Calgarypuck Prospect Ranking 2025 - Round 14

[TheIronMaiden]

My issue is Kerins is that if he does not get offensive zone starts and powerplay time is he still making a positive impact. A player like him will not get top 6 minutes in the NHL, can he still produce in a bottom 6 role while not being a defensive liability. Or is he another Autsin Czarnik.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Seems like Kerins might be the most polarizing prospect, where you've got a group that believes in him. And you've got another group that doesn't, and has therefore been voting for alternatives for a couple of rounds.

I'm more in the latter group, but if he loses this round, I would probably vote for him at 15.

I have Kerins in the 15-20 range personally, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes up on the board any time now, but I also have 3-4 other guys I’ll vote for first, including King.

But regardless I feel like he’s going to make people feel silly at this stage. He’s has the potential to make the team out of camp and become one of the better players on the Flames, and enough to overcome that he might turn out as a career AHLer. Hoping for the former!

[Kipper_3434]

Ok guys, you may not see an NHL player in Kerins, but stromgren is further away from cracking the line-up. Does top production at every level count for nothing these days? If he had come out of the NCAA instead of the CHL as an over-ager, I think folks would be a lot more hyped. If he shows up to camp with improved foot speed , it will be hard to not have him Crack the line-up. Vote Kerins!

[TheScorpion]

I disagree that Stromgren is further away from making it because I could see him being a quality bottom-six forward, which I struggle to see Kerins becoming.

[FBI]

Originally Posted by Tacoman

OK. The great news for all of us is that the Flames now have a huge number of guys with top six/top pairing potential. The rest of the guys on the list are either ones with bottom six potential or are ones that have significant development left to become something else. I would argue that the person left that has the best chance of developing into a bottom six contributor is Carter King. Yes. Full disclosure...I like the kid!

Offense:

Ranking the top twelve Flames forward prospects by NHLe from last year brings the following list:

Kerins 39
Reschny 37
King 35
Battaglia 35
Suniev 35
Misa 34
Gridin 33
Stockselius 32
Stromgren 28
Morton 26 (24 in his 5th college year)
Potter 23

Looking at the NCHC statistics for last year, King is top twenty in every single category other than PIM's in a division that averages 12 NHL drafted players per team. He finished 14th in the nation in goals (more than Coronato ever had in college) and 17th in points. Also hard to argue that he did this because of his linemates as he put up similar numbers in his junior year while centering the defensive shut down line.

Defense:

The offensive numbers are nice and shows that there is enough talent and IQ there to play at the next level but Carter's bread and butter is his defensive game. He is the back-to-back finalist for NCHC defensive forward of the year. His game is built on angles , positioning and stick detail which takes away spaces and lanes without really looking like he's doing that much. He's second in Denver's 75 year history in short handed goals. It also starts with his talent with faceoffs. As we all know, puck posession is vital in today's game. Carter was second in the nation in faceoff wins - more than 50 wins more than the next best center in the NCHC where he was going up against future NHL'ers every single weekend.

The last thing I'll say about his defense as a cool anecdote is that in the games that mattered the most, against the top players in the country, he shut things down. In NCAA tournament play and the three Frozen Fours he played in over the last four years, he directly matched up against Kent Johnson, Matty Beniers, Luke Hughes, Owen Power, Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perrault (x2), James Hagens, Macklin Celebrini and Lane Hudson. Those players combined for a total of zero points in four games. Obviously that's not attributable to one guy but the center on the line that faced them the most does get a lot of that responsibility.

Intangibles:

One of the big things the Flames wanted in signing Carter is to bring in winners. Carter has won his whole life and will do anything possible to do so. He won cities or provincials in every year in Bantam and Midget, leading his Buffaloes team to the National Championships in his final year. His BCHL had just won their playoff round after being last place the year before until the playoffs were cancelled due to COVID. On that note, his coach in Surrey was very confident that Carter would be one of the top players in the league in his second junior season but he ended up missing the whole year due to the pandemic. That caused him not to be drafted and put him behind a lot of kids his age in the US that got to play.

His graduating class at DU (just three of them) are the winningest class in DU history, winning 30+ games all four years, winning two national championships and losing in double overtime this year. He was assistant captain in his junior year and captain this year on a team with 15 NHL draft picks.

The Knocks:

The first thing that people bring up is that for a shutdown, fourth line center that he's undersized. At 5"11", he is shorter than the prototypical fourth line center. That said, he is just under 200 lbs - he essentially the exact same size as Blake Coleman and Sydney Crosby. If you look at the Flames forward lines from last year, he'd be essentially tied with Coleman and Huberdeau as the third heaviest forward on the team behind Klapka and Backlund. His strength is what allows him to get to the hard areas in front of the net to score his goals and also allows him to win faceoffs and board battles.

He's a good skater but not elite. He can also overthink his game which costs him pace at times. That problem goes away once he feels completely comfortable in the system he's playing so I'd expect him to need a good chunk of this year to gain that comfort and confidence.

