Well with a pick at #1, #4 or #5 I would want one of Ekblad, Reinhart or Bennett. The chance that the Oilers are in on Draisatl and the Panthers are in on Ehlers makes that possible, but if all 3 are off the board by the time the Flames pick, then they guy I want is Dal Colle.
Guys like Perlini, Ritche, Virtanen, Fleury are a notch below, and Ehlers is a real wildcard - I think the lack of skilled guys with size makes Dal Colle or Draisatl the better pick over Ehlers.
Unless both players are gone by the time it’s their turn to pick on June 27, the Oilers will sing out the name of Draisaitl or Barrie Colts defenceman Aaron Ekblad.
And to add, from HFPanthers:
General need-list order for Florida seems to be: Bennett/Ekblad - Reinhart - Dal Colle/Ehlers
So Buffalo winning would be the best option for Flames outside of winning the lotto ourselves:
Scoring-wise there isn't a lot to choose from between Reinhart, Bennett, Draisaitl, and Dal Colle. There is a clear drop to Ritchie and Ehlers has dominant goal-scoring numbers.
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This is the first time our organization has had a top 5 pick - and this year's draft has a VERY clear consensus top 5. Pick from that group.
The "consensus top 5" doesnt matter too much to our scouts. They are paid to do their own evaluating, not sit around looking at youtube highlights and lists from ISS or people like Button or Mackenzie. We have our own top 5 - and I'm willing to bet its different from the "consensus"
Heck every team probably has their own list and they all probably differ.
As armchair scouts some were upset we didnt take Shinkaruk since he was rated far higher than Poirier. This happens because the Flames scouts rely on their own evaluation.
+ There is no way you can tell me Draisatl and Dal Colle are CLEAR top 5 picks and an obvious cut above over Virtanen, Perlini or Ritchie. It depends if a team is hungry for a power forward, winger, center, etc and how their scouts have evaluated / view the players. Outside the top 3 I can see a lot of surprises or as some people would call them "reaching"
I'm also sure most of the people who dont want Ritchie have only seen him on youtube.
Well with a pick at #1, #4 or #5 I would want one of Ekblad, Reinhart or Bennett. The chance that the Oilers are in on Draisatl and the Panthers are in on Ehlers makes that possible, but if all 3 are off the board by the time the Flames pick, then they guy I want is Dal Colle.
Guys like Perlini, Ritche, Virtanen, Fleury are a notch below, and Ehlers is a real wildcard - I think the lack of skilled guys with size makes Dal Colle or Draisatl the better pick over Ehlers.
I think the Panthers seriously considering Ehlers at 2 or 3 is incredibly unlikely. Tallon was just tossing bluffs out there.
Another thing that affects us is I can see Edmonton passing on Bennett to go for Draisaitl, but I don't see them passing on Reinhart. I just can't see valuing that 1 and 15 pounds that much.
Ehlers is not going top five. He's smaller than the other top prospects. He put up around the same points as the other top guys. Yet he plays with DROUIN!! His stats are inflated. The guy is a borderline top ten pick. There are always 511 wingers that some people say could be top 5 picks every year yet they usually fall.
I want Ritchie. I think Draisatl is soft, Dal Colle is promising and has a high ceiling. But Ritchie could just be a force in the NHL - even in his rookie year I could see him scoring 20+, beating up goons and throwing big hits. I watch the OHL whenever I can and I LOVE Ritchies game. He's not some untalented big guy he has good hands and one of the best shots in the draft and skates well for a big guy.
I think Dal Colle and Ritchie are our most realistic picks. I have a sense we are about as likely to trade down as we are to trade up though. Especially if the top 3 are gone by our pick. I could see Bennett / Ekblad 1st and 2nd - then it depends how teams view Reinhart and Draisatl who has to be the most polarizing player in the draft.
