Draft Eve Poll: Who do the Flames take tomorrow?

[Miniac]

I want Reinhart but think its going to be Draitsaitl or Bennett. Win win either way.

[irrevocable]

Probably totally wrong..... but I have this weird, weird feeling that Ekblad is gonna be a Flame very soon.

Burn bright, young d-man of legend, we need a pillar for 15 years.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by fatso

There is a lot of wishful thinking and inconsistent reasoning behind the projections that have Bennett to the Flames. It is as though his unique attributes would be valued only by CGY. It makes no sense. The very same reasons Calgary wants him are the same reasons the other teams would too. And I say this as someone who wants to draft Draisatl.

Well it's not like every scouting service has Bennett #1. Only Redline and CSS do.

ISS has Reinhart #1, Bennett #4. FC has Reinhart #2, Bennett #3. Bob Mackenzie has Reinhart #2, Bennett #3. Craig Button has Reinhart #1, Bennett #3.

So out of the rankings I look at Reinhart is favoured by more.

It's such a toss up that it could go any way. All 3 centres are fairly close. Any teams that have hockey sense as their #1 attribute would take Reinhart. Any teams looking for size will probably favour Draisaitl. Any teams that highly value competitiveness, grit and skating will probably favour Bennett. The centres are so close that teams may look at the makeup of their roster in tiebreaking.

What will Buffalo do? That's the real question. I think they do value the competitiveness of Bennett but a lot of scouts just like Reinhart slightly better and BUF might as well. BUF may have seen more of Bennett than Reinhart/Draisaitl, could that factor in? EDM needs size and needs someone who can help earlier plus tons of rumours that they like Draisaitl so he makes a ton of sense there. Plus they've likely seen more of Draisaitl/Reinhart with them watching the Oil Kings all the time and being based in a WHL city.

It's really easy to see any of Reinhart, Bennett and Draisaitl falling to us in certain scenarios. I personally think Draisaitl might be the least likely to fall to us. I think the Flames might rank Bennett highest of the 3 because of our emphasis on grit, competitiveness, work ethic and skating. Not every team may see it that way.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by irrevocable

Probably totally wrong..... but I have this weird, weird feeling that Ekblad is gonna be a Flame very soon.

Burn bright, young d-man of legend, we need a pillar for 15 years.

He does seem to fill one of our biggest needs. We have no one of his like on the team or in the system. Tod Button was very complimentary of him today on the radio. He's the type of guy we need to match up against the likes of Getzlaf, Kopitar, Toews, to try to shut those guys down.

Unfortunately he likely goes #1 and I suspect Tallon will demand too much for us to move up. But if Tallon lowers his price it could get done. Or if FLA keeps the pick and takes a forward I could see BUF trading down with us for less than the price it would've taken to move to #1.

He's definitely the kid I want the most. I suspect he tops our scouts lists as well.

[irrevocable]

^ Well said, FDW.

I'm gonna catch some sleep, go bake for 9 hours, get home.. and start drinking for the draft. Aye ya ya, it's gonna be a brutal shift this early morning. XD

[Shawnski]

It has been a long, long time since I smoked pot.

About 30 years ago, someone sold me some "Jamaican".... but it was Columbian laced with PCP.

Messed me up so bad that all I could do was sit on the bench in the pool hall and watch the second hand on my watch ever so slowly move around the dial. And with each heartbeat, those ticks got slower and slower to the point that I thought time itself had almost stopped. And nothing I could do could speed things back up.... nothing could stop the thousands of thoughts that cascaded through my mind.

Tick.........

This draft brought back that feeling.

Start the draft already! Call your picks!

With such equally balanced high end talent in this draft, how can you waste any assets to move up? Likewise, as this is the highest Calgary has ever drafted, how can you move DOWN? Who is going to be the best player in the long run? How will they be impacted by the team that drafts and develops them?

Tick........

The safe bet is that the Flames simply take whatever remains in the Fab 4. By that thinking then you have a plethora of possibilities on who will remain, and why.

Does Florida trade their pick? Does Buffalo? Heck, even Edmonton could. Who are the new players in any of those events and what are their desires?

Could any of those possibilities THEN cause the Flames to make a move? If so how?

Tick........

All four have their strengths and weaknesses. And with every draft, you just cannot rule out that someone else might actually turn out even better.

Perhaps I should just hop in my car and try to time travel ahead 15 years or so to see how things shake out. Governor will probably kick in at 84 though....

Tick........

Start the bloody draft already... PLEASE!!!

[Nehkara]

I have a strong feeling that it is going to be:

Ekblad
Reinhart
Draisaitl
Bennett

I want the Flames to get Reinhart but I think we will pick Bennett and I'm just fine with that too.

[Phil Russell]

Reinhart falls into our lap at 4. Reinhart has Hall of Fame career. Gut feeling.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Phil Russell

Reinhart falls into our lap at 4. Reinhart has Hall of Fame career. Gut feeling.

I don't see any way the Flames end up with Sam Reinhart, none. It is looking more and more like Vancouver will trade up to #1 to get him but even if they don't I seriously doubt the Sabres pass him by at #2. He is the one guy out of the top 4 I can't see the Flames getting a shot at in any scenario. I have been wrong before. If the Canucks do end up at #1 I am pretty sure Ekblad will be a Flame. Sabres will take Bennett and I think the Oilers are high on Leon and think centre is a bigger need than D.

[Hockeyboy2]

My belief is that Calgary takes Nick Ritchie.

[_Q_]

I picked Draisatl, but I legitimately have no idea this year.

[chubeyr1]

Flames stay at 4 and pick Bennett. Then a trade is announced and they pick 7 or 8th and select Nick Ritchie, who then goes on to protect Gaudreau for the next ten years.

[Wolven]

I really want Ekblad for all of the reasons listed.

If no trades go down, I see us most likely getting Bennett.

If trades do happen.. I really hope that Florida asks for more develop players to help them win now with their suddenly aging #1 goalie. If we can trade them something like Sven + Wideman at 50% salary + 2nd rounder (or two), that would be a great use of our depth on LW to fill an organizational need.

[bubbsy]

Great as most of you in cgy get to hear all the pre draft stuff tomorrow, we in Toronto will be hearing how the raptors justify taking a random first round pick where they did...

[Hockey_Ninja]

One of my favorite teams just ####ed up their first round pick. Hopefully my other favorite team doesn't

[Ashasx]

So, draft day eve. I feel like my 8-year old self before Christmas. This is my Christmas.

I just hope there's Lego under the tree and not underwear.

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by chubeyr1

Flames stay at 4 and pick Bennett. Then a trade is announced and they pick 7 or 8th and select Nick Ritchie, who then goes on to protect Gaudreau for the next ten years.

Would love to see this happen... Something like hudler + wideman (salary retained) + all three 2nd round picks. Would that be enough?

[Caged Great]

Due to randomness, I could see it being Ekblad --> Draisaitl --> Bennett --> Reinhart if the top 4 stays the same.

Buffalo needs an impact center. Getting Draisaitl might be the best fit for them because of his size + skill. Bennett would be the better fit for Edmonton between the two Sams.

[djsFlames]

I want Vancouver to take the big bust of the top ten. The idea of them swapping with Florida makes me sick. #### that. We can outbid them with all the picks we have.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

I want Vancouver to take the big bust of the top ten. The idea of them swapping with Florida makes me sick. #### that. We can outbid them with all the picks we have.

Maybe they get Daigle. Not need for us to waste assets.