Craig's List 2014 Prospects

[ForeverFlameFan]

After reading the praises Wolf had for Draisaitl, I wouldn't be surprised if he is the prospect we pick. Staying at #4 looks best for the Flames, there is a positive in every top 4 player, they all bring something different to the table.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

I don't love MDC. I don't love Draisaitl either. I'm really not a big fan of this draft after the two Sams and Ekblad.

But I keep hearing that the comparable for Ritchie is Lucic, who by most accounts, is the best power forward in the NHL.

People shouldn't be expecting Ritchie to become the best power forward in the league. If everything goes right for him, he could become a 60 point winger in the NHL.

I simply don't see the value at 4th overall there. Yeah, if we could get Lucic 2.0 with the 4th pick, that's great. But the odds are against him.

It's just as likely, probably moreso, that he becomes another Brian Boyle or Zack Kassian.

I just don't see any sort of justification over taking him over the elite playmaking ability of Draisaitl or the hands and shot of MDC. He doesn't fill a positional need for the franchise either.

Never mind taking him over one of the Sams or Ekblad.

It's just my opinion, but i believe that his skating and his hockey IQ separate him from those players. He just lacks consistency. And for all we know, Bennett could turn out to be the next Lundmark. Ekblad could be the next Phillips. I personally think they are better than that of course, but we just don't know. Perhaps our scouts aren't sold on everybody in the consensus top-4.
Its true that we are well stocked positionally on left-wingers, but as Burkie alluded to we lack big, mean power wingers in the Lucic mold to play in the top-six. So he kind of fills an organizational need. Plus, if we could get him to switch over to RW, he could ride shotgun with Gaudreau and give him a little more room. Don't get me wrong- i still like the top-4, i just wouldn't be upset if we took Ritchie.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Sandman

It's just my opinion, but i believe that his skating and his hockey IQ separate him from those players. He just lacks consistency. And for all we know, Bennett could turn out to be the next Lundmark. Ekblad could be the next Phillips. I personally think they are better than that of course, but we just don't know. Perhaps our scouts aren't sold on everybody in the consensus top-4.
Its true that we are well stocked positionally on left-wingers, but as Burkie alluded to we lack big, mean power wingers in the Lucic mold to play in the top-six. So he kind of fills an organizational need. Plus, if we could get him to switch over to RW, he could ride shotgun with Gaudreau and give him a little more room. Don't get me wrong- i still like the top-4, i just wouldn't be upset if we took Ritchie.

Maybe we should be looking at the gritty RW, Brendan Lemieux, in the 2nd round instead. He looked pretty good in the Top Prospects game.

[MissTeeks]

Double post, stupid Tapatalk!

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

I don't love MDC. I don't love Draisaitl either. I'm really not a big fan of this draft after the two Sams and Ekblad.

But I keep hearing that the comparable for Ritchie is Lucic, who by most accounts, is the best power forward in the NHL.

People shouldn't be expecting Ritchie to become the best power forward in the league. If everything goes right for him, he could become a 60 point winger in the NHL.

I simply don't see the value at 4th overall there. Yeah, if we could get Lucic 2.0 with the 4th pick, that's great. But the odds are against him.

It's just as likely, probably moreso, that he becomes another Brian Boyle or Zack Kassian.

I just don't see any sort of justification over taking him over the elite playmaking ability of Draisaitl or the hands and shot of MDC. He doesn't fill a positional need for the franchise either.

Never mind taking him over one of the Sams or Ekblad.

Much like the post I had quoted earlier, it is funny how you have such a strong opinion of Ritchie, but seem to know next to nothing about him?

Have you watched some video? Read some scouting reports? He has consistently been ranked in the top 10 of this draft, and occasionally in the top 5 IIRC, and all year there has been mentions of him cracking the top 3 (which he hasn't).

The players that have been compared to him on this forum have been Kassian, Lucic and lately Dingman. None of these players had the ceiling Ritchie had at their respective drafts. Ritchie has much more agility, a better shot, and better hockey sense than any of them. It is fine if you don't believe me - but go and actually get an informed opinion by reading those past player's scouting reports and compare the to Ritchie's.

You can't cap-off Ritchie at 60 pts just because that is what Lucic became. Ritchie's ceiling was WAY higher than Lucic. Now, look how valuable Lucic is, even though his offence isn't that high. Lucic (character issues aside) is an extremely valuable piece to Boston.

