Flames 2013 Draft Discussion

[OILFAN #81]

Phoenix has had 2 offers on moving up from their #12 spot.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Originally Posted by OILFAN #81

Phoenix has had 2 offers on moving up from their #12 spot.

Wouldn't be shock if MacT tried to pry Yandle from the Yotes.

[J epworth]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

Would Roy trade #1 for #6, Tanguay and Brodie?
I don't think any other GM would but Roy might want to and be in Sakic's ear.

I think the only way we end up trading with Colorado is if we first trade up for the #3 pick, then trade that for the #1 with Colorado. The way Roy was talking about it, it sounds like the choice is between 3 guys, like everyone else has been saying, so he could potentially drop down to #3, but not all the way to #6.

[_Q_]

I think if Calgary can somehow get into #3, then there's no way they try to move up to #1.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by _Q_

I think if Calgary can somehow get into #3, then there's no way they try to move up to #1.

We would have nothing left to trade haha

[Erick Estrada]

I know many of you don't go to ESPN for your hockey information but I do and here is a nice article that may be of interest to Flames fans in regards to prospects under scrutiny by scout Grant Sonier;

http://insider.espn.go.com/nhl/blog/...rutiny-combine

Every year, the NHL brings together 100 of the top prospects for the coming entry draft and conducts its annual combine, held this year May 27-June 1. All 30 teams converge on Toronto, where draft prospects go through an extensive interview process and some grueling fitness testing. For some players, the combine can have a dramatic effect on where they get selected.



Over the years I have worked for a number of different teams and opinions on the importance of information extracted vary from team to team. Some teams put extra weight on the fitness testing results while others look at the results and measure more the prospect's potential. Some franchises will be asking simple, general questions in interviews and others will have a long, detailed list of specific questions that will speak to the player's character and intelligence.



Similarly, some players have more to prove at the combine than others. Here is a list of players, along with their position in my prospect rankings, that I think will be under the most scrutiny during this process, as well as what teams will be focused on.



No. 4 C Aleksander Barkov, Tappara (FIN)
The biggest question for this big, skilled forward will center on his shoulder injury. Teams will be looking for doctor's reports and assurances that their potential prospect will not be damaged goods. Staffs will get a feel for how well he speaks English and an idea of his contract situation, having played in the SM-Liiga with men for the past two years. His fitness testing may be limited due to the injury, so the physical picture may not be a complete one.


One area of concern over the past two years has been his skating quickness, and if he takes part in the fitness testing his results in the vertical jump and the Wingate bike test will give teams an idea of how much his quickness is capable of improving.

No. 6 LW Valeri Nichushkin, Chelyabinsk (RUS)
Like many -- if not all -- Russian players, questions will be focused on his willingness to come to North America versus a potential career in Russia's KHL. In the past, many top prospects have stayed (the Capitals' Evgeny Kuznetsov) or returned to the KHL (the Predators' Alexander Radulov) during adverse times, or simply did not have the desire to leave their homeland to prove they could play in the NHL.


Nichushkin recently stated his desire to come to North America next season, but no team will feel entirely comfortable until they can look him in the eye and see him answer pointed questions.


In addition to the transfer questions, teams will inquire about his inconsistent play. In February at the Four Nations tournament he was the best player on the ice, but he hasn't been consistently dominating. Fitness levels are usually not a factor with Russians, but how hard they fight through the grind of the VO2 max bike test has been a point of contention. It may seem like a stereotype, but those are the types of character-driven questions that matter in draft rooms -- regardless of nationality. The test is long (approximately 12 minutes) and measures an athlete's oxygen capabilities while pushing their system to the limit. When players give up early in the test, it can reflect their desire to fight through adversity on the ice. Right or wrong, Russian players have had a stigma of not battling through adversity in the NHL. Teams will watch this test closely.



No. 7 C Sean Monahan, Ottawa (OHL)
No doubt teams will be looking to see the physical potential for this skilled forward. Primarily I see teams grinding him in the interview rooms, asking questions about his junior situation this past season, where his team finished with a record of 16-46-0-6. He suffered from periods of uninspired play on a poor team, which may have turned some NHL teams off from him. Rest assured those concerns will be brought up by any team considering selecting him in the top half of the first round. The question after the combine will be if an NHL team feels it can bring out his talent on a more consistent basis.





No. 10 D Rasmus Ristolainen, TPS Turku (FIN)
Known as one of the grittier prospects in this draft, with the size and style to back it up, many teams will challenge his grit levels in the interview room. He will be asked point-blank if he is prepared to back up his style of play if challenged by another player. Regardless of his willingness to drop the gloves, I think teams will leave the combine knowing this kid has true grit.



