2015 NHL Draft

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

If Button's list is a little influenced by his brother, then Kyle Connor might be a guy that some of the other rankings have lower and the Flames might have a lot higher on their list.

I think Connor might be a guy that goes a bit sooner in the draft than many might expect.

Originally Posted by Royle9

Historically aren't Buttons list's pretty accurate when it comes to the Flames pick and the players usually available? If memory serves me right he was one of the only ones who originally had Jankowski right around our pick when nobody else did.

If thats the case, yes please for Rantanen

If Craig is influenced by his brother, and Craig has Rantanen lower than anticipated, wouldn't that mean the Flames aren't high on him?

If we do believe that the brothers share info, then the one that sticks out here is Boeser. Almost all the scouting reports I can find have him going late in the 1st round.

I would be happy to pick one of the defenceman at 15 and use a couple 2nd round picks to move up to pick Boeser.

[loob job]

Hearing that Columbus really likes Timo Meir at 8.
Edit - then I open Buttons list and he has him at 8 lol, wonder if he is hearing that from the same place I am, lol.

[home_sweet_dome]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

If Button's list is a little influenced by his brother, then Kyle Connor might be a guy that some of the other rankings have lower and the Flames might have a lot higher on their list.

3 other names that Button has much higher on his list than conventional rankings and that would be available around our pick are:

Brock Boeser, Joel Eriksson Ek, and goalie Ilya Samsonov (can't see us taking a goalie, sure hope not anyways).

Boeser is an interesting prospect, 15 seems early for him though.

[Incogneto]

Originally Posted by united

Craig Button released his final list this morning.
http://www.tsn.ca/craig-s-list-final-ranking-1.294692

1. Connor McDavid
2. Jack Eichel
3. Dylan Strome
4. Mitch Marner
5. Ivan Provorov
...
14. Ilya Samsonov
15. Mathew Barzal
16. Mikko Rantanen

Hanifan at #12? I would like to hope that if he falls to #12, Treliving is willing to give a metric ton to move up 3 spots.

[RyZ]

Originally Posted by InCoGnEtO

Hanifan at #12? I would like to hope that if he falls to #12, Treliving is willing to give a metric ton to move up 3 spots.

Were you a Bouwmeester fan when he was here?

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by RyZ

Were you a Bouwmeester fan when he was here?

I haven't seen much of Hanifin, do they play a similar style? good skater but soft and no shot?

[FBI]

Arg no Bouwmeester players please, if he's softy soft as butter and shrinks in the playoffs to even softer, then pass.

[SuperMatt18]

How much better is Hanifin then Hickey? Clearly he a better player, but is the gap really the 3rd overall pick vs a 3rd rounder.

Only 9 months age difference.

Both Hockey East All-Rookie Team. Looks like I saw the wrong article and Montour actually got the second spot.

Hanifin: GP: 37 G: 5 A: 18 PTS: 23 + 12 SOG: 82 PIMS: 16
Hickey: GP: 41 G: 6 A: 11 PTS: 17 + 19 SOG: 115 PIMS: 18

Hickey played on a better team this year, with a dominant player, but I wonder if that Hickey pick is as big a steal as it appears to be at first glance.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by northcrunk

I haven't seen much of Hanifin, do they play a similar style? good skater but soft and no shot?

Hanifin is not overly physical, but he's not as passive as Jay-Bo.

Werenski though has poor instincts when to pinch and what plays to make, so I am more leery of him than I am of others. When you look at other players with a lot of tools but poor execution of using them, you get guys like Jack Johnson and Anders Eriksson (a more serious case than anyone). If he was up at 15, I'd pass on him and go with Chabot, who doesn't have as good of tools, but is great with his decision making.

[RyZ]

Originally Posted by northcrunk

I haven't seen much of Hanifin, do they play a similar style? good skater but soft and no shot?

I havent seen him much either but Buttons explaination of why he puts Hanifin lower than most is that he likens him to Bouwmeester. Big, good skater, soft for his size but doesnt really excell at anything (or have glaring weaknesses). He thinks of him as a "steady eddy" top 4 Dman but not an all star level player or big point producer.

[Hackey]

Seems a bit premature and those stats reslly don't tell a lot. I will agree the Hickey pick does look good but not sure Hanifin good yet.

