The Athletic: Do the Flames have an elite defenceman in waiting in Adam Fox?

[robaur]

In the third round of the 2016 draft, the Calgary Flames selected a smallish defender out of the U.S. National Development program named Adam Fox. His relatively diminutive stature (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) is likely what dropped Fox to 66th overall that June because the player had already managed sterling offensive results to that point.

Between 2014-16, for example, Fox set a record for assists in a single season for the National Team Development Program (NTDP) with 59. He also finished third all-time amongst NTDP players with 83 career assists. Of course, the annals of the NHL draft is littered with smaller guys who put up big numbers in lesser leagues, only to find themselves unable to translate that success at higher levels.

That wasn’t a problem for Fox in his freshman college season, however. In his draft-plus-one (D+1) year for Harvard, Fox put up 40-points in 35-games, a point-per-game pace of 1.14. That rate for a 18-19-year-old freshman forward is fantastic. For a defenseman, it’s about as rare as a leprechaun riding a unicorn.

Author of the article is Byron Bader.

I thought it was a great read.

Link: https://theathletic.com/105335/2017/...an-in-waiting/

[Bunk]

I do. He won't have dominant ability in all aspects of the game, but will be a very impactful player to drive an offence. I think he just needs the right partner to be his most effective.

[monkeyman]

Originally Posted by robaur

Author of the article is Byron Bader.

I thought it was a great read.

Link: https://theathletic.com/105335/2017/...an-in-waiting/

"For a defenseman, it’s about as rare as a leprechaun riding a unicorn."

haha. this made me laugh.

[transplant99]

That wasn’t a problem for Fox in his freshman college season, however. In his draft-plus-one (D+1) year for Harvard, Fox put up 40-points in 35-games, a point-per-game pace of 1.14. That rate for a 18-19-year-old freshman forward is fantastic. For a defenseman, it’s about as rare as a leprechaun riding a unicorn.

That's an awesome analogy.

[dissentowner]

I think he will be very average defensively but he has elite offensive tools on the blueline. Being a college guy is a bit of a scare though given how easily they can go to UFA and he might look at how deep our D pool is and not want to sign. Hopefully that is not the case.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I think he will be very average defensively but he has elite offensive tools on the blueline. Being a college guy is a bit of a scare though given how easily they can go to UFA and he might look at how deep our D pool is and not want to sign. Hopefully that is not the case.

The good news is that with his talent, waiting 3 more years to go UFA would feel like an eternity. With any luck he wins the Hobey Baker or NCAA in the next year or two and leaves college having checked all the boxes.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I think he will be very average defensively but he has elite offensive tools on the blueline. Being a college guy is a bit of a scare though given how easily they can go to UFA and he might look at how deep our D pool is and not want to sign. Hopefully that is not the case.

That's ok, we'll just trade him for our next starting goalie.

[Reggie Dunlop]

I guess Fox's progress made it more palatable to move Brandon Hickey.

Hickey is going to be a good one, though.

[Mass_nerder]

So we're basically looking at a Brian Rafalski?

[Oil Stain]

Ryan Ellis could be a good comparable if Fox reaches his potential.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Mass_nerder

So we're basically looking at a Brian Rafalski?

Brian Leetch.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by getbak

Brian Leetch.

Wouldn't that be nice. Pretty high bar there though.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

Ryan Ellis could be a good comparable if Fox reaches his potential.

This seems right to me.

[Mr.Coffee]

Torey Krug maybe?

[getbak]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Wouldn't that be nice. Pretty high bar there though.

It's a bar he measured up to last season.

Fox had the best season for an 18 year-old freshman defenceman in NCAA Division I since Leetch.

In Leetch's freshman year, he was 6th on his team in points, 36 points behind the team leader. Last season, Fox was 5th on his team in points, 5 points behind the leader, and first in assists. Leetch had 47 points on a BC team that scored 233 goals (points on 20% of the team's goals). Fox had 40 points on a Harvard team that scored 146 goals (points on 27% of the team's goals).

Fox's stats last year were comparable to Gaudreau's freshman year.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by getbak

It's a bar he measured up to last season.

Fox had the best season for an 18 year-old freshman defenceman in NCAA Division I since Leetch.

In Leetch's freshman year, he was 6th on his team in points, 36 points behind the team leader. Last season, Fox was 5th on his team in points, 5 points behind the leader, and first in assists. Leetch had 47 points on a BC team that scored 233 goals (points on 20% of the team's goals). Fox had 40 points on a Harvard team that scored 146 goals (points on 27% of the team's goals).

Fox's stats last year were comparable to Gaudreau's freshman year.

It should be noted that Harvard is in the ECAC, while BC where both Leetch and Gaudreau played their college hockey is in Hockey East, which is a much more highly ranked conference. This is not to diminish Fox's tremendous accomplishment this past season, but I do believe that the slightly lower level of NCAA competition makes a bit of a difference.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Torey Krug maybe?

I think expectations should be higher. Fox is trending to be a much better player than Torey Krug.

[djsFlames]

If Fox is good enough, he won't have to worry about there not being room for him. The Flames will make space. In fact the Flames are probably hoping he (and others) pan out so that they can deal from their already strong blue line to add strength on the front end.

[Flames_F.T.W]

I've always thought Tyson Barrie would be a good comparable

[Poe969]

Whenever I think of him, I can't help thinking of Ghost Bear... �� ��. I don't know how he'll play actual defense against NHL sized men