Craig's List 2014 Prospects

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

I think Reinhart will play next year. Draisaitl MAY play. Bennett and Dal Colle definitely need to bulk up more, so unless they go on a crazy off-season program, chance are they will play another year of junior.

For those interested, Tim Murray from Buffalo breaks down the top-end of the draft giving short little summaries on those prospects.

http://audio.wgr550.com/a/89654095/4...tim-murray.htm

Skip to 3:35. Not very long, but interesting enough to have a listen to.

Definitely highly recommend listening to this clip!

Some interesting notes:
1. Murray said Draisaitl had the best game of the prospects he saw recently. Tremendous offensive zone player, talks about his ability to protect the puck. #1 centre upside.
2. Talked a lot about Ekblad. May have franchise defenseman potential. Murray says he might not be dynamic enough to be a franchise defenseman but he'll be an outstanding player for years.
3. Reinhart only really talked about his smarts and his passing. Said he has #1 potential.
4. Talked about Bennett's tenacity and competitiveness. Didn't call him a potential #1 centre though. Sounds like they might have him behind Draisaitl/Reinhart.
5. Brought up Dal Colle even though the interviewers didn't ask about him. Said he has the best release they've seen in a while. Will score goals, needs a playmaking centre.

What can I glean from this? Does sound like they have Dal Colle in the top 5. I wouldn't rule out them taking Draisaitl at #1 or #2. Ekblad is clearly very high up for them as well. If I had to guess I'd say their top 3 right now is Ekblad, Draisaitl and Reinhart. Even though Reinhart dominates the WHL now, it doesn't mean scouts won't think that Draisaitl has higher NHL upside.

Very interesting stuff. I'd imagine they could actually be open to trading down for the right package but maybe not outside the top 3. Love these GM and head scout interviews leading up to the draft, I think you can learn a lot.

[djsFlames]

Yeah I think the Oilers will be looking most for size/skill down the middle if they can't get Ekblad. Look for Draisaitl to be #2 on their list. Which is fine by me cause I want the Flames to take Bennett. He may be slightly smaller, but I think he might have the highest compete level of top 5. Having a Galchenyuk-like player would be nice.

[RyZ]

I prefer Draisaitl over Bennett for the Flames right now. I get a Getzlaf vs M Richards vibe out of that one. I think Leon has a good chance of being a legit #1 point producing C while Bennett strikes me as more of a jack-of-all-trades at the NHL level. If we are going to pick high, I want the elite point producer.

[codynw]

Maybe an odd question, but how would one pronounce Draisaitl? I've heard it said a few different ways.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by codynw

Maybe an odd question, but how would one pronounce Draisaitl? I've heard it said a few different ways.

Based on my memory of 3 years of German in high school I'd say it should be pronounced Dryzytl. Someone can correct me

[Ashasx]

The media has been calling him Dry-sigh-til

[CalgaryFan1988]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Based on my memory of 3 years of German in high school I'd say it should be pronounced Dryzytl. Someone can correct me

That would make sense to me, although I mostly hear "dry-saddle".

[Miniac]

Originally Posted by codynw

Maybe an odd question, but how would one pronounce Draisaitl? I've heard it said a few different ways.

I think its pronounced: Dry-sy-tuhl

[codynw]

I'm just going to call him Leo.

[Miniac]

Anyways I am a huge fan of Draisaitl. He has that size we need!

[Poe969]

Being in the top 4-5 would be amazing as there are some pretty amazing young players (except the kid the oilers pick) and hopefully we can get some more picks at the draft. These next 2 years will really help the team move forward.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

I think Reinhart will play next year. Draisaitl MAY play. Bennett and Dal Colle definitely need to bulk up more, so unless they go on a crazy off-season program, chance are they will play another year of junior.

For those interested, Tim Murray from Buffalo breaks down the top-end of the draft giving short little summaries on those prospects.

http://audio.wgr550.com/a/89654095/4...tim-murray.htm

Skip to 3:35. Not very long, but interesting enough to have a listen to.

Just reading between the lines a little (and making some pretty big leaps), but he seemed to downplay Ekblad a bit. He said that he will be a "heck of a defenseman in the NHL", but also qualified that by saying maybe not a "franchise defenseman". He also built up Draisaitl and Bennett to some degree. He then stated that it could potentially be a toss up between the top 4 on who goes in what order. It makes me think that they could be open to trading down a couple of spots. It also made me wonder if he one of the guys that thinks the top 4 could go in any order, it would also indicate that he doesn't think any are likely to be "franchise" players.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Just reading between the lines a little (and some pretty big leaps), but he seemed to downplay Ekblad a bit. He said that he will be a "heck of a defenseman in the NHL", but also qualified that by saying maybe not a "franchise defenseman". He also built up Draisaitl and Bennett to some degree. He then stated that it could potentially be a toss up between the top 4 on who goes in what order. It makes me think that they could be open to trading down a couple of spots. It also made me wonder if he one of the guys that thinks the top 4 could go in any order, it would also indicate that he doesn't think any are likely to be "franchise" players.

