Draft eligible prospects attending the Flames' Draft Combine

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by fotze

This team combine thing seems ridiculously inefficient and just a game of posturing between the teams. Dumb?

So 30 kids are supposed to fly around north america to 30 different teams doing fitness tests and other stuff?

Agreed. Hugely impractical.

At the same time you understand why a team like Buffalo is interested in doing it. They have proximity to TOR (the site of the combine), a mediocre team image to bolster through presentations/propaganda/greetings with players, two picks in the top 16, etc. They had two picks in the top 15 last year and the two this year will go a long way towards building their core.

For the Flames what do we really need to know? If anything you might like to have your own doctor's assess Barkov's shoulder. You might like to see if Monahan has experienced some big gains since starting off season early after his team missed the playoffs. Has Monahan alleviated any questions about his skating? You probably really need to get a sense for Nichushkin's character whether that be through dinner or meetings or whatever. Will he be determined to excel in the NHL and struggle through tough times or will he retreat to an easier life in his homeland for good money?

Some of the biggest questions heading into the draft for the Flames:
1. How does Barkov's fabulous showing in the Finnish men's league compare to MacKinnon's great performance in Canadian Major Junior? Is Barkov in the top tier of this draft or not? He's a massive center with tremendous puck skills and vision.
2. Is Nichushkin worth the risk? If he's a top 5 talent is he worth taking in the top 5? top 7? top 9? etc? Skilled, powerforward wingers are extremely rare but is it worth passing on a potential franchise centre to take the inherently riskier Russian?

At least we didn't fall further in the draft order than 6th, somebody extremely appealing should be left. Wish we had landed the sure choice of Barkov or MacKinnon but we'll have to deal with 6th.

Sutter, Weisbrod and Button are going to have to decide if trading up into the top 3 or the top 4 or 5 is worth it. It's a very exciting time.

[sureLoss]

No new news on who is attending but an article on the additional phyiscal testing:
http://flames.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=673245

But don't expect to see Hesketh standing over the Calgary invites, push potential Flames' picks through another dreaded VO2 max test.

That's not his intention.

"What we're trying to assess when we bring them in is not how hard they're going to work, we've seen them work," he said. "I've seen them do a VO2 max. I've seen them do a 30-second wingate test. What my role is going to be is some of the intangibles that you can't necessarily see."

Instead, Hesketh has a different set of evaluations ready for those chosen to come to the Stampede City.

"Movement patterning, more how they move their fluidity of movement through their hips, shoulders and back and as well do a pretty solid anthropometric measurement -- not just the sic sight they use at the combine -- but a fully body and get an idea of what their thigh masses are and arm mass and how much muscle mass they're carrying, not just body fat. That's an important element for an athlete."

The tests are far from trivial for an organization trying to get the best read on not only where a player is today, but where Hesketh and the Flames hope to take him tomorrow.

Being able to interact and evaluate different physical attributes is very important for Hesketh.

"It's going to be interesting to both talk to them, find out what they're doing right now in their lives as far as training goes and then take them through some movement patterning which we feel is important for them to be successful as an athlete -- both to keep them from getting injured -- but also so they can maximize their power from the ground up," he said.
It's something he does regularly with both Flames players and prospects.

[sureLoss]

Nic Petan apparently in Calgary:

Roger Millions ‏@RogMillions 23s #Flames have real interest in Portland forward Nic Petan. 2nd interview happening in Cgy this week. 46G 74A this season as 18 yr. old

[the-rasta-masta]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Nic Petan apparently in Calgary:

Roger Millions ‏@RogMillions 23s #Flames have real interest in Portland forward Nic Petan. 2nd interview happening in Cgy this week. 46G 74A this season as 18 yr. old

Good! He'd be a nice pick at 28. Undersized but some of the best skill in the draft based on what I've been reading. Saw him live twice this year, and both games he looked extremely slick.

[Flames_F.T.W]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Nic Petan apparently in Calgary:

Roger Millions ‏@RogMillions 23s #Flames have real interest in Portland forward Nic Petan. 2nd interview happening in Cgy this week. 46G 74A this season as 18 yr. old

Good. I was starting to worry that we don't have enough small, skilled forwards