[News] TSN.ca's 2014-15 NHL Season Preview: Calgary Flames

[lanny9]

Originally Posted by Stupid

Sort of surprised to see him rank Jankowski as an A-level prospect, while guys like Poirier and Klimchuck are ranked as B-Level.

I'm not, I think if we had Jankowski out on the ice during the summer camp there may have been some different feelings about his skill and future ability to be a producer in the league. He has the size, skill level is high, hockey IQ is high and once he makes the leap to the AHL next year I think we will see that he really is that good. He currently plays in a very conservative hockey program which pushes defensive play first and foremost, it is not the best system for him to be able to showcase his offensive talent imo. I still see him as a potential top 6 talent, Poirier maybe, will see how his skill set translates to the professional level. Klimchuk I know I will get hell for this but I still see him as a very good 3rd liner, he just has that toolbox that every good team needs but do not see him having the high offensive numbers in the professional leagues(and I have seen him personally many times living in Regina)

[lanny9]

I am sure Button is up to speed on how Calgary feels about Jankowski and Granlund with his connection to the team.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by lanny9

I am sure Button is up to speed on how Calgary feels about Jankowski and Granlund with his connection to the team.

Maybe I'm wrong but I have a really hard time believing that the Flames have penciled in Jankowski above Piorier and Klimchuk in their internal prospect rankings.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

Bollig did not come from the Hawks to play 4th line minutes on the Flames. He was playing over 10 minutes a game with the Hawks and had the 10th most ice time of all the Chicago forwards over the regular season.

Maybe tenth most in aggregate.

In even strength ice time per game he was 13th out of 13 forwards that played more then 40 games at 10 minutes a game. Apparently the Hawks play everyone in the regular season.

In the playoffs Bollig had the least icetime out of any skater averaging 6:22 minutes per game.

I think its fair to say that he has a pretty good shot at being a 4th liner on the Flames as well.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Craig's List
A list of the Flames' top prospects as ranked by TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button.
A-Level Prospects

No.Name Pos. 2013-14 Club
1 Johnny Gaudreau LW Boston College (HE)
2 Sam Bennett C Kingston (OHL)
3 Markus Granlund C Abbotsford (AHL)
4 Mark Jankowski C Providence (HE)
5 Mason McDonald G Charlottetown (QMJHL)

B-Level Prospects
No.NamePos.2013-14 Club
6 Morgan Klimchuk LW Regina (WHL)
7 Emile Poirier RW Gatineau (QMJHL)
8 Tyler Wotherspoon D Abbotsford (AHL)
9 Max Reinhart CA bbotsford (AHL)
10 Joni Ortio G Abbotsford (AHL)

Does anyone find it interesting that Baertschi is no where to be seen in this list? I agree with almost all of his selections (I'd maybe slot Gillies above MacDonald), but the absence of Baertschi must be quite surprising. I would have expected him to squeeze into the second group. The kid has a lot of work to do this fall by the looks of it.

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Maybe I'm wrong but I have a really hard time believing that the Flames have penciled in Jankowski above Piorier and Klimchuk in their internal prospect rankings.

I'll go with you being wrong. Jankowski has been a very impressive player for Providence. I really wish people got to see all of his games because he does everything so well. The knock about him being behind Monahan in understanding and playing in systems should be completely ignored now. He continues to fill out and we could have a monster on our hands; at worst a Joel Otto and at best a Joe Thornton.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

More interesting that Granlund is ranked 3rd. The coaching staff was very impressed with his all-around game during his call-up. I think he'll surprise some people.

I really hope they give Granlund an chance to start the season with the Flames, barring a bad pre-season. He deserves it after his solid debut last season.

[the2bears]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

Bollig did not come from the Hawks to play 4th line minutes on the Flames. He was playing over 10 minutes a game with the Hawks and had the 10th most ice time of all the Chicago forwards over the regular season.

Bouma did not do anything to get demoted to the 4th line.

...

10th most you say? So, not top 9? I really don't get your point here. How many minutes did Chicago's 4th line get? Bollig got less ice time than 3 lines worth of forwards...

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by New Era

Does anyone find it interesting that Baertschi is no where to be seen in this list? I agree with almost all of his selections (I'd maybe slot Gillies above MacDonald), but the absence of Baertschi must be quite surprising. I would have expected him to squeeze into the second group. The kid has a lot of work to do this fall by the looks of it.



I'll go with you being wrong. Jankowski has been a very impressive player for Providence. I really wish people got to see all of his games because he does everything so well. The knock about him being behind Monahan in understanding and playing in systems should be completely ignored now. He continues to fill out and we could have a monster on our hands; at worst a Joel Otto and at best a Joe Thornton.

I still consider Baertschi to be above Jankowski, but only because he had a stellar junior career and Jankowski hasn't been the big offensive weapon yet in college. I think he'd be lucky to be Joel Otto (who was a helluva player), never mind Joe Thornton.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by the2bears

10th most you say? So, not top 9? I really don't get your point here. How many minutes did Chicago's 4th line get? Bollig got less ice time than 3 lines worth of forwards...