Yeah I think those are fair points. I think we knew that about this year that there wasn't any real franchise type guys available and it certainly seems lately based on the rankings that the top 4-5 guys are all quite close. Which means predicting the draft will be extra hard this year and teams may be willing to move up or down a couple spots.

RE: Ekblad he also did say he's going to make sure his scouts aren't downranking him just because of their depth on the blueline. He also did say if they have him #1 on their list that they'll have no problem taking him. I think they really like him but I think the top few are also so close that they may go to a centre based on need or deal down a spot or two to and still grab a centre.

If we end up with #4 I wonder if the Flames like anybody enough to put together a package to try and move up a 2-3 spots. They may be content to sit at #4 and grab whoever drops.

Really interesting race between us and the Isles the rest of the way. And the lottery is going to be huge because it would really suck to drop down a spot. Not the best year to win the lottery because of the lack of franchise guys but we'd certainly love it and take it.

Given the closeness of the top few guys I wonder if Dal Colle may slip into the top 4 if any of the teams there really like him and has a need for a big sniper. A lot of intrigue at the top there. Overall we're looking to be in pretty good shape to land a great prospect unless the worst case scenario happens and we pass the Isles and a team behind us wins the lottery and we end up in 6th. I'm sick of picking 6th and this is definitely a much worse year to be picking 6th than last year was. Luckily the odds of that according to sureLoss are 8.3% which is actually worse than the chance of us ending up with #1.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by RyZ

I prefer Draisaitl over Bennett for the Flames right now. I get a Getzlaf vs M Richards vibe out of that one. I think Leon has a good chance of being a legit #1 point producing C while Bennett strikes me as more of a jack-of-all-trades at the NHL level. If we are going to pick high, I want the elite point producer.

In the regular season:
Draisaitl produced at 1.64 PPG
Bennett produced at 1.60 PPG

In the playoffs:
Drasaitl 0.75 PPG
Bennett 1.29 PPG

Honestly, as far as ability to produce at this point in their careers, there isn't much of a difference between the two.

Bennett may be considered a jack of all trades, but some of his skills are considered elite, with few, if any glaring weaknesses. His compete level also is considered a great asset. Leon is considered a top end playmaker, and yeah there are comparisons to Getzlaf, but his speed and compete level are apparent issues in his game. You can see that when he wasn't able to raise his game in the top prospects game amongst other top prospects, or the playoffs.

Bennett is the Flames' guy IMO.

[stemit14]

I think the order of the top 5 will greatly depend on the draft order this year more than most years... Similar to how the draft shifted last year because certain teams in the top 5 wanted certain players rather than the player that was ranked as the BPA.

If Buffalo wins the draft lottery and the order stays how it is now: think buffalo will take Reinhart; Edmonton will take ekblad; Florida will take draisaitl; Calgary will take bennett; and islanders will take Dal Colle

[dammage79]

How big is the whole "not allowing teams to invite prospect to their home cities for personal up close evaluations" going to affect who teams select?

Petty sure I remember the NHL instituting that rule this year. So no more hearing which players end up at the dome for a personal evaluation like we heard last year (Poirier, Petan and Klimchuk IIRC.)

[ForeverFlameFan]

As long as we stay in the top 5, we're good.

At the fourth pick, we should really be looking at Bennett or Draisaitl as a Calgary Flame.

[Tbull8]

Originally Posted by stemit14

I think the order of the top 5 will greatly depend on the draft order this year more than most years... Similar to how the draft shifted last year because certain teams in the top 5 wanted certain players rather than the player that was ranked as the BPA.

If Buffalo wins the draft lottery and the order stays how it is now: think buffalo will take Reinhart; Edmonton will take ekblad; Florida will take draisaitl; Calgary will take bennett; and islanders will take Dal Colle

I really can't see the Panthers taking Draisaitl with Bennett and Dal Colle available.
Draisaitl seems to be a very similar player to Barkov, so I think they'd be more interested in getting a sniper in Dal Colle or even Bennett and play him on the wing similar to what they did with Huberdeau.

[FlamesAddiction]

Would Dustin Brown be a good comparable to Bennett?

[moon]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Would Dustin Brown be a good comparable to Bennett?

I would think/hope he has more offensive skill but I don't watch a ton of OHL hockey so am just going off reports and stats.

Comparable a I find tough because it is usually with a star that the player is unlikely to reach so for him Gilmour is tossed around.

Maybe Patrick Sharp as a comparable type or Mike Richards? But again I don't see him play much (2 or 3 times the past two years) so I am going off reports.