As for Ritchie's shot - many scouts have said Ritchie has the best shot in the CHL. It is always Ritchie, Virtanen and Dal Colle that get high praise for their shots. They are all lethal. Let's not pretend Ritchie's shot sucks here.

Position of need? You don't see Ritchie filling a position of need? Well, if all you look at are organizational charts, than I suppose you could be correct. I look at Gaudreau, Hudler, Baertschi, Granlund, Byron, Russel, etc. - all guys that are sub 6'. I look at our prospect list on forwards, and see only Ferland as a big beefy kind of guy, and Poirier who I love but is a much smaller frame. You can honestly say straight-faced that Ritchie isn't a position of need?

Once again, I am not advocating that the Flames select Ritchie. I have my own preferences. What I am saying is that Ritchie isn't as much of a 'reach' as you think he is. I will argue that if the Flames select Ritchie at 4, it isn't a 'reach' at all - they are selecting the prospect that they feel is the best available at their slot, and personally, I don't find anything wrong with that since if you follow enough drafts and prospects over the years, you smile every time you see people freaking out about deviating from the 'consensus' lists. They have proven to be anything but infallible. No scouting service list out there is perfect. No team drafts perfectly. Sure things become flops, surprises happen. Experience, due-diligence and hard work are what makes the difference between a good projection, and a poor one. Even then, teams make mistakes.

[Monahan23]

Before the emergence of Sam Bennett and Leon Draisaitl around January/Febuary I had Ritchie at 3. Now I have him at 5 but Ritchie at his best dominates on the score sheet and physically. He's got good speed for his size and good hands yet his power is the best in the draft. He's impossible to push off the puck and plays a great cycle game. He's got great hand eye and very effective in front of the net. His two problems are injuries which he's had a few big ones and consistency. But I say his ceiling is that of a JVR. 65-70 point power wingers with skill and speed. But I believe he'll come out as a very physical 2nd line Power Forward with some speed and skill and 55-60 points. A little streaky.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Much like the post I had quoted earlier, it is funny how you have such a strong opinion of Ritchie, but seem to know next to nothing about him?

Have you watched some video? Read some scouting reports? He has consistently been ranked in the top 10 of this draft, and occasionally in the top 5 IIRC, and all year there has been mentions of him cracking the top 3 (which he hasn't).

The players that have been compared to him on this forum have been Kassian, Lucic and lately Dingman. None of these players had the ceiling Ritchie had at their respective drafts. Ritchie has much more agility, a better shot, and better hockey sense than any of them. It is fine if you don't believe me - but go and actually get an informed opinion by reading those past player's scouting reports and compare the to Ritchie's.

You can't cap-off Ritchie at 60 pts just because that is what Lucic became. Ritchie's ceiling was WAY higher than Lucic. Now, look how valuable Lucic is, even though his offence isn't that high. Lucic (character issues aside) is an extremely valuable piece to Boston.

As for Ritchie's shot - many scouts have said Ritchie has the best shot in the CHL. It is always Ritchie, Virtanen and Dal Colle that get high praise for their shots. They are all lethal. Let's not pretend Ritchie's shot sucks here.

Position of need? You don't see Ritchie filling a position of need? Well, if all you look at are organizational charts, than I suppose you could be correct. I look at Gaudreau, Hudler, Baertschi, Granlund, Byron, Russel, etc. - all guys that are sub 6'. I look at our prospect list on forwards, and see only Ferland as a big beefy kind of guy, and Poirier who I love but is a much smaller frame. You can honestly say straight-faced that Ritchie isn't a position of need?

Once again, I am not advocating that the Flames select Ritchie. I have my own preferences. What I am saying is that Ritchie isn't as much of a 'reach' as you think he is. I will argue that if the Flames select Ritchie at 4, it isn't a 'reach' at all - they are selecting the prospect that they feel is the best available at their slot, and personally, I don't find anything wrong with that since if you follow enough drafts and prospects over the years, you smile every time you see people freaking out about deviating from the 'consensus' lists. They have proven to be anything but infallible. No scouting service list out there is perfect. No team drafts perfectly. Sure things become flops, surprises happen. Experience, due-diligence and hard work are what makes the difference between a good projection, and a poor one. Even then, teams make mistakes.

I have seen Ritchie half a dozen times. Not a ton, but he's never impressed me in any of those games.

I do find it hilarious that dissentowner is allowed to hate on MDC, but the forum attacks me when I question Ritchie's upside and value as a 4th overall pick.

