Calgarypuck Prospect Ranking 2025 - Round 5

[Ba'alzamon]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

He was ranked higher than Reschny by some so he does appear to be great value at 32 and having the best wheels in the draft never hurts as it's been a while since the Flames have had a burner in the lineup.

Pospisil is like the fourth fastest player in the league lol

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Yanda

Honzek should be above Suniev and Stromgren, but not Basha/Battaglia/Mews.. hope people read everyones comments for next round because Honzek shouldnt be getting these votes right now.

Bader's model has Suniev with a strong D2 NHLe, whereas Honzek has been trending down ever since he was drafted. I'm not even sure I'd put Honzek ahead of Suniev.



Source: www.hockeyprospecting.com

At least right now, I don't see Honzek as trending very well. I also didn't like the pick at the time though, so I've got a bias on that front. Pains me that Axel Sandin-Pellika and Colby Barlow (who I really wanted) went directly after the Flames pick. I think the Honzek pick happened because it wasn't really Conroy with his feet under him yet.

[Savvy27]

1. Zayne Parekh - Potential star. Hardly any comparables even exist for his pre-NHL production.

2. Cole Reschny - I'm hoping for a more productive Daymond Langkow. Smart, competitive two-way player.

3. Hunter Brzustewicz - there is something I really appreciate about how he controls the puck and has patience to find plays that others don't. He's competitive defensively too. Very hopeful for a top 4 puck moving D here.

4. Matvei Gridin - has all the tools and the mentality to be a point producing winger. Scores at high rates everywhere he plays.

5. Cullen Potter - has the elite skill of speed to go along with being raised by a competitive champion level player. Challenged himself by attending ASU in his draft year and produced well in a very tough conference. For some reason I think of Maxim Afinogenov when watching his highlights.

6. Andrew Basha - I love how he plays. He's a battler who makes space for himself when he gets the puck. He's got creativity and confidence with the puck. I liked what I saw in the Memorial Cup and I thought that even on a busted ankle, he looked to be one of the prospects who belonged the most in training camp.

7. Etienne Morin - top defenseman on Moncton, playing for one of the best coaches on the planet in Gardiner Macdougall. He looks like he can be a solid two-way defenseman, who might be ideal to pair with one of the more offensive prospects on the right side.

8. Rory Kerins - an AHL all-star who has the hockey sense to contribute at the NHL level. Was challenged to become a better athlete and he came a long way. Showed management that they were way wrong about him last year at camp and hopefully this year he'll force his way onto the big team. He's been a very high-end scorer but shown a pattern that it takes him a bit longer to get used to a new level than super high end prospects. I'm excited to see what he can do.

9. Aydar Suniev - goal scorers who battle and can find space for themselves are rare and while he's got a long way to go based on his one game in LA last year, he has a skill that the Flames should nuture and give opportunity to. There seems to be no shortage of commitment from him to become an NHL player and he might end up being a middle six winger with a scoring touch.

10. Samuel Honzek - I'm pretty concerned with his inability to remain healthy, but we have seen what he can do when he puts it together. Trent Cull was very complimentary of how he learned to be a pro with the Wranglers last season and I could see him scoring a decent number of goals as a garbage man using that frame net front.

That's my list for now. I don't really remember another time as a Flames fan when there was this kind of depth. Guys like Mews or Battaglia could very well leap a half dozen guys on this list with great years. Sergeev should be in the top 10 too I feel, but I don't want to switch anyone out just yet until I see him at the pro level.

[icarus]

I went with Potter but I'm also high on Morin. I'm still mainly indexing on ceiling.

[cannon7]

Honzek is getting short shrift around here, largely based on his production while dealing with injuries. Guy still has the most NHL frame and arguably the best two way game of any of the remaining options. I see him as a bigger Backlund. Will take some time to develop, as Backlund did, but has the potential to be a Selke calibre middle six winger. Backlund had injury problems after the Flames drafted him, too, but he figured things out.

