Summer 2013 Prospect Rank Poll Round 4

[Cali Panthers Fan]

No question it is Gillies. I have him ranked in my top 3, but I think he might be the most important prospect we have.

[Enoch Root]

I went with Jankowski - he has a vey high ceiling and is on track developmentally.

I have been as big of a supporter of Gillies from day 1 as anyone on this site. But the fact of the matter is that he is a goalie and you just never know with them, so I have a hard time raking him this high.

I have also been one of the biggest supporters of Wotherspoon, but I still think Jankowski has more upside (and I a big C)

[TurnedTheCorner]

The Big Jankowski

[CarlW]

Gillies. Saw the importance of Kipper through his time in Calgary, and think Gillies' potential plus the importance of the position pushes past the others this round.

[Super-Rye]

I went back and forth between Gillies, Knight, Jankowski, and Wotherspoon but went with Gillies in the end. I don't think any prospect in the Flames system showed more development than Gillies last season.

[cral12]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

I went with Klimchuk......with no other reason than my gut feeling. :S

Klimchuk for me as well, but some obvious strong contenders for the 4th slot - great to see.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by moon

What?

Are we not allowed to have differences of opinions on here? I thought that was the point of this exercise.

I don't accuse people of chasing flash I said that I understand why people like Gaudreau. If I thought he could bring that skill to the NHL successfully he would be my 2nd or 3rd choice. I don't think he will but don't begrudge guys that do. I think he will struggle based on his size/strength and therefore he doesn't rank high for me because I am putting more emphasis on guys that have a higher chance of making the league.

And things are a blast at my house thanks but I guess we can't report the owner of the site for useless personal attacks.

Well you can try and report me

In all seriousness where pray tell did I attack you personally? I'm just summarizing your post in how its read by those that aren't walking the earth with a giant rain cloud hanging over them.

Opinions are great, and I think I've demonstrated for a good 13 years that I'm very open to those disagreeing with me and the masses. But you can't hide from what you basically suggested.

- The Flames consensus two through five prospects won't amount to much
- You picked your second player (which would have been fine on its own), but then only gave him a bottom pairing upside, which was hilarious.
- Then suggested those that disagree are chasing flash.

It isn't hard to summarize your thinking, and none of that is personal.

If you want to be the group's speed bump, you'd better invest in better shocks if I hurt your feelings.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

This is where I have trouble balancing upside and likelihood of actually realizing the upside. Do you rank a boom/bust type of player with very high upside potential over another player with low upside, but a high probability of making the show?

I agree its a tough line.

Years ago I had guys rate prospects both on likelihood and potential, but even with those done the debate just switched to weighting between the two. At 50/50 it was interesting to see how a super skilled guy would rate against a sure thing with a limited ceiling.

Creates a good debate certainly.

Likelihood certainly came into my first three picks as I have Monahan a more likely 15 year NHL'r then Baertschi (injuries) and Gaudreau (size)

[Bezer]

Thought long and hard about this one. I finally went Janko just due to potential although Gilles had a heck of a year. I think that Janko probably has a higher ceiling than Gilles.

[eden]

This round was a little bit trickier for me personally between Gillies and Jankowski. If Gillies reaches his potential he could be a great #1 goalie, and if Jankowski reaches his he could end up being a #1 center. With goalies always being tough to judge I went with Jankowski just above Gillies, Knight and Wotherspoon seem like solid options here as well.

[herashak]

Gilles, was the star on the team we thought was janks.

[Stupid]

I went with Gillies. Amazing showing last year, and he's proving more than the other in my own humble opinion.

[SebC]

Gillies as a nice stat line, but there are freshmen goalies who did better in the NCAA. Hrm.

[timbit]

Originally Posted by SebC

Gillies as a nice stat line, but there are freshmen goalies who did better in the NCAA. Hrm.