[the_only_turek_fan]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

I don't love MDC. I don't love Draisaitl either. I'm really not a big fan of this draft after the two Sams and Ekblad.

But I keep hearing that the comparable for Ritchie is Lucic, who by most accounts, is the best power forward in the NHL.

People shouldn't be expecting Ritchie to become the best power forward in the league. If everything goes right for him, he could become a 60 point winger in the NHL.

I simply don't see the value at 4th overall there. Yeah, if we could get Lucic 2.0 with the 4th pick, that's great. But the odds are against him.

It's just as likely, probably moreso, that he becomes another Brian Boyle or Zack Kassian.

I just don't see any sort of justification over taking him over the elite playmaking ability of Draisaitl or the hands and shot of MDC. He doesn't fill a positional need for the franchise either.

Never mind taking him over one of the Sams or Ekblad.

This is my biggest fear of taking Ritchie.

I don't know.....I was thinking a lot about this the other day. I have never seen Ritchie ever play once in my life, I am just a stupid Electrical Engineer. I have no clue how to scout a hockey player....but on the other hand, my gut is telling me that this is a bad pick. And my gut has told me that before.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

Maybe we should be looking at the gritty RW, Brendan Lemieux, in the 2nd round instead. He looked pretty good in the Top Prospects game.

LOL....i like him too! Problem solved!

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Much like the post I had quoted earlier, it is funny how you have such a strong opinion of Ritchie, but seem to know next to nothing about him?

Have you watched some video? Read some scouting reports? He has consistently been ranked in the top 10 of this draft, and occasionally in the top 5 IIRC, and all year there has been mentions of him cracking the top 3 (which he hasn't).

The players that have been compared to him on this forum have been Kassian, Lucic and lately Dingman. None of these players had the ceiling Ritchie had at their respective drafts. Ritchie has much more agility, a better shot, and better hockey sense than any of them. It is fine if you don't believe me - but go and actually get an informed opinion by reading those past player's scouting reports and compare the to Ritchie's.

You can't cap-off Ritchie at 60 pts just because that is what Lucic became. Ritchie's ceiling was WAY higher than Lucic. Now, look how valuable Lucic is, even though his offence isn't that high. Lucic (character issues aside) is an extremely valuable piece to Boston.

As for Ritchie's shot - many scouts have said Ritchie has the best shot in the CHL. It is always Ritchie, Virtanen and Dal Colle that get high praise for their shots. They are all lethal. Let's not pretend Ritchie's shot sucks here.

Position of need? You don't see Ritchie filling a position of need? Well, if all you look at are organizational charts, than I suppose you could be correct. I look at Gaudreau, Hudler, Baertschi, Granlund, Byron, Russel, etc. - all guys that are sub 6'. I look at our prospect list on forwards, and see only Ferland as a big beefy kind of guy, and Poirier who I love but is a much smaller frame. You can honestly say straight-faced that Ritchie isn't a position of need?

Once again, I am not advocating that the Flames select Ritchie. I have my own preferences. What I am saying is that Ritchie isn't as much of a 'reach' as you think he is. I will argue that if the Flames select Ritchie at 4, it isn't a 'reach' at all - they are selecting the prospect that they feel is the best available at their slot, and personally, I don't find anything wrong with that since if you follow enough drafts and prospects over the years, you smile every time you see people freaking out about deviating from the 'consensus' lists. They have proven to be anything but infallible. No scouting service list out there is perfect. No team drafts perfectly. Sure things become flops, surprises happen. Experience, due-diligence and hard work are what makes the difference between a good projection, and a poor one. Even then, teams make mistakes.

Thanks for the post C4L! I'd also like to add by saying that MDC and Ritchie scored the same amount of goals, but Ritchie did it in 6 less games.....

[Monahan23]

Originally Posted by Sandman

LOL....i like him too! Problem solved!

Lemieux is a LW and Eric Cornell, Peterborough Pete is a big power RW. If he's there at 34 which he should be. It should also be said that Ritchie shoots left

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Monahan23

Lemieux is a LW and Eric Cornell, Peterborough Pete is a big power RW. If he's there at 34 which he should be. It should also be said that Ritchie shoots left

Cornel plays with Ritchie too!

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

I don't love MDC. I don't love Draisaitl either. I'm really not a big fan of this draft after the two Sams and Ekblad.

But I keep hearing that the comparable for Ritchie is Lucic, who by most accounts, is the best power forward in the NHL.