[cral12]

Potter for the 4th time

[Yanda]

Originally Posted by cannon7

Honzek is getting short shrift around here, largely based on his production while dealing with injuries. Guy still has the most NHL frame and arguably the best two way game of any of the remaining options. I see him as a bigger Backlund. Will take some time to develop, as Backlund did, but has the potential to be a Selke calibre middle six winger. Backlund had injury problems after the Flames drafted him, too, but he figured things out.

Backlund? they dont even play the same position...

Honzek is a replaceable bottom 6 forward.. we got guys like Basha and Battalgia that could be impact forwards. I think your way off base here.. Selke caliber.. its not a good take.

[Yanda]

I think some fans are reaching on Honzek hoping not to be proven wrong that it wasnt a great pick by Conroy. He's nothing special, we have tons of left wings and his season last year wasnt spectacular.

[agulati]

Went with Potter as the obvious choice.

Next round would be interesting. Could see many of the remaining guys getting votes. Honzek, Mews, Basha, Battaglia

[looooob]

I went Basha with a late change of mind,


yes Potter was ranked by some ahead of our pick at 18 but on the main I perceived him as a late 1st that I would have been (and was) happy with our 2nd 1st. in the same way I perceived Basha as a great option for our late 1st last year- so I'm glad that worked out


I'd been downgrading Basha due to his partially lost season but guess decided to flip it around and ponder how much might the injury have been holding him back- anyhow Potter will probably advance here so I'll be voting Basha for a bit yet (I think both could be 2nd line fixtures on this team in the future, and an outside chance one might pop even higher- though not sure which)


I think those 2 , Battaglia and Morin are my top 8, then Mews and Honzek (seems weird to say that about a dman with elite offensive counting stats and a former first rounder that has already played NHL games but it's just what my gut is telling me)


Suniev is in the next 5 for me- that's for another time

[FBI]

Trying to remember, who were some of the guys that Sandman and co wanted us to pick instead of Honzek at the time?

[cannon7]

Originally Posted by Yanda

Backlund? they dont even play the same position...

Honzek is a replaceable bottom 6 forward.. we got guys like Basha and Battalgia that could be impact forwards. I think your way off base here.. Selke caliber.. its not a good take.

You're selling Honzek short. He almost made the team right out of camp last year and that was coming direct out of juniors. He already had the frame to play in the NHL, injuries just got in the way. He's also a smart player with soft hands, at 6'4" you really need to be ignoring pretty much every trend there is in hockey to not still see a lot of potential here. I also think he is smart enough to still potentially play center, but that is really up to the Flames development team to figure out. Once healthy I think we'll see a point-per-game player in the AHL, with potential for Honzek to reach 50pts as a two way forward at the NHL level. To already have written Honzek off as replacement level after one year in the pros is the real bad take here.

[cannon7]

Originally Posted by Yanda

I think some fans are reaching on Honzek hoping not to be proven wrong that it wasnt a great pick by Conroy. He's nothing special, we have tons of left wings and his season last year wasnt spectacular.

This was his first pro season, he was 19 and he got hurt to start the season and missed a bunch of games.

You probably wrote off Kerins, too. Ah, he got sent down to the ECHL. Bust.

[btimbit]

The next three are Mews, Potter and Basha for me. The order pretty interchangable.

I do like Honzek, just not as much as I like those three

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by cannon7

Honzek is getting short shrift around here, largely based on his production while dealing with injuries. Guy still has the most NHL frame and arguably the best two way game of any of the remaining options. I see him as a bigger Backlund. Will take some time to develop, as Backlund did, but has the potential to be a Selke calibre middle six winger. Backlund had injury problems after the Flames drafted him, too, but he figured things out.

That’s fine, however, it’s more of the fact we have other prospects who have played better in their D+1 that I have ranked over him. I think he’s a prospect that can be ranked 11/12 here on the boards but can easily be back to top 5 after a solid year. I still have him over Basha, who doesn’t get the nod in my top 10 because of injuries.

Some vote heavy based on potential, I do too but I also rank at how they’re progressing and if they’re making process to hit that potential. It’s hard for me to rank someone over the other if they had an injury-riddled season. For example, I would have Battaglia and Mews chosen over Basha.

