free pass anyway, he gets paid the big bucks to figure it out without having to tank.

[Steve Bozek]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

Hampered quite a bit? That's nonsense.

There are more examples of thrasher, jackets, oilers, panthers rebuilds than there are penguins and Blackhawks.

Agree, but I can't think of any recent Stanley Cup winners that didn't have a top 3 draft pick within a few years prior to appearing in the Cup finals.

[Spinach]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

As we move up in the standings and out of the Ekblad race, I'm liking Fleury more. He's been moving up the draft rankings and now sits at 6th on McKenzie's list.

And what is the highest the Flames have ever drafted? Somewhere between fifth and seventh.

The best pick we can hope for is 2nd, and that's if we win the lottery. There's almost no chance of finishing in the standings behind the hopeless Sabres and Oilers. In all likelihood, the Flames will be drafting 3rd-6th. Unless teams are really high on guys not named Ekblad, we won't be getting him.

If it's true, as I believe MacKenzie alluded to a couple of months ago, that Ekblad is not going to be a #1 defenceman, then not getting him isn't the end of the world. And Fleury sounds like a great choice at #6 (or maybe even at 4 if he keeps climbing).

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

Hampered quite a bit? That's nonsense.

There are more examples of thrasher, jackets, oilers, panthers rebuilds than there are penguins and Blackhawks.

Burke's job is to build a winner starting a month ago. High picks are not a free pass anyway, he gets paid the big bucks to figure it out without having to tank.

The last team to win a cup without a top 5 pick was Detroit in 08.

13 - Kane Toews
12 - Doughty
11 - Seguin
10 - Kane Towes
09 - Crosby Malkin Fleury Whitney Staal
08 - Detroit
07 - Ryan
06 - Staal
04 - Lecavalier

Monahan is a good player, but if he's your best player, you are not going to win the cup. You need at least one player that is better than him, preferably two. Reinhart/Bennett/Dal Colle/Draisaitl are all good, but if Mono was in the draft this year he'd be #1.

To win, you need stars. We have the chance to get one if we are picking 1-4 next year, so it'll be a huge disappointment and will throw a wrench in the process if we don't get that. That doesn't mean that you can't get star talent in other ways, it is just a lot more difficult.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Spinach

The best pick we can hope for is 2nd, and that's if we win the lottery.

As of last year, if you win the lottery, you pick first.

[wireframe]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

The last team to win a cup without a top 5 pick was Detroit in 08.

13 - Kane Toews
12 - Doughty
11 - Seguin
10 - Kane Towes
09 - Crosby Malkin Fleury Whitney Staal
08 - Detroit
07 - Ryan
06 - Staal
04 - Lecavalier

Monahan is a good player, but if he's your best player, you are not going to win the cup. You need at least one player that is better than him, preferably two. Reinhart/Bennett/Dal Colle/Draisaitl are all good, but if Mono was in the draft this year he'd be #1.

To win, you need stars. We have the chance to get one if we are picking 1-4 next year, so it'll be a huge disappointment and will throw a wrench in the process if we don't get that. That doesn't mean that you can't get star talent in other ways, it is just a lot more difficult.

I disagree. Two of the players you listed had very little impact on their team's cup wins. Bobby Ryan was in the AHL that year and Seguin was not an imact player in those playoffs (debatable). That leaves 3 of the last 7 cup winners without a significant top 5 pick in the lineup. Sure, it helps to ave a top 5 pick but it isn't necessary.

There were 65 top 5 picks between 1998 (oldest draft cited) and 2010 (most recent draft cited). Of those 65 picks, only 11 won a stanley cup (17%). You never said that a top 5 pick was guaranteed to take their team to a cup. My elementary analysis suggests that a top 5 pick only got their team to the cup finals 17% of the time.

My point is that the flames should not be desperate for a top 5 pick because they are not critical on all cup winning teams.

[strombad]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

The last team to win a cup without a top 5 pick was Detroit in 08.

13 - Kane Toews
12 - Doughty
11 - Seguin
10 - Kane Towes
09 - Crosby Malkin Fleury Whitney Staal
08 - Detroit
07 - Ryan
06 - Staal
04 - Lecavalier

Monahan is a good player, but if he's your best player, you are not going to win the cup. You need at least one player that is better than him, preferably two. Reinhart/Bennett/Dal Colle/Draisaitl are all good, but if Mono was in the draft this year he'd be #1.

To win, you need stars. We have the chance to get one if we are picking 1-4 next year, so it'll be a huge disappointment and will throw a wrench in the process if we don't get that. That doesn't mean that you can't get star talent in other ways, it is just a lot more difficult.

That line illustrates why the "top 5" argument you're trying to make is useless. Top 5 picks are dependant on the quality of the draft, not just the quality of the player.

It really doesn't matter if we don't pick top 5 next year. Championships are one by properly built teams, not high picks (just ask the Oilers).

Seguin played a minor role in Boston's win, Detroit had none, Tampa had mid-late round picks playing just as well as Lecavalier, Doughty was far from the most dominant player on the team, and Ryan didn't even participate.

Whether a pick is top 5 or top 10, it makes little difference. It's picks 30-200+ that make the difference. If Calgary wins a cup in the next decade it won't be the Monahans that win it, it'll be the Brodies, the Boumas, and the Backlunds.

[dammage79]

Draisaitl is looking like the player I would prefer over Dal Colle if the Flames picked between 4-6. Still wish they had a straight shot at Ekblad though. And if by some miracle Bennett slips to the Flames I feel that would be a no brainer. I had no idea about the Gilmour connection. Could use another guy like that.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by codynw

I'm guessing Feaster's list was something like this

MacKinnon
Jones
Drouin
Barkov
Monahan

He really wanted a center but I don't think he would have passed on Jones/Drouin for anyone other than MacKinnon.

Not sure about Feaster but I heard Weisbrod had Monahan 3rd behind Mackinnon and Jones.

[Da_Chief]

Originally Posted by T@T

Not sure about Feaster but I heard Weisbrod had Monahan 3rd behind Mackinnon and Jones.

Love Monahan but if that's true then I'm really glad Weisbrod is gone.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by Da_Chief

Love Monahan but if that's true then I'm really glad Weisbrod is gone.

Why?