Which Prospect Are You Most Excited For?

[GoJetsGo]

Also really starting to get excited about Jankowski.

Was thinking earlier today about a Ferland-Jankowski-Smith 3rd line some day and how scary that could be if those players pan out. Great mix of size, skill and brute force.

[Geeoff]

When you think about it , Bennett and Ferland are still prospects. Gotta be them. For guys who weren't on the playoff team, I like Poirier a lot.

[bubbsy]

Guys i'm most excited about outside the obvious choice in Bennet:
- Ferland
- Ortio
- Arnold

I'm most excited about ferland because he showed just how physical he can be, but there still appears to be some potential offense there. Having him and bouma as mainstays in the bottom 6 would help the transitional growth of this team to be more and more 'tough to play against'.

I'm excited about the first rounders of klimchuk/poirier, though it's simply due to their draft position, know nothing about their play at all. Am also hoping that some of the dmen in the pool start to emerge and project to be quality NHL grade d prospects.

[driveway]

Brandon Hickey. That kid's gonna be a stud.

[Poe969]

There are a few, I'm honestly excited to see if Kanzig pans out, really like what we saw from Smith in the preseason, Raficov looks like he could really be a gem for us on the back end, Hickey looks like he could be an absolute stud on the back end and those guys aren't even our "top" prospects.

I don't consider Bennett a prospect anymore because he's pretty much earned a spot on the roster next year. He's the "young player" I'm most excited about though.

Poirier is probably the prospect I'm the most excited for, I really hope he turns into that gritty, fast, sharp shooting winger that most of us think he'll turn into.

It's just awesome because you have one guy in mind but reading everyone else's opinion reminds you of another great prospect we have. The future looks awesome right now.

[Funkhouser]

Hickey (Brodie 2.0)
Ortio/Gillis (one of these 2 will be exceptional)
Arnold
Granlund (Backlund 2.0)

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Jon Gillies.

You don't win anything without great goaltending. How good would the Canadiens or Predators be this year without elite goaltending? How many good teams are let down by inconsistent goaltending? (Wild for example)

I think Gillies will not only be a starter in the NHL, but possibly an elite starter. Top 5 in the league sort of level. He's huge and incredibly athletic. He's been incredible at Providence and really only had one blip at the World Juniors. All he needs is experience and someone to teach him the mental part of the game now. Give him a couple of years to develop and he should be an absolute stud.

It's also the one area of the Flames future that hasn't been resolved yet, so I would really like him to simply take that job. Ortio plays as a more than competent backup.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Morgan Klimchuk gets my vote. I think he'll turn out to be the 2nd line LW we've been looking for.

[JohnnySkittles]

Excluding Bennett, probably Ferland and Gillies.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Cheerio

Drew Shore gets crazy underrated on this board. Of all the players with the Flames org who spent time in the AHL this season, who had the best PP/G? Drew Shore. Who is well known for his great face off ability? Drew Shore. Who has size and is one of 3 RH shots among the Flames forwards? Drew Shore.

Shore's contract is up so it'll be interesting to see what happens.

[CgyFlamesftw]

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

Jon Gillies.

You don't win anything without great goaltending. How good would the Canadiens or Predators be this year without elite goaltending? How many good teams are let down by inconsistent goaltending? (Wild for example)

I think Gillies will not only be a starter in the NHL, but possibly an elite starter. Top 5 in the league sort of level. He's huge and incredibly athletic. He's been incredible at Providence and really only had one blip at the World Juniors. All he needs is experience and someone to teach him the mental part of the game now. Give him a couple of years to develop and he should be an absolute stud.

It's also the one area of the Flames future that hasn't been resolved yet, so I would really like him to simply take that job. Ortio plays as a more than competent backup.

Probably the most under rated goalie prospect out there. You look at media and other sites, nobody ever mentions him as top 10 goalie prospects, yet other NCAA names like helluybuck and o Connor get noticed.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by CgyFlamesftw

Probably the most under rated goalie prospect out there. You look at media and other sites, nobody ever mentions him as top 10 goalie prospects, yet other NCAA names like helluybuck and o Connor get noticed.

Don't know about O'Connor, but Hellebuyk put up better numbers in college than Gillies and has now posted impressive numbers in the AHL.

[DoubleF]

To explain my previous post...

