Amongst the D I wouldn't be opposed to Jackson Smith. I think he's got an interesting set of skills and could have more upside than he's shown. I doubt he's there at 18 though. It seems like after Schaefer the next wave of D are Mrtika, Aitcheson and Smith.
I would take Smith from that group.
I'd be good with any of those three if Reschny and the big centres are all gone, and if Calgary is picking from the next tier of centres, as those defenders seem to be a slight tier above the Cootes/Kindel tier.
I doubt any of those three will be there though when Calgary picks.
I'd be good with any of those three if Reschny and the big centres are all gone, and if Calgary is picking from the next tier of centres, as those defenders seem to be a slight tier above the Cootes/Kindel tier.
I doubt any of those three will be there though when Calgary picks.
Fans and a lot of the blogosphere mocks consistently under-rate defensive/big dmen and over-rate smaller wingers/forwards. The former go higher than expected and the latter drop.
So yeah all 3 could be gone by 18 but I could see one of them being there.
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Phaneuf is an excellent comparison to Aitcheson, less the scoring prowess of course.
Would definitely setup our future #1 pair long term, but I still think we need that center threat you basically only get drafting it.
Any of the C's left at 32 aren't going to be offensive game busters sadly. unless Ryabkin slips then I'd be totally on board for Aitcheson + Ryabkin for our 1st round.
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Phaneuf is an excellent comparison to Aitcheson, less the scoring prowess of course.
Would definitely setup our future #1 pair long term, but I still think we need that center threat you basically only get drafting it.
Any of the C's left at 32 aren't going to be offensive game busters sadly. unless Ryabkin slips then I'd be totally on board for Aitcheson + Ryabkin for our 1st round.
I think if you come out of the 1st round with a second pairing dman or middle 6 forward, you have probably done well with this draft.
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I haven't even entertained the idea of a D man with any of the Flames picks. Only one I'm kind of on board with is Hensler and he is a righty. And that's not with pick 18.
It's kind of an underwhelming draft throughout but doubly so when it comes to D men. It's thin thin thin.
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Who are the one or two players that are 5'9.5" or smaller that will probably be taken in the third or fourth rounds that would be top 5-10 pick locks if they were 4" taller?
Thanks.
__________________ 'Skank' Marden: I play hockey and I fornicate, 'cause those are the two most fun things to do in cold weather. - Mystery Alaska
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Who are the one or two players that are 5'9.5" or smaller that will probably be taken in the third or fourth rounds that would be top 5-10 pick locks if they were 4" taller?
Thanks.
Wheeler has three 5'7 players back-to-back-to-back at 36 (Schmidt), 37 (Benak), and 38 (Mooney). He expects them to go much lower because of their size but ranks them there on their skills: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/635...rospects-list/
Upside has them at 64, 114 and 146, which probably says how hard the smaller guys are to rank.
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Who are the one or two players that are 5'9.5" or smaller that will probably be taken in the third or fourth rounds that would be top 5-10 pick locks if they were 4" taller?
Thanks.
I’ll give you one off the top of my head: Philippe Veilleux. He hovered around a ppg for the first half of the season, then destroyed the Q down the stretch- piling up 50 points in the last 30 games. He’s 5’9”I believe.
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It wouldn't surprise me at all if the Flames end up drafting Aitcheson with the 18th pick, though I am sure it would annoy a number of people here.
I think this kid is going to be a rockstar at the NHL level. Such an old-school player - hits like a truck, will fight, great defensively already with strong gap control, and he generates offence? I know many mock drafts have him around the Flames pick, but I would be surprised if he is still around. Oh yeah - he is a left shooting left defencemen too - something that the Flames also need. I can see the angst on the board when the Flames draft him, but boy oh boy I would love to have this kid in the organization. I can't quote you Cral, but thanks for posting the "Ridiculous Upside" link.
I am not convinced that the Flames pick a center at 18. I don't really see any 'sure-fire' NHL centers at this spot - not top 6 anyway. I think most get converted to the wing, if they make it at all. Fairly tough to find a center in the second half of the first round, but even harder in a weak draft. I think the Flames will move up if they really like a center and the price makes sense. Otherwise, they will pick BPA according to their list, and that list may not have a center on it. i guess we will see what the Flames do. Maybe they move up, or stand pat, or move down. It certainly sounds like there are many more teams willing to move around this draft.
Would you have drafted him last year at #18?
He was 6 days away from being eligible. I might be in the minority but I've said for years these older mature players are a bigger risk if you go off their draft year stats.
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I’ll give you one off the top of my head: Philippe Veilleux. He hovered around a ppg for the first half of the season, then destroyed the Q down the stretch- piling up 50 points in the last 30 games. He’s 5’9”I believe.
I too would take Kindel over Cootes, Cootes might be a safer pick but you can't ignore the the wizardry that Kindel can bring, I would hate to let possibly another Brayden Point slip thru the flames fingers.
Snuffles, do you see Kindel as a C at the NHL level?
Would be extremely happy to snag Zonnon with the second pick but seems like a guy who might not be underrated any longer and I doubt he'll be there at 32. If he can improve his skating a touch, look out.
That said, if we could somehow come away with two of Reschny/Kindel/Zonnon, I would be very optimistic that they grabbed some top real 6 potential.
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I’ll give you one off the top of my head: Philippe Veilleux. He hovered around a ppg for the first half of the season, then destroyed the Q down the stretch- piling up 50 points in the last 30 games. He’s 5’9”I believe.
Shhhhhh, don’t get the word out.
I have no idea why he’s not threatening the first round, guy is nasty.
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Based on the list (especially the last three taken) it sure highlights how long it can take for a goaltender to make the NHL and start having an impact; if they ever do.
Based on how I remember feeling about them I would put them in this order.
Askarov
Knight
Samsonov
Wallstedt
Cossa
Oettinger
__________________ 'Skank' Marden: I play hockey and I fornicate, 'cause those are the two most fun things to do in cold weather. - Mystery Alaska
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That Zonnon interview was strong. Seems like a confident, mature and well-rounded kid without being cocky. Those clips were also pretty interesting, definitely see some power forward tools especially as he grows into that frame.
I don’t think I’d mind if the Flames traded back a few spots from 18 and got him if they miss on Reschny and no one else falls to them.
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Amongst the D I wouldn't be opposed to Jackson Smith. I think he's got an interesting set of skills and could have more upside than he's shown. I doubt he's there at 18 though. It seems like after Schaefer the next wave of D are Mrtika, Aitcheson and Smith.