Would you care to name one? The only one that was close was Hellebuyck ( Jets pick in 2012) at Mass Lowell and they had a far better team than Providence.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by timbit

Would you care to name one? The only one that was close was Hellebuyck ( Jets pick in 2012) at Mass Lowell and they had a far better team than Providence.

There were really only two. You already nailed Hellebuyck. The other would be Williams from Minnesota State (Islanders, 2013 in the 4th round as a 20 year old). Both guys were on powerhouse teams who didn't expect to lose much. Gillies was on a team that wasn't expected to win and he dragged the team kicking and screaming into the post season. Gillies was so good that he beat out Hellebuyck as the best goaltender for Hockey East.

The big question to ask is what do Gillies NHL equivalent numbers look like compared to all the other freshmen goaltenders out there. That's the only thing that matters when it comes to evaluating talent.

[moon]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Well you can try and report me

In all seriousness where pray tell did I attack you personally? I'm just summarizing your post in how its read by those that aren't walking the earth with a giant rain cloud hanging over them.

I think the "things at your house must be fun" line has nothing to do with hockey talk and isn't really needed on this board. The giant rain cloud comment above is unneccessary as well. It doesn't hurt my feelings but seem to be the type of comments that get threads off topic and are about the poster not the post that I thought weren't really wanted here. No big deal overall for me though.

Opinions are great, and I think I've demonstrated for a good 13 years that I'm very open to those disagreeing with me and the masses. But you can't hide from what you basically suggested.

- The Flames consensus two through five prospects won't amount to much
- You picked your second player (which would have been fine on its own), but then only gave him a bottom pairing upside, which was hilarious.
- Then suggested those that disagree are chasing flash.

It isn't hard to summarize your thinking, and none of that is personal.

It seems like it is hard to summarize since you got your summary wrong in 3 out of 3 points. I said Sven and Monahan were both top 6 guys with both high ceilings and likely to make it so it is not the 2 through 5 prospects at all. I also gave Wotherspoon 2nd pairing upside and bottom pairing likelihood not bottom pairing upside at

And again I am not saying they are chasing flash I am saying that they are putting potential above likelihood. Nothing wrong if that is what they want to do (which I said) but not the way I am approaching the ranking.

But yes I do not have big hopes for Gaudreau and more so Jankowski and Gillies. I think it is more likely they turn into nothing or limited NHLers than top 6/starting goalie. I don't have much faith or respect for the hockey guys in charge of the team that made the picks and haven't seen a ton from those 3 to indicate that they will be top level talents in the NHL. I hope they prove me wrong and turn into studs and help the team turn into a contender.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by timbit

Would you care to name one? The only one that was close was Hellebuyck ( Jets pick in 2012) at Mass Lowell and they had a far better team than Providence.

Hellebuyck (0.952, 1.37)
McKay (0.946, 1.39)
Kasdorf (0.935, 1.62)
Gillies (0.931, 2.08)

[Freeway]

I went with Gillies, as he kept Providence College in a good many games this year, ala Kiprusoff in Calgary during his prime.

[timbit]

Originally Posted by SebC

Hellebuyck (0.952, 1.37)
McKay (0.946, 1.39)
Kasdorf (0.935, 1.62)
Gillies (0.931, 2.08)

Stat lines? How many games did McKay and Kasdorf play? Both are 2 years older than Gillies.

Gillies played on a VERY BAD TEAM, that he literally carried on his back, while being voted Hockey East goaltender of the year ahead of Hellebucyk.

Gillies was the top freshman goalie in US D1 college play last season, according to most.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by timbit

Stat lines? How many games did McKay and Kasdorf play?

Gillies played on a VERY BAD TEAM, that he literally carried on his back, while being voted Hockey East goaltender of the year ahead of Hellebucyk.

Gillies was the top freshman goalie in US D1 college play last season, according to most.

Don't let awards or recognition by experts get in the way of a stats argument. Posting good stats is all that matters. Ask Robbie Schremp.