Bennett and Ferland are a given, but excitement wise it doesn't feel like a prospect. I'm excited for NHL growth with these guys, not whether they pan out. Ortio and Gilles feels the same too, it's almost as if it's not about whether they will, but when. I think both pan out TBH.

Kanzig I'm excited because he is supposed to be high hockey IQ in a big body. I am curious as to how and whether he pans out.

Klimchuk I am excited about because I recall other high level prospects commenting about him. Essentially a character guy at world juniors etc.

Hickey/Morrison I am excited about because more power (and close to panning out dare I say within 0.5-1.5 seasons?) on the back end is always good.

Poirier I'm not super excited yet. Dare I say I am picky and expecting more? Like have him fill out, strengthen and better conditioning and a more buzzsaw attitude on top of his skilled play? (ie: Higher end Jooris?) I'm probably just being a greedy gobbler on this one though.

[Crumpy-Gunt]

Forwards : Poirier, Klimchuck, Jankowski
Defencemen : Hickey, Rafikov
Goalies : Gillies, MacDonald (Ortio isnt a prospect anymore imo, he will start next season as backup).

Honorable mention. Austin Carroll, Hunter Smith

Wild card: Keegan Kanzig - if he can improve his mobility and work on his game in the AHL he could turn out.

To answer with one player if I cant choose bennett - its Jankowski.

Jankowski may have one of the highest ceilings of any of our prospects. Skating, size, hands, 2 way game, faceoffs, scoring. If he can add more scoring punch to his game in a larger role at Providence, coming off a national championship and being a leader, maybe even a captain; that would be really be nice.

[saillias]

Still Bennett

If he's eligible for the Calder, he's still a prospect. And there's no one else who comes close to the kind of potential he has to make an immediate impact.

My #2 is Ortio.

[TorqueDog]

Unless I skimmed too quickly, I have yet to see any mention of Patrick Sieloff in here. How far back did that staph infection put back his development / drop his stock?

[FBI]

I can't wait for bingos annual prospect vote. When does that start again, July?

[BACKCHECK!!!]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Unless I skimmed too quickly, I have yet to see any mention of Patrick Sieloff in here. How far back did that staph infection put back his development / drop his stock?

I don't ever think he was really an NHL-level prospect to start with.

If you can think the game at an NHL level, you will put up points in juniors just from making the correct plays on a routine basis.

Even as a shut-down defenceman, if you have the basic skills that a legit NHL-level talent requires, you will put up points from sound break-out passes, holding the puck in at the offensive blue line, etc.

If you are playing the USHL, and getting outscored by your GOALIE, you do not have the tools to be an NHLer.

[Roof-Daddy]

More so than individual prospects, I'm excited to see how a couple different things pan out when it comes to our prospect pool.

1. Can't wait to see how our group of D prospects develop. To me it's a mixed bag of guys who for the most part can skate well, and think the game well. I think it's an under rated group and I really look forward to seeing if anything comes from guys like Culkin, Kulak, Morrison, Sieloff and Wotherspoon. I picked those guys, because they are already AHLers, and so the wait for them won't be as long. But also look forward to guys like Rafikov, Gilmour and Hickey turning pro. You have to think there will at least a couple decent NHL defensemen out of that group.

2. Also excited to see if anything comes from the group of bigger right shooting forwards we have. Team needs to get bigger, but not at the expense of speed and skill....and with guys like Ferland and Bouma patrolling the left side for hopefully years to come, I want to see how guys like Shore, Hathaway, Carroll, Smith and even Arnold (although he's a center) work out, and if they can bring some beef to the forward group, without being a detriment in other areas.

[BACKCHECK!!!]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

I really look forward to seeing if anything comes from guys like Culkin, Kulak, Morrison, Sieloff and Wotherspoon. I picked those guys, because they are already AHLers, and so the wait for them won't be as long. But also look forward to guys like Rafikov, Gilmour and Hickey turning pro. You have to think there will at least a couple decent NHL defensemen out of that group.

Nope, your average group of eight B-list prospects, none of whom were 1st rounders, and none of whom would fetch much more than 'future considerations' in a trade, are probably not going to generate at least a couple of decent NHLers. They will probably produce somewhere between zero and one full-time NHLer.

Usually zero.