It's easy to look at Ritchie and envision a Milan Lucic clone for the Flames, but those sorts of players are so rare. I cannot claim to have seen him live other than the prospects game, but looking at the stats scares me. Here's how he compares to Zach Kassian in his draft year:
So Ritchie put up a few more points with other stats looking close. I'm not saying Ritchie couldn't be a top 6 player, but he's just as likely, if not more likely, to end up a quality 3rd liner. Nothing wrong with that, but when you pick top 5 you've got to get more than that.
It's easy to look at Ritchie and envision a Milan Lucic clone for the Flames, but those sorts of players are so rare. I cannot claim to have seen him live other than the prospects game, but looking at the stats scares me. Here's how he compares to Zach Kassian in his draft year:
So Ritchie put up a few more points with other stats looking close. I'm not saying Ritchie couldn't be a top 6 player, but he's just as likely, if not more likely, to end up a quality 3rd liner. Nothing wrong with that, but when you pick top 5 you've got to get more than that.
Kassian that year was second in scoring on the team, and had 11% of the goals. Ritchie this year lead the team in scoring by 12 points, and had 17% of the goals. Quantifiable much better draft season than Kassian, he's also much faster and a bigger part of his teams success than Kassian was.
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So we heard Burke's comment about Draisaitl was not very complementary.
Have we been able to find out if the scouting staff feels the same way?
Have we been able to learn why he does not think highly of Draisaitl?
Any sort of inside rumors or additional comments that shed light on this.
General consensus is that he is a top four talent.
__________________ 'Skank' Marden: I play hockey and I fornicate, 'cause those are the two most fun things to do in cold weather. - Mystery Alaska
So we heard Burke's comment about Draisaitl was not very complementary.
Have we been able to find out if the scouting staff feels the same way?
Have we been able to learn why he does not think highly of Draisaitl?
Any sort of inside rumors or additional comments that shed light on this.
General consensus is that he is a top four talent.
-Doesn't want to draft a Euro unless they're bonafide top 6
-Draisaitl projects to be more of a bottom six playstyle so off the radar since he's looking for top six centerman
-Seems to play a little soft
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Unless both players are gone by the time it’s their turn to pick on June 27, the Oilers will sing out the name of Draisaitl or Barrie Colts defenceman Aaron Ekblad.
Sorry if this was already posted:
This would leave us (if at 4) one of of Bennett or Reinhart.
-Doesn't want to draft a Euro unless they're bonafide top 6
-Draisaitl projects to be more of a bottom six playstyle so off the radar since he's looking for top six centerman
-Seems to play a little soft
Is that what he said somewhere else or is that your speculation as to his thoughts?
So we heard Burke's comment about Draisaitl was not very complementary.
Have we been able to find out if the scouting staff feels the same way?
Have we been able to learn why he does not think highly of Draisaitl?
Any sort of inside rumors or additional comments that shed light on this.
General consensus is that he is a top four talent.
I saw him live 4 times and he underwhelmed me every time. It was just my opinion but for a guy who was supposed to be a big guy out there he didn't play like it, felt like he was letting the other players on the ice do the work out there. I had high expectations of him before I saw him though so it could have been a bit of me expecting too much, but compared to previous top picks I've seen, and Reinhart from this year he really didn't stand out for me.
My biggest hope right now is either the flames win the lottery or trade with FLA to grab Ekblad. Because if Edmonton wants Draisaitl, I think the cats would gladly take Bennett at 4 . either way, Ekblad or Bennett it is! I really do not see how Reinhardt doesn't go first overall yo Buffalo if they choose first.
I posted this in the other prospect chat thread and thought it would be more useful here.
I've heard this draft is weak, but this chart seems to disagree a bit with that assessment.
One interesting thing about that chart is how much younger Bennett and Del Colle are than Draisaitl and Reinhart.
One other thing interesting is DERRICK BRASSARD being so high.
The more I think about it the more it seems like Burke is BSing.
Draisatl is not a bottom 6 guy. IMO he is top 6 or bust. Look at him play, he is very very skilled. Also how can a player who's 3 biggest knocks are how soft he is, his lack of consistency and intensity when back-checking be a bottom 6 player?
Seems like a smokescreen if I've seen heard one. He knows Edmonton are interested.