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by cannon7

Honzek is getting short shrift around here, largely based on his production while dealing with injuries. Guy still has the most NHL frame and arguably the best two way game of any of the remaining options. I see him as a bigger Backlund. Will take some time to develop, as Backlund did, but has the potential to be a Selke calibre middle six winger. Backlund had injury problems after the Flames drafted him, too, but he figured things out.

Production and Injuries are two of the most justifiably significant factors that can be used to evaluate prospects.

And he's tall but I wouldn't say he has an NHL frame. 5'10" Reschny is almost the same weight as him.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by FBI

Trying to remember, who were some of the guys that Sandman and co wanted us to pick instead of Honzek at the time?

Pretty sure they were Ritchie, Musty and Moore. Danielson was a guy Sandman really wanted us to draft, but he went to DET way before our pick.

[cannon7]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

That’s fine, however, it’s more of the fact we have other prospects who have played better in their D+1 that I have ranked over him. I think he’s a prospect that can be ranked 11/12 here on the boards but can easily be back to top 5 after a solid year. I still have him over Basha, who doesn’t get the nod in my top 10 because of injuries.

Some vote heavy based on potential, I do too but I also rank at how they’re progressing and if they’re making process to hit that potential. It’s hard for me to rank someone over the other if they had an injury-riddled season. For example, I would have Battaglia and Mews chosen over Basha.

None of the guys you mentioned have transitioned to the pros yet. So comparing a 19 year old playing his first year in the pros with an injury with guys who are still playing their d+ years in juniors and just basing it on raw production seems flawed.

Honzek's draft peers, Morin and Suniev, have not yet made the pros. While both are progressing nicely and will hopefully lock up roles on the Wranglers next season. They'll still be making the transition to pros as 20 year olds as opposed to 19 year olds.

Guess what I'm saying is outside a top 5-10 pick, a 19 year old taking time to adjust to the pros is expected and shouldn't be heavily penalized. Honzek's injuries are a concern. But that, too, is par for the course for a young player who is still growing / getting stronger.

In Honzek's draft class, Barlow was under a point-per-game this season in juniors but had a strong postseason. Sale at 19 has made the pros and has put up similar production to Honzek.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by cannon7

None of the guys you mentioned have transitioned to the pros yet. So comparing a 19 year old playing his first year in the pros with an injury with guys who are still playing their d+ years in juniors and just basing it on raw production seems flawed.

Honzek's draft peers, Morin and Suniev, have not yet made the pros. While both are progressing nicely and will hopefully lock up roles on the Wranglers next season. They'll still be making the transition to pros as 20 year olds as opposed to 19 year olds.

Guess what I'm saying is outside a top 5-10 pick, a 19 year old taking time to adjust to the pros is expected and shouldn't be heavily penalized. Honzek's injuries are a concern. But that, too, is par for the course for a young player who is still growing / getting stronger.

In Honzek's draft class, Barlow was under a point-per-game this season in juniors but had a strong postseason. Sale at 19 has made the pros and has put up similar production to Honzek.

Honzek turns 21 in November. He was always a project, and unfortunately, he is not steadily progressing as we hoped. Injuries have been a concern thus far.

I think we can all agree we wish nothing but the best for him. Jankowski took a while to progress. I think that is a very good comparable. Honzek looked OK in the pros, but he still needs some definite seasoning. A full season in the AHL and perhaps a callup here and there would do wonders. I don't think he's first callup this season though. We've got other guys that are knocking on the door, like Kerins and Stromgren.

As for these rankings, even though some are playing in lesser leagues, they are still playing better than Honzek in their respective leagues. I want Honzek to succeed as much as anyone else out there, but he is NOT in my top 10 on my personal list.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Battaglia for me. He's got everything for the NHL except skating, and that can be improved in most cases. He's performance and progression in both regular season and playoff OHL should give everyone confidence. He's gonna be a good one.

I see now that everyone is voting Potter here, and that's fine. I think it's a good selection. I just like Battaglia a little more.