Craig's List 2014 Prospects

[The Fonz]

We were watching different games FDW.

I was less than impressed that night with Dal Colle, while blown away by Reinhart.

[nik-]

Yeah, I thought Reinhart was great in the prospects game. Not flashy, but when there was a scoring chance for his team, he was often at the heart of it. I'd never really notice him and them boom, right in the middle of potential goals.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by The Fonz

We were watching different games FDW.

I was less than impressed that night with Dal Colle, while blown away by Reinhart.

Dal Colle had an absolute laser to the top corner and then later in the game another absolute laser that hit the post or crossbar. He definitely was inconsistent in the game I'll give you that. But that kind of shot is elite and he has NHL size and will have NHL skating.

Reinhart maybe was a victim of expectations to me. I remember reading about how he dominated every shift that game and I just didn't see it. And I know he absolutely killed the Hitmen. I didn't get to see him work the PP much in this game and I think that is one of his strengths. Frankly I was shocked at how mediocre his skating is and his lack of urgency. I remember reading reports of Draisaitl slowing down the play but Reinhart seemed to slow down the play to me.

A lot of scouting IMO is favouring certain types of players. I definitely emphasize size/strength more than some so I'm biased in that regard. But I've watched a lot of smaller, weaker guys who dominated junior struggle to make the NHL. Not that I'm saying Reinhart will struggle at all but I do have my biases.

You can definitely have 5 people watch the same game and get 5 completely different reports. I remember reading that some people loved guys like Goldobin or Barbashev/Sherbak and I'm not generally a fan of that type of player.

[Caged Great]

FDW, our top 5's are the same although in a different order.

Reinhart
bennett
Ekblad
Draisaitl
Dal Colle

Knowing that one of those guys will be a flame is great.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by nik-

Yeah, I thought Reinhart was great in the prospects game. Not flashy, but when there was a scoring chance for his team, he was often at the heart of it. I'd never really notice him and them boom, right in the middle of potential goals.

Great prospect for sure. Just nowhere near the level of guys I've seen previously who were contenders for #1. Maybe that is just a result of this being a weak draft. I expected him to be extremely impressive. But he was nowhere near the level of guys like Mackinnon or Drouin last year. I guess that's to be expected as last year was supposed to be one of the best drafts in a while. I think he's definitely behind Mackinnon, Drouin and Barkov at the same age and probably behind Lindholm and Monahan too.

Like I said, probably just a victim of my expectations.

[Caged Great]

The only reason why I have Ekblad 3rd, has little to do with Ekblad.

I am not a huge fan of needless risk. Defensemen by in large are riskier picks in the top 5, so I bias toward the forward if they are equivalent talents to the D-man.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Am I crazy, or am I sort of seeing Fata in Virtanen? Great speed, great shot, physically superior to guys his age at the moment - but below-average hockey sense. The more I see him playing, the more I wonder if he will be able to translate his game to the NHL, and if he can't, I wonder if he has enough hockey sense to be able to modify his game?

He is looking more and more like the type of player that is a great pickup after the 10th spot once you have some more dynamic forwards up front, who can continually feed his lethal shot - especially on the PP. I am thinking more and more this kid isn't one that should be drafted by the Flames without having enough elite prospects that can feed him often enough if he should not be able to translate to the NHL.

Maybe I am being overly-critical from watching him too much lately, but I am starting to feel a bit down on his over-all package at the moment, and sort of getting flashbacks of Rico Fata (a little bit anyways - which may just be me being overly-critical unfairly).

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Great prospect for sure. Just nowhere near the level of guys I've seen previously who were contenders for #1. Maybe that is just a result of this being a weak draft. I expected him to be extremely impressive. But he was nowhere near the level of guys like Mackinnon or Drouin last year. I guess that's to be expected as last year was supposed to be one of the best drafts in a while. I think he's definitely behind Mackinnon, Drouin and Barkov at the same age and probably behind Lindholm and Monahan too.

Like I said, probably just a victim of my expectations.

If you teleported Monahan from last year into this draft, he would go 1st overall. This draft doesn't have the flash that last year had. Ekblad is likely closer to Nurse potential wise than he is Jones. #1 this year is more like starting the draft at #6 last year.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Great prospect for sure. Just nowhere near the level of guys I've seen previously who were contenders for #1. Maybe that is just a result of this being a weak draft. I expected him to be extremely impressive. But he was nowhere near the level of guys like Mackinnon or Drouin last year. I guess that's to be expected as last year was supposed to be one of the best drafts in a while. I think he's definitely behind Mackinnon, Drouin and Barkov at the same age and probably behind Lindholm and Monahan too.

Like I said, probably just a victim of my expectations.

No, he's no Drouin or MacKinnon. And he's probably not Barkov, but he's probably close, and I'd say he's better than Nugent-Hopkins if not as flashy, Nugent-Hopkins I'd say is probably a better skater. He's definitely more complete than Yakupov.