All together, he has become the forward that every coach he's ever played for has trusted the most. His junior coach put his reputation on the line to tell Denver to sign him. David Carle at Denver said the same thing to Conroy. He's not flashy, he's not going to be toe dragging around the ice but he'll be the guy that get's tapped when a team needs to protect a lead, kill a penalty or win a faceoff. That's a guy I want on my team.

Great post, maybe post a separate thread on this as well so that it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle?

[Enoch Root]

Great post, Tacoman - I am sold!

Would love to see him get defensive responsibilities with the Wranglers for a while, then graduate to 4th line C. It's an important position, and one we don't have many good candidates for. He seems like a perfect prototype of his new head coach, Brett Sutter. Hopefully Sutter can prep him into being a solid pro.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

I disagree that Stromgren is further away from making it because I could see him being a quality bottom-six forward, which I struggle to see Kerins becoming.

I'm probably reading too much into things, but I thought that the Flames calling up Hunt down the stretch; as well as picking Suniev, and Morton to play in the last game of the season was an attempt to send Stromgren a bit of a message. As things stand, I don't really see a clear path for Stromgren to get into the Flames bottom 6.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

I'm probably reading too much into things, but I thought that the Flames calling up Hunt down the stretch; as well as picking Suniev, and Morton to play in the last game of the season was an attempt to send Stromgren a bit of a message. As things stand, I don't really see a clear path for Stromgren to get into the Flames bottom 6.

I don't think there's any question that him not getting a single game in this year has to be considered a disappointment.

Conroy even specified him in camp last year as a guy he wanted to see get some NHL games. But he was very up and down, and didn't earn it.

The key now is how he responds over the summer.

[Flames Fan, Ph.D.]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I don't think there's any question that him not getting a single game in this year has to be considered a disappointment.

Conroy even specified him in camp last year as a guy he wanted to see get some NHL games. But he was very up and down, and didn't earn it.

The key now is how he responds over the summer.

At an end-of-year interview, he noted his disappointment over not being called up. But he was pretty clear that he put the responsibility on himself and that he really needs to show what he has this coming year.

I'm hoping this is the mental breakthrough he needs to push his game. From what little i've watched and read, he has the skill but needs to bring the mental part where he remains fully engaged throughout games. I think that is a difficult transition for many.

[Funkhouser]

That's it, I am voting for Taco Jr onwards.
There is a legit opening for a strong defensive forward on the team in the coming 2 years as I assume Coleman & Backlund will move on. I would love to see King carve out a role, and thrive on his hometown team :-)

I can't imagine there is an opening for him this season as we have too many wingers, and Kirkland/Morton probably have dibs on the 4th line C. I expect it will take some time regardless to get get used to the grind of the pros.

Thank you Tacoman.

[GranteedEV]

Jeremie Poirier for me. I think there's a Kulak type of future there, a solid 4-6 guy

[Reggie Dunlop]

Sergeev still

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Tacoman

OK. The great news for all of us is that the Flames now have a huge number of guys with top six/top pairing potential. The rest of the guys on the list are either ones with bottom six potential or are ones that have significant development left to become something else. I would argue that the person left that has the best chance of developing into a bottom six contributor is Carter King. Yes. Full disclosure...I like the kid!

Offense:

Ranking the top twelve Flames forward prospects by NHLe from last year brings the following list:

Kerins 39
Reschny 37
King 35
Battaglia 35
Suniev 35
Misa 34
Gridin 33
Stockselius 32
Stromgren 28
Morton 26 (24 in his 5th college year)
Potter 23

Looking at the NCHC statistics for last year, King is top twenty in every single category other than PIM's in a division that averages 12 NHL drafted players per team. He finished 14th in the nation in goals (more than Coronato ever had in college) and 17th in points. Also hard to argue that he did this because of his linemates as he put up similar numbers in his junior year while centering the defensive shut down line.

Defense:

The offensive numbers are nice and shows that there is enough talent and IQ there to play at the next level but Carter's bread and butter is his defensive game. He is the back-to-back finalist for NCHC defensive forward of the year. His game is built on angles , positioning and stick detail which takes away spaces and lanes without really looking like he's doing that much. He's second in Denver's 75 year history in short handed goals. It also starts with his talent with faceoffs. As we all know, puck posession is vital in today's game. Carter was second in the nation in faceoff wins - more than 50 wins more than the next best center in the NCHC where he was going up against future NHL'ers every single weekend.

The last thing I'll say about his defense as a cool anecdote is that in the games that mattered the most, against the top players in the country, he shut things down. In NCAA tournament play and the three Frozen Fours he played in over the last four years, he directly matched up against Kent Johnson, Matty Beniers, Luke Hughes, Owen Power, Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perrault (x2), James Hagens, Macklin Celebrini and Lane Hudson. Those players combined for a total of zero points in four games. Obviously that's not attributable to one guy but the center on the line that faced them the most does get a lot of that responsibility.