No. 12 LW Adam Erne, Quebec (QMJHL)
This under-your-skin, agitating two-way player is going to get asked a lot of questions as it relates to his situation in Quebec. Rumors ran rampant of his poor conditioning levels and a questionable attitude and commitment. No doubt there was some kind of a rift between him and his teammates/coach. He could turn some teams off if he shows up to the combine in less than desirable shape, or if he answers questions with anything less than a proper answer. Now, I've seen players give terrible interviews and still be selected early. I believe if teams like the player, they are willing to forgive based on potential. But a good interview will certainly increase the pool of interested teams.



No. 14 LW Anthony Mantha, Val d'Or (QMJHL)
Mantha's consistency will be questioned and teams will want to get a feel for where this kid's mind is when it comes to advancing his career. There is little doubt he has tremendous upside with his size and ability to score goals. I see him working through the fitness tests as teams marvel about the prospect of having a 6-foot-4 forward on their reserve list. When scouting him I have seen some tendencies that concern me -- particularly in terms of turning in a full game's effort -- but I chalk that up to immaturity.



No. 19 D Darnell Nurse, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
The guess here is that he will score high on the fitness tests. And even if he doesn't, teams will look at his scores and say the potential is there. He has an athletic family tree (nephew of Donovan McNabb) and teams feel he is only scratching the surface. I think teams will want to get a feel for how he perceives himself and if he is truly willing to be that physical presence playing against men. Some scouts suggest he will be an offensive player, but I have not seen the offensive decision-making when I watched him this year. I have no doubt he can rise to the NHL game, but see him more as a defensive defenseman.



No. 20 D Robert Hagg, Modo (SWE)
My guess is that he comes to the combine, has good results in the fitness testing and teams will want to get an understanding of his character. Blessed with talent and elite skating ability, there are some questions about his motor. My gut tells me he is an intellectual type of person and therefore may think too much on the ice instead of reacting. Teams will want to know his contract situation moving forward and his overall plans to come to North America. I assume he is like most Swedish players in that English is a second or third language, but teams will want to know that communication is not an issue.



No. 26 RW/C Hunter Shinkaruk, Medicine Hat (WHL)
This is a simple interview for me: Questions will revolve around whether he will compete to score goals. Shinkaruk has the numbers to suggest he is a gifted goal scorer (37 in 64 games in 2012-13). He has an elite shot and hockey sense that allows him to produce in juniors, but the lack of grit I see in his game scares me -- hence my lower ranking than most -- and I would want to hear him convince me otherwise. I don't anticipate any issues with his testing, as he will try hard on all the different stations.



No. 30 LW Jason Dickinson, Guelph (OHL)
Dickinson can confuse even the sharpest of scouts on any given night. His coach, former NHL player Scott Walker, insists this skilled forward has to be reined in when it comes to his energy levels. What scares me the most is that I have observed the exact opposite scouting him: I want more enthusiasm out of him shift to shift to convince me he will compete at the higher level. I think interviewing teams will ask him some very tough questions about his passion level.



No. 31 C Frederik Gauthier, Rimouski (QMJHL)
Like his QMJHL counterpart Mantha, teams will be licking their chops at the thought of a big, skilled center in their lineup. Here, too, my ranking is much lower than most and he very well could be selected some 10-15 picks higher. For me it will be more about the answers in the interviews than it will be about the testing results, as you can't teach size and he has plenty of it. I want to be convinced he will play with much more grit and use his elite size when push comes to shove. Some teams may not see it this way, and even if they do, they may roll the dice anyway in hopes that he will figure it out over time.

[_Q_]

Originally Posted by Bonded

We would have nothing left to trade haha

Possibly, but I don't think it takes much to move up from #6 to #3. Similary, it wouldn't take much more to go from #3 to #1.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I know many of you don't go to ESPN for your hockey information but I do and here is a nice article that may be of interest to Flames fans in regards to prospects under scrutiny by scout Grant Sonier;

http://insider.espn.go.com/nhl/blog/...rutiny-combine

Interesting. Goes to show that scouts will have markedly different rankings, especially after the top 4. I do wonder how much weight to put on the interviews. These kids are pretty well coached on these things now.

[Enoch Root]

I am not sure why people find this surprising...

Just look at the range of opinions about a guy like Bouwmeester who is in the prime of his career: fan opinion ranges from top 10 or 15 d-men in the league to he-makes-you-incapable-of-making-the-playoffs.

If opinions can range that much on a 29 year old that we see every game, it shouldn't be surprising that there would be substantial differences of opinion on 17 and 18 year olds, who still have significant holes in their games, along with plenty of growth and development still ahead of them.

