Craig's List 2014 Prospects

[Da_Chief]

Haha, the hate on Ritchie by Ashax is comical.
Arguments such as "why is the reply on size 5 lines and inconsistency 2" seriously?
Time after time, this poster has failed to reply to "how many times have you seen him play" yet he's throwing the same question at the opposite opinion posters?

What junior prospect hasn't had consistency issues? What NHL player hasn't had consistency issue?

Burn of 10 or 20 lbs of fat is not that big of a deal for a professional athlete. If you throw him in the gym for the off-season and watch what he eats, that is resolved. Easy.

Ritchie is a good prospect, I wouldn't mind us taking him but I want Ehlers. From what I've seen and read he could be a dynamite player.

[Bourque's Twin]

I've heard that Ritchie sometimes plays like he's the #1 pick in the draft. The key problem is that the "sometimes" isn't often.

He has an amazing skillset but he is a high risk - No one knows if he can pull everything together, which is required if he were to be an effective NHLer.

I'd rather pass on him at 5 or even 6.

[The Fonz]

What kind of player is Kapanen? You don't hear much about this guy.

The final NHL central scouting rankings have him as the top ranked Euro.

[Bourque's Twin]

Here are the games remaining:

Flames
Kings vs Flames
Jets vs Flames
Flames @ Canucks

Islanders
Islanders @ Canadiens
Islanders @ Devils
Islanders @ Sabres

Panthers
Leafs vs Panthers
Jackets vs Panthers

Oilers
Kings vs Oilers
Canucks vs Oilers

[SuperMatt18]

Thing is it becomes cloudy later on, especially if we somehow end up picking 6.

IMO There is the top tier of Ekblad, Reinhart, Bennett, then a slight notch below that is Draisaitl and Dal Colle.

From 6 on though the players all have their flaws, its why they aren't top 5 picks and this draft year is not as deep as 2013.

Fleury: Lower top end upside
Ritchie: Conditioning
Perlini: Perimeter player
Ehlers: Size
Virtanen: Hockey Sense

Personally after reading the comments yesterday I think Burke loves Bennett and tries to find a way to get him.

However if we pick 6 (and the top 5 go according to plan) I think the Flames go with Ritchie. He seems to be the most polarizing player in this draft. When he is on his game he is dominating with his size, skill, speed combination, but if you caught him on an off day he could have been invisible.

[ForeverFlameFan]

I think we should all be happy with our pick if it's between Draisaitl, Dal Colle, or Ritchie. I would even add Perlini in that mix, they all have size and upsides to them. We really lack size and that's what Burke is really looking for.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Da_Chief

Burn of 10 or 20 lbs of fat is not that big of a deal for a professional athlete. If you throw him in the gym for the off-season and watch what he eats, that is resolved. Easy.

I guess Byfuglien, Tkachuk, and Heatley didn't get the memo.

[Da_Chief]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I guess Byfuglien, Tkachuk, and Heatley didn't get the memo.

3 out of how many?

[moon]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I guess Byfuglien, Tkachuk, and Heatley didn't get the memo.

If turns out to be like the last two (maybe even Byfuglien) I am sure most fans will be just fine with him having some extra pounds.

[dustygoon]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

The better question is who might be willing to trade down.

Buffalo? Unlikely they already have enough 2nd and 1st round picks in the upcoming drafts.

Florida? They are already deep at C in terms of prospects and if Ekblad is gone, may consider trading down and get a winger plus a pick.

Edmonton? No 2nd rounders or 3rd rounders this year. Also speculated to want to move the 1st for immediate help. Perhaps easier to move that first if they trade down a few spots and pick up an early 2nd in this draft? But would they do that with a hated divison rival...

Islanders? Unlikely, need quality if they are giving up next year's first. Besides trading up 1 spot, is counter productive unless you are trying to block another team from doing it.

I thought islanders had propensity to trade down a lot. I would have to go look.

[FlamesAddiction]

It sounds like this draft is pretty much average in regards to the talent available. There are 4 or 5 players considered in the top tier (and from what I have read, none are considered sure thing future top line NHLers), and it's typical that that the best of the rest in the 1st round will have some warts.

Any pick after the top 5 is going to involve rolling the dice a little bit.

[icecube]

Nick Ritchie has awesome highlights. You can plainly see in the videos that he isn't lacking any hockey sense in the offensive end. If he hit his max upside... *drools*

[snipetype]

How can you say fleury has a low top end? He had top pairing potential. Big shutdown dman that put up 40 points in their draft year are rare things. Holy #### you guys are dumb I can't take it anymore. Last year I said the flames should pick zadorov ristolainen or morin if any were left at 22. CP freaked out at me, and oh yeah they were all gone by like what 15? He had more points than dion Phaneuf in his draft year an he's wayyyyy better defensively. Pass me whatever you are smoking. Just watch the kid play before you say he doesn't have high potential. #### you all just listen to what other people say without watching them play.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by irrevocable

I'll bet you Ehlers has a .65 point production in the NHL by 2016.

