Corey Pronman's list of top 10 Flames prospects

[MrCallahan]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

18 posts in and nobody has trashed this media guy....WTF CP!!!!

was thinking the exact same thing!

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

So the Flames used a 22nd pick on a guy with less promise than Hanowski? Kind of killed his credibility right there and while I'm not on the Poirier bandwagon he has to be considered a better prospect than Hanowski or he would be an absolutely terrible 1st round pick.

Pronman had Poirier ranked 62 (3rd rounder) in his draft rankings prior to the draft, so its no surprise he is not a big fan of him.

Then again it is amazing how many of the draft experts have Poirier listed as LW when Poirier himself says he is primarily a RW and plays LW sometimes. Makes you wonder how many are really paying attention to Poirier in the first place.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Based on Pronman's projections, here's our line up with just the top 15:

Baertschi-Monahan-?
Gaudreau-Knight-Klimchuk...Jankowski, Granlund as 2B options
Poirier-Arnold-Hanowski
?-Reinhart-?

?-?
Wotherspoon-Roy
Cundari-?
Rafikov

Gillies-?

That's not including guys like Breen, Sieloff, Agostino, Culkin, Brossoit, and Berra who he gives honourable mention too. Slot those guys in there along with guys like Backlund, Brodie, and Horak, and less heralded prospects like Ramage, Kulak, Harrison, Ferland, Kanzig, and all of a sudden there is a lot of depth at the 2nd/3rd line spots, and bottom 4 defenders.

The only thing this team still needs is the top end talent. A top line right winger and a top pairing shut-down defender to go along with what Brodie is projecting towards as a top pairing puck moving defender. One of Brossoit, Berra, or Ortio will likely be the backup to Gillies, so no need to get another goalie.

The nice thing is in a year or two, this young and upcoming team will have cap room still to go out and get those top end players through free agency if they haven't drafted/developed them yet. If only half our prospects develop to their potential, we should have a very competitive team within 2 years. May not be ready for primetime at that point, but I think we'll be a team in the playoff mix by then.

[tempz]

Originally Posted by AC

From that list only Gaudreau is small, Baertschi is pretty average at 5'10".

Hell our top 3 centre prospects are all 6'2" or taller.

Average height in the NHL is between 6'0 and 6'1. Average weight is over 200 lbs. There is no way Sven is considered average in size.

[pylon]

Saw the name 'pr0nman' and entered this thread.

Leaving very disappointed.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

BTW, this is the lineup I see in 2 years without any changes to the current prospect pool, not including current full time NHLers.

Baertschi-Monahan-?...Granlund?...honestly don't know about this spot.
Gaudreau-Knight-Klimchuk? (off-wing?)
Agostino-Arnold-Poirier
Bouma-Reinhart-Ferland
Harrison

Brodie*-Wotherspoon
Sieloff-Culkin
Cundari-Ramage
Breen/Kanzig

Gillies-Brossoit

*Brodie is clearly a fulltimer now.

It's a pretty solid roster. It's more than likely that Backlund and Horak are in the mix too, but I figured I would stick with our prospects.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Nvm

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Why should he tie his rankings to draft position. I don't really have a ton of time for this guy - but I admire the fact that he has the conviction to state opinions that are much different than the norm. If every prospect list was just a re-stating of where kids were drafted, it would be pretty dull.

I don't think the Flames drafted a player 22nd overall that they believed projected lower than Hanowski who was a throw in part of the Iginla trade. Like others have said he's not a guy that is high on Poirier so that probably explains things somewhat but where is this glowing scouting report on Hanowski that he seems to be only prevy to? The fact that he had Hanowski over Horak tells me he doesn't really have a good handle on the Flames prospects after the more notable players. Where the heck is Wotherspoon? He does realize the Flames have some defensive prospects in their system no?

I don't want it to sound like I think Hanowski is a terrible player but he certainly looks at best a bottom 6 player if he can improve his skating. Not bad but I believe Poirier projects higher than that.

[BACKCHECK!!!]

Ok, I think some people need to understand (cough *Cali Flames Fan* cough *and many others* cough), that the Flames will be doing pretty well if three or four of these guys ever become better than replacement-level NHLers.

That's not a knock on this list, or on the Flames, it's just a result of the fact that the NHL is an AWFUL long way away when you're (for example) the 4th best forward on a not-very-good college team.

If Monahan and Baertschi end up being first liners, and any one of the other forwards on the list makes it as a good middle-6 player (maybe Gaudreau or Knight), then the Flames have done very well. If one of the defencemen becomes better than a 6/7th defender, that's gravy.

I know some of you are already getting your posts ready with "BACKCHECK!!! is just a Debbie downer". And that's hilarious.

