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Originally Posted by Crumpy-Gunt
Looking at that now it looks like Virtanen is the youngest and Draisatl is the oldest on this list of the top scoring 2014 eligible players. I'd be cool with trading down for Virtanen or Ritchie - two power forwards who are impossible to check and skate very well. Not to mention they have great goal scoring instincts and amazing shots. Virtanen probably has the highest ceiling outside the top 3 he seems as fast as he is strong and hes 6'1 210 already. I wouldnt cry if we traded down and took a power forward type if the top 3 are off the board and we dont want Draisatl.
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I wouldn't be cool with trading down, and Ritchie is a much better prospect than Virtanen. The guys that seem to be ranked in the top 5 seem to be a big step-up. Ritchie does have a ceiling that reaches that of the top 5 picks, but he has more question marks as well. Virtanen is more of a question mark than Ritchie - Virtanen is faster, but his IQ is lower. He isn't a guy that can make high-level plays like Ritchie can on the rush or the PP. Ritchie is more dynamic that way in his ability to find other players with nice saucer passes and has just as good of a shot. Not as good of a skater as Virtanen is, but he is definitely a good skater.
I would be shocked if Burke calls out Ritchie, or trades down for him, unless the Flames lose the lottery and get bumped down to 5th and Draisaitl is the only one left.
Dal Colle has elite-level hockey sense, hands and a shot. He is just a very small step below the top of the draft IMO. There is a stronger chance that he becomes the best player out of the draft than Ritchie. There is a significant step down to Ritchie, though I am starting to rank Draisaitl and Ritchie closer together.
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Originally Posted by Muta
Given our abundant crop of forwards going into next season, and all the rookies that will need to be considered for spots (as well as a handful of returning veterans), would anyone be up for moving one of our forward prospects for a defense prospect?
What about something like Markus Granlund for Matt Dumba? Dumba's stock has fallen a bit, and Granlund has a connection to Minnesota through his brother. Would something like this work, or no? Or alternatively, what about Gormley out of Phoenix?
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I would think Dumba might still have a higher trade value than Granlund, but I still would not want to trade Granlund straight-up for Dumba. Dumba seems to have very little hockey sense and is extremely mistake prone. I actually thought he was a better defencemen in his draft year, and it seemed he has regressed somewhat. He carries the puck well, he has a great shot, and he is very physical - but his hockey sense is just not there IMO. He seems to constantly make poor decisions. I thought he was absolutely horrid in the WJCs, especially at the start.
I would love Gormley, but it would take more to pry him away unfortunately. Probably quite a lot actually.
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Originally Posted by Flamin' DBag
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:
NR - 2013-14 Peterborough Petes OHL 61 39 35 74 136
ZK - 2008-09 Peterborough Petes OHL 61 24 39 63 136
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.
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Who do you think has more value? A 40 goal scorer or a 25 goal scorer? There is a big difference in stats alone.
Also, if you look up Kassian's player profile (think I posted snippets of it here a while back) and compare them to Ritchie, you see differences in key areas:
1: Hockey sense - Ritchie is rated very high in hockey sense, Kassian was rated very low.
2: Speed - Again, Ritchie is ranked 'average' in speed, and 'above average' in agility. Kassian was rated as 'slow' and 'needs to really work on his skating to get to the next level." (which, unfortunately, he has increased - though I think he is still dumb as a doorknob out there).
3: Skill level - Kassian had 'ok' hands, but Ritchie has wonderfully soft hands and can make high-level plays, feeding his linemates with nice saucer passes.
As the poster right below you showed - Ritchie is actually the focus on the team, and provides the bulk of his team's offence. He is a very difficult player to stop.
I really recommend you watch the highlights that AC posted. You can see good examples of his shot, his speed, his passing ability (I can't believe some posters said he doesn't know how to pass the puck!), etc. He is a much, much better prospect now than what Kassian was at that age. Kassian's skating has improved, but I would bet that Ritchie is still much faster and much more agile - and imagine how much quicker he can get with some serious training.
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Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan
My preference of who we take at 4th:
1. Dal Colle
2. Ritchie
3. Draisaitl
Unless of course Reinhart, Ekblad, or Benett are still available. There is no way Ekblad gets past Edmonton if he is available at #3. Bennett and Reinhart are likely to drop to 4th than Ekblad. That's only if Ekblad gets taken from Buffalo or Florida.
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I really see the draft this way too. I think Burke prefers Ritchie over Draisaitl, and personally it is becoming more of a toss-up between the two in my ranking - though it may change between now and the draft. I just hope one of Reinhart, Bennett, Ekblad or Dal Colle is available at the slot. I still much prefer them over Ritchie. Just need one team to be high on Draisaitl, Ehlers or Nylander (which could happen - they all have legitimate upsides that I can see scouts falling in love with).