People shouldn't be expecting Ritchie to become the best power forward in the league. If everything goes right for him, he could become a 60 point winger in the NHL.

I simply don't see the value at 4th overall there. Yeah, if we could get Lucic 2.0 with the 4th pick, that's great. But the odds are against him.

It's just as likely, probably moreso, that he becomes another Brian Boyle or Zack Kassian.

I just don't see any sort of justification over taking him over the elite playmaking ability of Draisaitl or the hands and shot of MDC. He doesn't fill a positional need for the franchise either.

Never mind taking him over one of the Sams or Ekblad.

Twice you have inferred that Ritchie's upside is Lucic and Lucic, as 'the best power forward in the league" is a 60 pt guy. Therefore Ritchie's upside is 60 pts.

Where did you get the notion that power forwards can only get 60 pts?

There was a guy here in Calgary once who, when he was the best power forward in the league, put up 98 pts one year, scored 50 twice, and scored 30 or more 12 years in a row.

Just because you're physically dominant, doesn't mean you can't be offensively talented as well.

[nik-]

Going through this year to end up with Nick Ritchie if there's a talented center available would suck.

I don't think we're drafting him because I believe our staff is better than that.

[ForeverFlameFan]

If we want Ritchie, make the Canes or the Nucks trade up... At least give us assets/draft picks if we intend to draft Ritchie.

[Enoch Root]

More on Lucic:

he was drafted 50th overall in the 2nd round, after putting up 19 points for the Vancouver Giants in 62 games.

Ritchie put up 74 pts in 61 games this year. He had more than twice as many goals as Lucic had points in his pre-draft year

[saXon]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

If we want Ritchie, make the Canes or the Nucks trade up... At least give us assets/draft picks if we intend to draft Ritchie.

'We' don't want Ritchie.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by saXon

'We' don't want Ritchie.

I guess I mean our management, scouts, etc.

Seriously, we have the easiest pick in the draft imo.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Twice you have inferred that Ritchie's upside is Lucic and Lucic, as 'the best power forward in the league" is a 60 pt guy. Therefore Ritchie's upside is 60 pts.

Where did you get the notion that power forwards can only get 60 pts?

There was a guy here in Calgary once who, when he was the best power forward in the league, put up 98 pts one year, scored 50 twice, and scored 30 or more 12 years in a row.

Just because you're physically dominant, doesn't mean you can't be offensively talented as well.

I don't want to get into this discussion again, but Iginla stopped being a power forward after the 05/06 season (for the better, mind you).

Yeah, I will say that when Iggy scored 50 goals pre-lockout, he was a power forward in the most traditional sense.

Problem is, not a single top 30 scorer plays that style in the NHL anymore. I don't think any can while putting up 80+ points at the same time.

In a prime year of his life, Iggy put up only 67 points in 82 games the year after the lockout. The next season he came into camp down 20 pounds and would have won the Hart had he not missed January with a knee injury. He completely changed the way he played.

So Jarome Iginla, the last great power forward in the NHL, only put up 67 points in his prime while playing that bruising style of hockey?

Maybe Ritchie does have Iginla power forward upside. Maybe he becomes as good as Iginla was in his prime and puts up 70 points one year.

I just don't like the odds of Ritchie being as good as Iginla was, or Lucic for that matter. The NHL just doesn't reward that kind of hockey anymore.

I think Ritchie will put up 35-45 points in the NHL regularly. Maybe that's a good bet. But from what I've read, I question his drive to reach that Lucic-Iginla potential that everyone seems to salivate over.

I think Ritchie has high bust potential in the sense that he's the least likely to reach his ceiling. Not that he will crash completely and never play a game in the NHL, but I just want more out of a 4th overall pick. I'm a little surprised that others don't feel the same.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

More on Lucic:

he was drafted 50th overall in the 2nd round, after putting up 19 points for the Vancouver Giants in 62 games.

Ritchie put up 74 pts in 61 games this year. He had more than twice as many goals as Lucic had points in his pre-draft year

How many teams in NHL history have built a team around wingers? The vast majority build their teams first and foremost around two good to great centers, then usually defence or goaltending and wingers are almost an afterthought. The Flames currently have one legitimate top two center prospect (Monahan), a number of prospects on the wing and limited defensive prospects. It would be odd if BPA and organizational need both converged with either a top end center or dman available and the Flames took a winger.

Lucic is merely a complimentary piece to that team, as was seen this year the three most important non goalies are Chara, Krejci and Bergeron. That is reflective of almost every great team in the league.