[OILFAN #81]

Would Calgary have interest in moving down?

Can confirm Oilers have had talks with multiple teams slotted 1-6 (including Calgary).

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by OILFAN #81

Would Calgary have interest in moving down?

Can confirm Oilers have had talks with multiple teams slotted 1-6 (including Calgary).

From what Feaster has said, The #6 pick isn't going anywhere but up if it can. So no I do not think they will trade down.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by OILFAN #81

Would Calgary have interest in moving down?

Can confirm Oilers have had talks with multiple teams slotted 1-6 (including Calgary).

I think you have to listen to anyone that calls. Doesn't mean you don't laugh at the team that called. You definitely need to be receptive to and take calls in case Milbury becomes GM for a day.

[Dagger]

If Weisbrod has tier 1(Mac, Jones, Drouin) and then a 2nd tier(which he specifically mentioned was strong down the middle - Barkov, Lindholm, Monahan) then I don't see a problem moving back to 7 if we get a good deal. If there is little to no difference in the scouts' eyes between the guys in the 2nd tier, and Nurse or Nichushkin go before we pick then we are guaranteed a 2nd tier guy...why not stockpile more assets to move down a pick?

[calgARI]

Originally Posted by dammage79

From what Feaster has said.

That's all.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by calgARI

That's all.

Implying what? He has reason to lie about the reluctance to move down in an important draft year? Most of all to Edmonton our division and provincial rivals?

Or were you pointing out the grammatical error in my accidentally using a period instead of a comma?

EDIT: You know what? Every team ahead of Edmonton should really just be hanging up the phone on them for even trying to move up after the era of suckage they went through to get three number ones in a row. God I hate Edmonton.

[868904]

Originally Posted by OILFAN #81

Would Calgary have interest in moving down?

Can confirm Oilers have had talks with multiple teams slotted 1-6 (including Calgary).

If the elite guys they really want are gone, I'd be okay with the Flames moving down a few spots and picking up an extra asset (say a 2nd rounder) and then picking Horvat.

I could even see the Flames reaching and taking a guy like Horvat at 6 if the guys they want are gone.

[calgARI]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Implying what? He has reason to lie about the reluctance to move down in an important draft year? Most of all to Edmonton our division and provincial rivals?

Or were you pointing out the grammatical error in my accidentally using a period instead of a comma?

Implying that Feaster talks for the sake of talking. He loves spouting off about nothing and showing his hand despite there being zero value in doing so. What would he possibly have to gain by publicly ruling anything out? The team sucks and should be open to everything.

Furthermore, Feaster has constantly said things that he hasn't acted consistently to support. One example is his whole thing about the organization not rebuilding at least while he is GM.

This is not intended to start a bunch of discussion about Feaster as GM - there are plenty of threads about that. All I'm saying is that he talks a ton and is pretty much incompetent so if he says they won't trade down, I wouldn't read much into it. It's just Feaster being Feaster making bold, baseless statements.

[bucksmasher]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Implying what? He has reason to lie about the reluctance to move down in an important draft year? Most of all to Edmonton our division and provincial rivals?

Or were you pointing out the grammatical error in my accidentally using a period instead of a comma?

EDIT: You know what? Every team ahead of Edmonton should really just be hanging up the phone on them for even trying to move up after the era of suckage they went through to get three number ones in a row. God I hate Edmonton.

He could be implying that feaster has a strong history of flapping his gums in one direction and then farting in another.

[JurassicTunga12]

Originally Posted by OILFAN #81

Would Calgary have interest in moving down?

Can confirm Oilers have had talks with multiple teams slotted 1-6 (including Calgary).

No, I don't think so. Feaster has said that the 6th overall pick would only be used to move up if they can. If not, they'll stay at 6.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by calgARI

Implying that Feaster talks for the sake of talking. He loves spouting off about nothing and showing his hand despite there being zero value in doing so. What would he possibly have to gain by publicly ruling anything out? The team sucks and should be open to everything.

Furthermore, Feaster has constantly said things that he hasn't acted consistently to support. One example is his whole thing about the organization not rebuilding at least while he is GM.

This is not intended to start a bunch of discussion about Feaster as GM - there are plenty of threads about that. All I'm saying is that he talks a ton and is pretty much incompetent so if he says they won't trade down, I wouldn't read much into it. It's just Feaster being Feaster making bold, baseless statements.

I thoroughly believe that they have zero interest in trading down. especially to Edmonton. No chance. No way that would fly optically with the fanbase who are already on the edge of their seats just waiting to pounce on his next mistake.