[mile]

Most scouting reports rave about how Hanifin can quarterback a power play, unlike Bouwmeester. And he projects to be a #1 defenseman. No one is expecting Hickey to be a #1 defenseman, if he ended up being a top 4 guy that would be amazing. A big-minute shutdown defenseman with size like Hanifin is exactly what the Flames need, even if the offense doesn't translate. We have a ton of offensive defenseman anyways.

He would be a steal at 4 or 5. Highly unlikely he falls outside of the top 10, and keep in mind that Button's list isn't a mock draft. Button's lists are always interesting though - it's good to get varying opinions on players.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Hackey

Seems a bit premature and those stats reslly don't tell a lot. I will agree the Hickey pick does look good but not sure Hanifin good yet.

Yeah looking a little deeper the points maybe misleading as well since BU scored 50! more goals then BC this year.

[Hackey]

Point totals can definitely be misleading for numerous reasons but on top of that there are a lot of important factors outside of points you cant judge from stats. Is he a good defender? Does he play all situations? Is he physical? Is he strong at moving the puck? Strong passer? Can he carry the puck well? Is he strong positional? Is he a leader? Does he elevate his play for important games? Etc etc.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Hackey

Point totals can definitely be misleading for numerous reasons but on top of that there are a lot of important factors outside of points you cant judge from stats. Is he a good defender? Does he play all situations? Is he physical? Is he strong at moving the puck? Strong passer? Can he carry the puck well? Is he strong positional? Is he a leader? Does he elevate his play for important games? Etc etc.

Absolutely.

And the reason Hickey was voted as climbing the most from his draft group this year was that the answer to all of those questions was better than expected.

Not only is his skating excellent and he has the big shot, but his defensive positioning and smarts were also excellent. He also has a physical element to his game.

as some scouts/ranking groups have said, if last year's draft were re-done, Hickey is a first rounder.

Hanafin is a really solid and smart player, PP quarterback, and full 200 ft game. But if he isn't physical - if Button is right - the conversations could become interesting in another year or two between these guys.

Oh, one more thing on Hickey's points - he didn't play on the 1st PP unit, he played 2nd PP. Next year he will probably be on their top pair.

[dammage79]

When I watched Hanifin in the WJC you could clearly see a difference between Bouwmeester in that the guy will put his body in the way of oncoming players, some would call that hitting.

I find the only real comparison between the two players would be the skating ability of both. Hanifin does not have that galloping stride like Bouwmeester but he skates just as good.

I'd be shocked if Hanifin fell out of the top 8.

[sureLoss]

A lot of the hype for Hanifin came from that he looked better than Seth Jones was in the USNTDP at the same age.

Hanifin kind of struggled in the NCAA for the first half and didn't dominate the WJC like Jones did. He had a better 2nd half, and some of the attributes that had scouts drooling started to show themselves again.

He has all the tools and pedigree to be a top pairing d-man in the NHL, maybe the elite status is now questionable. Unless he interviews poorly, it will be a shock if he isn't the 1st or 2nd d-man taken at the draft.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

A lot of the hype for Hanifin came from that he looked better than Seth Jones was in the USNTDP at the same age.

Hanifin kind of struggled in the NCAA for the first half and didn't dominate the WJC like Jones did. He had a better 2nd half, and some of the attributes that had scouts drooling started to show themselves again.

He has all the tools and pedigree to be a top pairing d-man in the NHL, maybe the elite status is now questionable. Unless he interviews poorly, it will be a shock if he isn't the 1st or 2nd d-man taken at the draft.

While everything you say here is true, and I fully expect that he will go as the 1st or 2nd Dman in the draft, I have to say that every time I have watched him play (and that isn't a great deal, I'll admit) I am always left a bit disappointed and wanting more.

[azzarish]

Originally Posted by OILFAN #81

Button has Kylington at #47? Has he really dropped that far? I thought he dropped from an early 1st round pick to a late 1st round pick (somewhere in the 20's). 47 seems really low for me.

Kylington isn't even ranked in the top 30 in ISS's final rankings.

[azzarish]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Barzal is an interesting prospect. He's been lights out in international tournaments but his WHL stats line isn't anything special.

Seems to have gone up in many ranking lists of late.

He's been compared a bit to Patrick Kane. I like the look of him.