I'll take that bet

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by snipetype

How can you say fleury has a low top end? He had top pairing potential. Big shutdown dman that put up 40 points in their draft year are rare things. Holy #### you guys are dumb I can't take it anymore. Last year I said the flames should pick zadorov ristolainen or morin if any were left at 22. CP freaked out at me, and oh yeah they were all gone by like what 15? He had more points than dion Phaneuf in his draft year an he's wayyyyy better defensively. Pass me whatever you are smoking. Just watch the kid play before you say he doesn't have high potential. #### you all just listen to what other people say without watching them play.

Whatever you're smoking I want to ####ing steer clear of, thanks.

[snipetype]

Oh and buffalo is going to take ekblad. It's like Colorado last year, they needed d but mackinnon was clearly the best nhl prospect. Ekblad is the best nhl prospect and will go number one. Zadorov ristolainen and ekblad is a frighteningly talented big d core. They can pick forwards with nyi pick and they will probably be in the mcdavid running again

[Da_Chief]

Originally Posted by snipetype

How can you say fleury has a low top end? He had top pairing potential. Big shutdown dman that put up 40 points in their draft year are rare things. Holy #### you guys are dumb I can't take it anymore. Last year I said the flames should pick zadorov ristolainen or morin if any were left at 22. CP freaked out at me, and oh yeah they were all gone by like what 15? He had more points than dion Phaneuf in his draft year an he's wayyyyy better defensively. Pass me whatever you are smoking. Just watch the kid play before you say he doesn't have high potential. #### you all just listen to what other people say without watching them play.

Fleury sucks

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by snipetype

How can you say fleury has a low top end? He had top pairing potential. Big shutdown dman that put up 40 points in their draft year are rare things. Holy #### you guys are dumb I can't take it anymore. Last year I said the flames should pick zadorov ristolainen or morin if any were left at 22. CP freaked out at me, and oh yeah they were all gone by like what 15? He had more points than dion Phaneuf in his draft year an he's wayyyyy better defensively. Pass me whatever you are smoking. Just watch the kid play before you say he doesn't have high potential. #### you all just listen to what other people say without watching them play.

You're either a Red Deer fan, or Fleury's girlfriend. We all don't want Fleury because there are plenty of better prospects than him.

1. Ekblad
2. Reinhart
3. Bennett
4. Draisaitl
5. Dal Colle
6. Ritchie
7. Ehlers
8. Perlini
9. Virtanen
10. Nylander/Tuch

Fleury maybe in the 11th spot, wouldn't be surprised if he made it to 15th. I would even consider

Burke clearly stated there is one defenseman in the top ten, if you really want a defenseman, you might want to cross your fingers that we win the lottery or start advocating Burke to trade up for Ekblad.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by snipetype

How can you say fleury has a low top end? He had top pairing potential. Big shutdown dman that put up 40 points in their draft year are rare things. Holy #### you guys are dumb I can't take it anymore. Last year I said the flames should pick zadorov ristolainen or morin if any were left at 22. CP freaked out at me, and oh yeah they were all gone by like what 15? He had more points than dion Phaneuf in his draft year an he's wayyyyy better defensively. Pass me whatever you are smoking. Just watch the kid play before you say he doesn't have high potential. #### you all just listen to what other people say without watching them play.

Most of us aren't scouts, and don't have time to watch them play, so we have to go by what the scouting bureaus and reports tell us.

The reports say that Fleury is good but doesn't have high end offensive upside, IMO that makes him have a lower top end. That makes him more of a great 2/3 guy then a true number 1 rear guard.

I never said he was bad, just that compared to the top 5 he has a lower top end upside.

You need to chill out on Fleury.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by snipetype

How can you say fleury has a low top end? He had top pairing potential. Big shutdown dman that put up 40 points in their draft year are rare things. Holy #### you guys are dumb I can't take it anymore. Last year I said the flames should pick zadorov ristolainen or morin if any were left at 22. CP freaked out at me, and oh yeah they were all gone by like what 15? He had more points than dion Phaneuf in his draft year an he's wayyyyy better defensively. Pass me whatever you are smoking. Just watch the kid play before you say he doesn't have high potential. #### you all just listen to what other people say without watching them play.

I'm going to need to see some proof of that, because that sounds like a load of garbage. Ristolainen, Morin and Zadarov we're all talked about on here as being before the 22 range.