And that was 10th most ice time in general, not ice time per game. If you do even strength ice time per game amongst forwards that played more than 50 games, he was, 12th.

Bollig is a 4th liner.

[Plett25]

Originally Posted by New Era

Jankowski has been a very impressive player for Providence. I really wish people got to see all of his games because he does everything so well. The knock about him being behind Monahan in understanding and playing in systems should be completely ignored now. He continues to fill out and we could have a monster on our hands; at worst a Joel Otto and at best a Joe Thornton.

I really, really want this to be true.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by New Era

He continues to fill out and we could have a monster on our hands; at worst a Joel Otto and at best a Joe Thornton.

At worst he doesn't make the NHL. Otto was a hell of an imposing center. That's a ridiculously high minimum for a player who quite frankly hasn't proverb anything. He might be great, and his progress is coming along steadily, but he hasn't done anything yet to warrant a guarantee like that

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

I still consider Baertschi to be above Jankowski, but only because he had a stellar junior career and Jankowski hasn't been the big offensive weapon yet in college.

Seems the Flames don't, and I would say that's all that matters.

I think he'd be lucky to be Joel Otto (who was a helluva player), never mind Joe Thornton.

Watch the games. He's already playing the Joel Otto role in Providence and doing a convincing job of it. When given the offensive chances with guys who have a nose for the net he is very Thorton-like in how he uses his players. He is very good at working the open ice, drawing defenders to him to create more open ice, and making soft passes to wide open guys. I can see why the Flames still think so highly of him, even after the regime change. The kid is an impressive hockey player. If he were playing for a higher profile program that got more exposure Calgary fans would be very excited.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by New Era

Seems the Flames don't, and I would say that's all that matters.

Watch the games. He's already playing the Joel Otto role in Providence and doing a convincing job of it. When given the offensive chances with guys who have a nose for the net he is very Thorton-like in how he uses his players. He is very good at working the open ice, drawing defenders to him to create more open ice, and making soft passes to wide open guys. I can see why the Flames still think so highly of him, even after the regime change. The kid is an impressive hockey player. If he were playing for a higher profile program that got more exposure Calgary fans would be very excited.

First of all, I don't think the Flames have said or done anything to prove your first statement, so I wouldn't be so sure of myself.

Secondly, Providence is a lot different than the NHL, and while Jankowski is showing signs of improvement and taking on big responsibilities there, it's a far cry from what will be required in the NHL. He's not a lock to be an NHL player by any stretch at the moment, so we'll have to wait and see. I like him and think he can make it, but there's still so much work to be done I don't know how you can be so sure.

[Lanny_McDonald]

^^^ For all the same reasons people who watch Sam Bennett play the game and see a NHL player. There's a long way from the OHL to the NHL, but people are still penciling him in the lineup. Why? Because of how he plays the game.

[Vulcan]

Joel Otto was a big physical hockey player. So far Jankowski hasn't shown to be physical at all. He may change, I hope he does once he gets the strength required to play that way and has the mental aptitude to use it.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by New Era

Does anyone find it interesting that Baertschi is no where to be seen in this list? I agree with almost all of his selections (I'd maybe slot Gillies above MacDonald), but the absence of Baertschi must be quite surprising. I would have expected him to squeeze into the second group. The kid has a lot of work to do this fall by the looks of it.

A lot of these rankings don't consider a player to be a prospect after he has played at least 50 games in the NHL.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

There's a difference between seeing potential and a ability to be a great player, and declaring the worst case scenario for a player who has yet to play an NHL game being a 500 point career NHL center.

You can see the potential, but to declare at this point the worst he's going to be is Joel Otto is ridiculous. Right now the worst case scenario for Jankowski is he plays 0 NHL games, not 500 points in the NHL. Nothing wrong with you saying you think he's got Joel Otto or better in himl, but suggesting that Joel Otto is the worst he can be at this point is really premature. Would be the same if we were talking about Bennett, although that at least isn't as much of a leap as the one you are making.

[Lanny_McDonald]

^^^ I guess you missed the 'could' in the comment.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by New Era

Does anyone find it interesting that Baertschi is no where to be seen in this list? I agree with almost all of his selections (I'd maybe slot Gillies above MacDonald), but the absence of Baertschi must be quite surprising. I would have expected him to squeeze into the second group. The kid has a lot of work to do this fall by the looks of it.

It may be simply how they define prospect. Baertschi played 26 games last year, he's no longer eligible for the Calder memorial trophy. If the NHL doesn't classify him as a rookie, is he still a prospect?

Although Reinhart doesn't qualify either...

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by New Era

^^^ I guess you missed the 'could' in the comment.

No. I expect that like everyone else he read "could" in apposition to "at best a Joe Nieuwendyk," and in sharp contrast to "at worst a Joel Otto."