Because the above scenario would mean the Flames drafed 4 impact NHLers in 4 years, and probably have 8+ roster players developed in-house. And if you think that's a pessimistic projection, then this is going to be a loooong couple of years for you.

[CaptainYooh]

I agreed with most of the evaluations in the ranking. Was surprised to see Baertschi still being seen as a prospect (although agreed with his assessment).

[Fire]

Originally Posted by CaptainYooh

I agreed with most of the evaluations in the ranking. Was surprised to see Baertschi still being seen as a prospect (although agreed with his assessment).

Baertschi is still eligible for the Calder trophy so until that ends he's still a prospect imo.

[Fire]

double post

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by BACKCHECK!!!

Ok, I think some people need to understand (cough *Cali Flames Fan* cough *and many others* cough), that the Flames will be doing pretty well if three or four of these guys ever become better than replacement-level NHLers.

I think you misunderstood me. I was merely using his projection to ice a "potential" lineup. The lineup I posted after that was merely an exercise to see if we could ice a full lineup with our prospect pool in 2 years time. Seeing as we are rebuilding, that is likely the plan from management's perspective too.

At no point did I say these guys were going to be in the NHL and reach their potential, I'm just trying to figure out a depth chart for our prospects and see where we still need to fill in the gaps in drafting/prospects/free agents.

***special note: Please, please, please, all of the "I'm being realistic" posters. Just stop. I speak for the rest of us in that we are just playing around with the future and having fun. It's the only fun we will have this season. It's not about what will happen, but what our prospects are likely to turn into IF they make the NHL. Just let us have that, please.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Kind of surprised to see Hanowski that high. Should Hanowski really be higher than Agostino? Shouldn't Agostino be on the board... somewhere, even in the honorable mentions?

Can't believe he ranked Rafikov over some of our other prospects like Agostino or Breen.

[BACKCHECK!!!]

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

***special note: Please, please, please, all of the "I'm being realistic" posters. Just stop. I speak for the rest of us in that we are just playing around with the future and having fun. It's the only fun we will have this season. It's not about what will happen, but what our prospects are likely to turn into IF they make the NHL. Just let us have that, please.

OK, fine. Lets meet in the middle.

I promise I'll stop being the fun police, if you promise to stop pencilling in guys like Harrison for future roster spots.

Deal?

[BACKCHECK!!!]

Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

Kind of surprised to see Hanowski that high. Should Hanowski really be higher than Agostino? Shouldn't Agostino be on the board... somewhere, even in the honorable mentions?

Can't believe he ranked Rafikov over some of our other prospects like Agostino or Breen.

Well, I've never seen Agostino play, so I can't say anything from that end.

But Hanowski has played in the big show, so we've seen him play with and against the real deal. And in my opinion, he reminded me of a legit depth NHLer, who has had his skates replaced with those two bladed bob-skates you strap over little kids' boots.

His foot speed was simply not acceptable for an NHLer. It was so bad that I highly doubt he will ever be able to overcome it.

HOWEVER, the flip side of that is that Hanowski has ONE shortcoming preventing him from being an NHL roster player. That's a lot closer than most of the other prospects (many of whom probably have very few, if any, skills that are NHL level right now).

If Hanowski finds a whole new gear, AND uses it, he can be an NHLer.

I doubt he'll do it, but I can see why you'd have him ranked highly given that he only needs to improve one aspect of his game to drop right in to a roster spot.

[cral12]

Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

Kind of surprised to see Hanowski that high. Should Hanowski really be higher than Agostino? Shouldn't Agostino be on the board... somewhere, even in the honorable mentions?

Can't believe he ranked Rafikov over some of our other prospects like Agostino or Breen.

Not a terrible list, but Pronman (almost mistyped his name...lol) always has a "unique" perspective. He does do his homework, however, so can't fault him for that.

Can't see Hanowski in the Top 10, especially ahead of Poirier.

Surprised he didn't note Brett Kulak as at least a HM/sleeper. Otherwise, fairly solid write up.

I do disagree about his notes about Klimchuk and size impairing his physical play - like any player of this age, he will need to continue to train and gain strength, but I'm not worried about his physical game.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

18 posts in and nobody has trashed this media guy....WTF CP!!!!

There was some trashing done earlier this month in this thread. Considering how Pronman arrives at his conclusions, I guess Seiloff isn't statistically any good. I take his ratings with a grain of salt whereas others think he's the be all and end all.

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=129011

[Hugh Jahrmes]

Best news to me is that the bottom of this list is so interchangeable with non-terrible prospects for once.

[Freeway]

European scouts seem to really like Rafikov. Heard good things coming from him at the World U-18s.