Intangibles:

One of the big things the Flames wanted in signing Carter is to bring in winners. Carter has won his whole life and will do anything possible to do so. He won cities or provincials in every year in Bantam and Midget, leading his Buffaloes team to the National Championships in his final year. His BCHL had just won their playoff round after being last place the year before until the playoffs were cancelled due to COVID. On that note, his coach in Surrey was very confident that Carter would be one of the top players in the league in his second junior season but he ended up missing the whole year due to the pandemic. That caused him not to be drafted and put him behind a lot of kids his age in the US that got to play.

His graduating class at DU (just three of them) are the winningest class in DU history, winning 30+ games all four years, winning two national championships and losing in double overtime this year. He was assistant captain in his junior year and captain this year on a team with 15 NHL draft picks.

The Knocks:

The first thing that people bring up is that for a shutdown, fourth line center that he's undersized. At 5"11", he is shorter than the prototypical fourth line center. That said, he is just under 200 lbs - he essentially the exact same size as Blake Coleman and Sydney Crosby. If you look at the Flames forward lines from last year, he'd be essentially tied with Coleman and Huberdeau as the third heaviest forward on the team behind Klapka and Backlund. His strength is what allows him to get to the hard areas in front of the net to score his goals and also allows him to win faceoffs and board battles.

He's a good skater but not elite. He can also overthink his game which costs him pace at times. That problem goes away once he feels completely comfortable in the system he's playing so I'd expect him to need a good chunk of this year to gain that comfort and confidence.

All together, he has become the forward that every coach he's ever played for has trusted the most. His junior coach put his reputation on the line to tell Denver to sign him. David Carle at Denver said the same thing to Conroy. He's not flashy, he's not going to be toe dragging around the ice but he'll be the guy that get's tapped when a team needs to protect a lead, kill a penalty or win a faceoff. That's a guy I want on my team.

I voted Sergeev this round because I really do see a quality NHL goalie there, which is highly valuable, but this post sold me on my next vote. All things being equal with so many guys with high floor and low ceiling's left, King (AKA tacoboy) seems to be the best of the bunch.

[Yanda]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I have Kerins in the 15-20 range personally, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes up on the board any time now, but I also have 3-4 other guys I’ll vote for first, including King.

But regardless I feel like he’s going to make people feel silly at this stage. He’s has the potential to make the team out of camp and become one of the better players on the Flames, and enough to overcome that he might turn out as a career AHLer. Hoping for the former!

I disagree that he has the potential to make the team out of camp. He would have to beat out 1 of Sharangovich, Farabee or Coleman. There are better players in the system to do spot duty on the 4th line.

[Yanda]

Went with Stromgren over Kerins, I think there is more runway left to develop him.

Tell me more about Carter King and why I should start voting for him.

[Calgary Highlander]

Originally Posted by Yanda

Went with Stromgren over Kerins, I think there is more runway left to develop him.

Tell me more about Carter King and why I should start voting for him.

A local expert mentioned King as a centre version of Blake Coleman. Sign me up .

Not a big guy, but skates well, has a non-stop motor, and has all of the attention to the little details that coaches love. Also great on faceoffs.

I'm curious to see how his season goes. I think he has more skill than Sam Morton, but that's his main comparable in the system currently. I think he realistically gets games this season (especially if the Flames fall out of the playoff race).

[Jay Random]

I'm still not entirely sold on Kerins as an NHLer, but I voted for him this round because he's been working on his deficiencies and had a really good AHL season to show for it. I like both Stromgren and Sergeev at this point, and think both have higher ceilings, but they also have lower floors.

[Yanda]

Taking floor into account seems kind of irrelevant to me. Wouldnt that mean they are a replacement level player in that situation?

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Yanda

Taking floor into account seems kind of irrelevant to me. Wouldnt that mean they are a replacement level player in that situation?

True, but a lot of prospects turn out below replacement level. There are guys on every team's reserve list who will never even be offered NHL contracts.

Kerins, at this point, seems to be at least replacement level, with the potential to be more. Some prospects will have a hard slog to make it that far.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Yanda

I disagree that he has the potential to make the team out of camp. He would have to beat out 1 of Sharangovich, Farabee or Coleman. There are better players in the system to do spot duty on the 4th line.

I don’t think it’s particularly likely, but a stellar camp and an injury and it’s a different story. I don’t think Kirkland, Lomberg, or Klapka are guaranteed ice time out the gate, and both Farabee and Pospisil could start on the 4th line, even without an injury.

There’s definitely room for a forward.

Originally Posted by Jay Random

Kerins, at this point, seems to be at least replacement level, with the potential to be more. Some prospects will have a hard slog to make it that far.

At this point all he’s shown is that he can be replacement level, not that it’s the worst he can be. Lots to see about yet.