Calgarypuck Prospect Ranking 2021 - Round 8

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Voting Ruzicka before Phillips makes very little sense, IMO.

Why? Ruzicka may have less star potential but more NHLer potential.

A case could be made for either.

[TheScorpion]

Ruzicka's game is just so, so raw and he's extremely inconsistent. I'd argue he has both a lower ceiling and a lower floor. When he's on, he's good — but he still always needs somebody to create for him. When he's off... he's not physical, he's not fast, and he struggles defensively.

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Ruzicka's game is just so, so raw and he's extremely inconsistent. I'd argue he has both a lower ceiling and a lower floor. When he's on, he's good — but he still always needs somebody to create for him. When he's off... he's not physical, he's not fast, and he struggles defensively.

FWIW I don't think that Phillips or Ruzicka have a great chance at being NHLers. Mangiapane is an example of what it takes for players with outside shots to crack a roster and that is basically kicking the door down twice.

Phillips and Ruzicka have only knocked politely.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Ruzicka looks to me like he can finish in tight. He seems to have that goal scorers ability that even if he's not looking his shots find the corners of the net. Huge guy so he could be valuable on PP as net front - is he good a tipping pucks?

He may need someone to set him up but if you can finish at the NHL level you will get paid.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

I am not a big Phillips fan and wouldn't vote for him until at least 10-12 or so, but I certainly wouldn't write him off because he is 23. A small 6th rounder is going to take some time, and the last few years the AHL schedule has been a mess, so I could see the Flames investing at least another few years to see what he can develop into.

[TheScorpion]

He just turned 23. Last year was his age-22 season. He'll be 23 for the entire upcoming season.

[FanIn80]

Kuznetsov. I wonder how many time's he's had a goal waived off with a ref pointing in the crease yelling, "Cause net's off!"

[Bingo]

Tomorrow may be an interesting (tight) one.

[N-E-B]

Ruzicka for me. Matthew Phillips is a 23 year old 0.6ppg AHLer who is tiny. He had some promise earlier but I just don’t see it for him.

[Finger Cookin]

[Poe969]

I would love to be proven wrong but Phillips doesn't look special at all to me. He's so small and just doesn't look dynamic or strong enough to compensate for it. The NHL would literally break him...into pieces...because he's so small.

[Sandman]

I think the Phillips talk is moot anyway, ‘cause he’s never going to get a legitimate shot under Sutter IMO.

[Samonadreau]

Kinvall then Petterson next.

[Samonadreau]

What a fall from grace for Parsons

2017: 2nd
2018: 4th
2019: 6th
2020: 15th
2021: TBD

[united]

Considered
Johannes Kinnvall
Ryan Francis

I went with Kinnvall for pure upside and for the value of a right shot.

Johannes Kinnvall
A defenceman nobody will mistake for Chris Tanev or Niklas Hjalmarsson, the right-shooting powerplay quarterback brings an exciting up-tempo brand of hockey to table, for better or for worse. Already demonstrating an NHL-caliber ability to command a powerplay, Kinnvall offers the coveted dual-threat from the top of the formation keeping penalty killers from cheating either pass or shoot. And while there is no denying his defensive shortcomings, I think his defensive play is getting somewhat underrated due to circumstance. Consider that Kinnvall played for the worst team in the SHL - the recently relegated HV71 - with sub .900 goaltending and you have a situation where help is not abundant and goaltending was unable to bail the team out. Per pick224, HV71 was outscored 21-16 with Kinnvall on the ice, but 62-26 with him on the bench, for instance. The Flames have a big flashing spot at RD3 but would they use it on a soft, offensively-minded defenceman? Probably not, but maybe he wins the job at camp and we have our own Tyson Barrie for 1/5 of the cost. Let's see.

Ceiling: NHL powerplay QB
Probable: AHL/Euro league all-star (Style: Tyson Barrie)
Floor: Minor leaguer/Euro league all-star

Ryan Francis
Similar to Jakob Pelletier in both height and per-game production, Francis is another "undersized" player who isn't afraid to get to the tough areas of the ice. In fact, this season, a handful of Francis' goals came within an arm's length of the blue paint. Though not possessing notable straight-line speed, Francis can be described using a term that has become prevalent in hockey parlance: a waterbug. In the neutral and offensive zones, Francis has the ability to take advantage of his lower centre of gravity by controlling defenders' feet and hips with shifty and erratic movement. This season, I saw a regression in defensive play from the winger-turned-centre but that was offset by a commensurate progression in offensive ability - Francis actually outpaced the highly-regarded Pelletier albeit by a sliver. All those positives in mind, translating an offence-focused game at 5'10 is more difficult than a defensive-focused game so his time in the AHL will tell us a lot. Wide variance player.

Ceiling: 2nd-line winger
Probable: AHL tweener (Style: Dillon Dube)
Floor: Bust

[united]

Here is how the two public models see the runaway winner. Please note that the criteria each model uses for star and NHLer is different! JFresh/TopDownHockey will almost always be lower than Bader's as their thresholds are a much higher standard so adjust accordingly.

Hockey Prospecting
Calgary's own, and fellow Flames fan, Byron Bader runs the excellent site, Hockey Prospecting. You have likely seen his graphics before. At just $25/year his site is a wonderful resource for any fan interested in prospects. You can register here and support Bader's work if you are interested: https://hockeyprospecting.com/register/

Spoiler!

JFresh/TopDownHockey
JFresh and his partner TopDownHockey introduced their NHLe model this year. You will be familiar with the NHL player graphics they produce regularly. At $7/month the subscription is a no-brainer for any hockey fan. You can register here and support their work if you are interested: https://www.patreon.com/jfreshhockey

Spoiler!

[Cali Panthers Fan]

^I just read through your posts on the previous polls. Thanks for these! It helps to give some good context to the rankings.