Comparing to last year is a little unrealistic, it was the best draft in 10 years.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

If you teleported Monahan from last year into this draft, he would go 1st overall. This draft doesn't have the flash that last year had. Ekblad is likely closer to Nurse potential wise than he is Jones. #1 this year is more like starting the draft at #6 last year.

I would say Reinhart is better than Monahan as of their respective drafts. I would slot Ekblad and Reinhart in after the first 4 if they went in the 2013 draft.

[djsFlames]

Yeah, Dal Colle can't be overlooked. He had a pretty strong playoff series, despite his team being eliminated. He was also easily the second best looking forward in the prospects game, after Reinhart. (followed by Goldobin and Ho-Sang, Draisaitl was practically invisible)

The only thing hurting him is that he's more likely a winger at the next level than a center, as he played more wing this year. And being a LW, it's already an organizational strength. However, if it came down to us picking 5th and the other consensus top guys were already taken, I'd take Dal Colle before Ritchie or Fleury without hesitation. When he fills out, he could be dangerous, already having that 6'2 frame. Apparently he shelters the puck extremely well already and drives the net. With the added weight, he could become a legit power forward with an already lethal shot.

[sureLoss]

Anyone else see similarities in Dal Colle and Mantha?

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

The only reason why I have Ekblad 3rd, has little to do with Ekblad.

I am not a huge fan of needless risk. Defensemen by in large are riskier picks in the top 5, so I bias toward the forward if they are equivalent talents to the D-man.

I know that is a strong belief around here and people will trot out history to support it but a lot of the highly taken defensemen in recent history have turned out just great (Doughty, Pietroangelo, Hedman, Ekman-Larsson). Even some more recent guys like Trouba and Rielly look like they have bright futures ahead of them. Even Erik Johnson has really turned his game around this year after having some injury problems earlier in his career and having a couple disappointing years. There are some spectacular busts at forwards in the top 5 too, let's not forget about them.

Take a look at 2008 for example (http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl2008e.html) which was strong on defenseman and the defensemen taken in the entire first round look a lot better than the forwards overall. You'd be kicking yourself for turning some of them down based on past history. This kind of thing can change year to year so we shouldn't be too quick to generalize or assume that history will always repeat itself.

There is a reason why most scouting services have Ekblad #1 at the moment. Frankly this forward crop is underwhelming compared to previous years so it's possible that Ekblad is just the best player available. And he might be the best player available without being a franchise defenseman because none of the forwards may be franchise forwards either. This does look like a weaker draft.

I know people love to look backwards and then project history forward but mistakes can be made using that methodology. Let's evaluate Ekblad vs Reinhart vs Draisaitl vs Bennett on their own merits and not blame Ekblad for the disappointment that some defensemen in the past may have been.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Anyone else see similarities in Dal Colle and Mantha?

Yes.

Dal Colle is a better skater though and not as floaty as Mantha, but yes I see him like Mantha.

[Red John]

Glad someone else is seeing the exact same thing with Virtanen. Guy is one of the most predictable prospects ever.

His flowchart would look like this:

Have puck?

No --> Get the puck
Yes --> Skate really fast down the right wing and try to blow past defenseman on the outside

Get past the defenseman?

No --> Keep circling around the net
Sort of --> Throw puck blindly to the slot hoping someone is there
Yes --> Cut in front and try to score


That's basically it. One-trick pony with character issues. Hope the Flames aren't even considering him unless he somehow drops to the 34th pick then he might be worth a gamble.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Red John

Glad someone else is seeing the exact same thing with Virtanen. Guy is one of the most predictable prospects ever.

His flowchart would look like this:

Have puck?

No --> Get the puck
Yes --> Skate really fast down the right wing and try to blow past defenseman on the outside

Get past the defenseman?

No --> Keep circling around the net
Sort of --> Throw puck blindly to the slot hoping someone is there
Yes --> Cut in front and try to score


That's basically it. One-trick pony with character issues. Hope the Flames aren't even considering him unless he somehow drops to the 34th pick then he might be worth a gamble.

That sounds like Blake Comeau except he didn't throw puck blindly into the slot, he just lost the puck somewhere near the blue line.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Anyone else see similarities in Dal Colle and Mantha?

I still have to work my way through some of the WJC games I've got PVR'd but I like Dal Colle considerably better based on what I've seen of limited action of both. I don't want to make too many absolute statements on both but I think Dal Colle looks a little more dynamic.

A lot of scouts really didn't like Mantha's compete last year. He never really seemed in consideration for a top 15 pick. Obviously he's a very opportunistic scorer. Dal Colle doesn't seem to have nearly as many complaints about his game from what I've read.

Again this is based on very little so I'm not super confident in my reads on either guy but Mantha reminds me more of an Eric Daze type while Dal Colle reminds me more of a Corey Perry type.

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by Red John

One-trick pony with character issues.

Character issues? care to expand? first time I am hearing about Virtanen having character issues

[Fire]

If the Flames draft 6th I wouldn't be upset with drafting Ritchie. Sounds like a player the Flames desperately need.

[The Fonz]

Sounds like Matt Lombardi

EDIT: referring to Virtanen