Craig's List 2014 Prospects

[sureLoss]

Bob Stauffer hinted earlier today that the top prospects visited Calgary and Edmonton, but did not visit Florida.

[RyZ]

Reinhart
Ekblad
Draisaitl
Bennett

[saXon]

Still have Draisaitl as my number 1.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

Do you need a power forward to win a cup?

Chicago and Los Angeles don't have a 'true power forward'.
I think you need bigger players that can skate, but not sure if you necessarily need a 230+lbs player.

My biggest concern with this player is if he can keep up with pace of today's game.

Personally I think guys like Gaudreau are too small, and guys like Ritchie are too big. The ideal player is about 80% of the way between Gaudreau and Ritchie.

I guess depends on how you define it.
Kings are the biggest team in the league.
They drive hard to the net and win races to loose pucks.
Maybe thats the new power forward.

[Anduril]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

I guess depends on how you define it.
Kings are the biggest team in the league.
They drive hard to the net and win races to loose pucks.
Maybe thats the new power forward.

That was a beautiful poem.

[the_only_turek_fan]

Jim Matheson @NHLbyMatty · Jun 17 No way mactavish's no 3 pick is inb play unless ekblad and draisaitl gone.

[CalgaryKid]

Some good updates on prospect visits, and coaching hires. Hope to have AHL coach in place by development camp (starts July 4)
http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/...463/story.html

[Flames Draft Watcher]

1) Ekblad
2) Bennett
3) Reinhart
Toss up at 4/5 with Draisaitl/Ritchie for me

[bubbsy]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

1) Ekblad
2) Bennett
3) Reinhart
Toss up at 4/5 with Draisaitl/Ritchie for me

no MDC in the mix for you?

[RyZ]

Obviously glowing reviews on the Fan960 these past 2 morning on Reinhart from McGill and B Sutter. I think he has a very low bust potential and that is my main reason why he is my favored C of the big 3. He is going to be a 60+ point (and likely higher) player very quickly in the NHL barring injury. In my mind hes almost a sure thing.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by RyZ

Obviously glowing reviews on the Fan960 these past 2 morning on Reinhart from McGill and B Sutter. I think he has a very low bust potential and that is my main reason why he is my favored C of the big 3. He is going to be a 60+ point (and likely higher) player very quickly in the NHL barring injury. In my mind hes almost a sure thing.

Apart from his high hockey IQ, the other thing that sets him apart from the other centers in the draft is that he could play right wing if required.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

Do you need a power forward to win a cup?

Chicago and Los Angeles don't have a 'true power forward'.
I think you need bigger players that can skate, but not sure if you necessarily need a 230+lbs player.

My biggest concern with this player is if he can keep up with pace of today's game.

Personally I think guys like Gaudreau are too small, and guys like Ritchie are too big. The ideal player is about 80% of the way between Gaudreau and Ritchie.

Too big? Bigger is better unless the guy can't skate. By all accounts that isn't really a big issue for Ritchie at all.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

no MDC in the mix for you?

If we grab a winger I'd rather grab the bigger, stronger and more physical of the two. Both scored a similar amount of goals and seem to have similar upsides so I prefer the one who plays the more powerful game.

[AC]

Some more fuel to the Ritchie fire.

From the comments section on this article (commenter NDRE)
http://lastwordonsports.com/2014/06/...ne-picks-1-15/

And from this article
http://www.hockeyprospectus.com/past...s-years-draft/

Nick Richie
While Bennett has run away with many of the individual accolades in the OHL this season, Nick Ritchie’s numbers indicate that he has serious top-5 talent.

His 0.44 even-strength goals-per-game place him sixth in an elite group of OHL forwards the past 12 years who have broken 0.40: Patrick Kane, Tyler Seguin, John Tavares, Steven Stamkos, Gabriel Landeskog, Ritchie, Bennett, Jeff Skinner, and Nail Yakupov.

What is more, of his 35 assists, 27 have been primary, and only eight of his 35 assists have been scored on the power-play.

Another compelling statistic for Ritchie: he has already cleared 6’2″ and 220 lbs. There have been four OHL/WHL forwards over 6’2″ selected top-10 in the NHL draft since 2003. Each of the four has been selected higher than his pre-draft scoring would indicate, and each has been successful at the NHL level: Eric Staal (2nd overall), Jordan Staal (2nd), Andrew Ladd (4th), and Ryan Johansen (4th). Of the four, only Eric Staal achieved more points-per-game than Ritchie his pre-draft season.

Ritchie has an abnormally high number of primary assists to secondary assists:
EV: 27G, 20A1, 6A2
PP: 11G, 06A1, 2A2
SH: 02G, 01A1, 0A2

Because if this his “primary” EV points-per-game is remarkable:

Spoiler!

0.90 PKane
0.87 Seguin
0.84 Draisaitl
0.82 Hall
0.79 Bennett
0.77 Tavares
0.77 Strome
0.77 Gagner
0.77 Ritchie
0.75 Stamkos
0.74 Yakupov
074 EStaal
0.72 SReinhart
0.67 Dal Colle (and had identical rate in playoffs, which is impressive)
0.66 BRyan
0.64 Bailey

0.60 and under: Duchene, Monahan, Kadri, Skinner, Couture, Virtanen

[Sandman]

It's nice to see a few people drifting over to the Ritchie camp.....

[nightfx]

^^ Really impressive stats

[cral12]

^While Ritchie very intriguing prospect if picking outside Top 5, really hope Flames don't reach to make this pick (impressive stats or not). SN's Sam Cosentino's analysis of Ritchie echoes my concerns - listen to his interviews on Fan 960 & The Pipeline Show recently. Ritchie does seem to have Brian Burke written all over him though...Wouldn't be end of the world, but not my preference.

[nik-]

I'll be so disappointed if we had to go through this year to end up with this guy. In my mind he's got "CHL peak" all over him.

Three great choices at center, don't draft for size at number 4.

[dissentowner]

I would like the Flames to move Hudler and maybe one of those 2nds for pick #5. Draft Bennett or Reinhart at 4 and Ritchie at 5.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I would like the Flames to move Hudler and maybe one of those 2nds for pick #5. Draft Bennett or Reinhart at 4 and Ritchie at 5.

I dislike Ritchie, but if that was how it shook out, I'd be more than okay with that.