Helenius was named to Finland's WC team which is fairly surprising considering his age. I've never seen him play but his numbers look pretty good especially in the few WC pre-tournament games. If anyone is interested seeing him play, the tournament starts on Friday when Finland plays against the Chechs 1pm MT.
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the group behind Celebrini and possibly Demidov is so close ... there's going to be a really good prospect available at 9. Trading up would be criminal.
Regarding Helenius, looks like he'll be an extra attacker for team Finland. I would assume he gets a couple of games against weaker opponents. Still, good for him for making the team, I could only find Rantanen and Laine making the WC roster in their draft year. Barkov was injured during his draft year IIRC.
Yeah, if I’m the Flames I consider trading back depending on who is left, but would not trade up from 9th for any reason.
Parekh
Buium
Yakemchuk
Iginla
Helenius
Catton
I’m guessing at least 2 of those will still be available after 9, so could be a way to recoup a little extra value and still walk away with a great player.
I would look at trying to move up from the Vancouver pick though.
I really hope the flames get an opportunity to draft Tij… but I get the feeling he won’t be there by 9th overall. His stock just keeps rising and he looks more and more like a sure thing. I think Iginla is a high ceiling-high floor type of player. I could see his floor being Blake Coleman and his ceiling being Matthew Tkachuk. That’s a great prospect to get with a top ten pick. And he fits really well into too many teams drafting 4th to 8th overall.
Utah could definitely use the name recognition and their prospect pool is so deep that they don’t need to draft for position.
Montreal likely needs a forward with size which leaves pretty much Lindstrom and Iginla as their options for where they are drafting. I think Lindstrom might have the higher upside if he reaches his potential but he also has the higher bust potential with his injury. Montreal could also be really tempted to take Iginla because they have to consider how any young player will handle the pressure of a hockey-obsessed market. I don’t think any prospect could be better prepared for that than Tij is.
Seattle could use prospect depth at every position so they don’t need to draft to fill a specific hole in their team. Iginla would likely be a great fit with Beniers or Wright. And, just like Utah, Seattle could use the name recognition in a young organization in a new market.
Quite a few things have to go right for Tij to be available at 9th overall IMO. Columbus has to take either a defenceman or take Catton if they take a forward. Montreal has to like Lindstrom more than Iginla. Utah has to want a defenceman more than a forward. Seattle has to take Helenius or a defenceman. I could see Ottawa taking a defenceman with their pick but who knows.
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Man, regardless of who the Flames take, this is going to be such a fun draft. I honestly think they're kind of in the perfect spot in 9 to have their pick of 3-4 really, really good prospects when the time comes. I don't envy Chicago at 2 or Anaheim at 3 having to pick between a solid dozen guys with similar projections.
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Yeah, if I’m the Flames I consider trading back depending on who is left, but would not trade up from 9th for any reason.
Parekh
Buium
Yakemchuk
Iginla
Helenius
Catton
I’m guessing at least 2 of those will still be available after 9, so could be a way to recoup a little extra value and still walk away with a great player.
I would look at trying to move up from the Vancouver pick though.
Vancouver pick + Markstrom for NJD's 10OA plus a player.
Been out Of the loop for a few drafts, but when do start to see all the draft preview magazines pop up? Which ones are recommended?
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Vancouver pick + Markstrom for NJD's 10OA plus a player.
Would love a trade like this. Unfortunately, New Jersey knows the flames will likely want to trade Markstrom this off-season. The devils won’t feel the pressure to get this done at the draft. If the flames come to New Jersey asking for 10th overall, New Jersey likely says “not now - we’ll talk next week.” They would much rather trade a protected 2025 first round pick to Calgary. What can Conroy do to pressure them to trade their 2024 10th overall pick instead? No one else will be willing to trade a top 15 pick in this draft for Markstrom so the market likely won’t pick up until free agency.
