Flames top prospects according to FAN960

[BACKCHECK!!!]

Kerins led his AHL team in goals and was 4th in the league in goal scoring.

Called up to the NHL, posts 4 points in 5 games, +3

Gets cut. At the bottom or even left off most of the prospect lists.

Somebody better tell him to shave those sideburns…

[Calgary4LIfe]

Call me crazy, but I still like the Honzek pick. He was lights-out his draft year, and would create a lot of offence from his high-motor and IQ. I loved the way he forechecked and turned pucks over. Fantastic shot with a high-end release. Has the size too. I think he has just been injured too often. Hopefully it hasn't set him back. It is hard not to be down on him, but I still think there is going to be a good player there for the Flames.

[SeanCharles]

1. Parekh
2. Gridin
3. Suniev
4. Brzustewicz
5. Basha
6. Honzek
7. Mews
8. Morin
9. Battaglia
10. Misa

[NewFan]

I was hoping to add one of Misa/Hagens/O'Brien this year and McKenna/Roobroeck/Bjorck next year. Imagine ��

[BagoPucks]

Excited to see what Honzek and Kerins do this upcoming season. It will really tell if they take the next step or not and how their careers are going to play out.

[BigThief]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1921951086547448174

[Erick Estrada]

I never loved the Honzek pick but haven't written him off. He's a beanpole right now and if he can fill out a bit and add some muscle mass, it could go a long way to making him an effective middle six NHL player. He may take a little longer some other more physically mature prospects.

[Bingo]

Had a listen to the first 2/3 of it yesterday.

Pretty good content, good listen.

Thought it was especially interesting to hear how they've elevated both Gridin
and Brzustewicz to upper roster players.

[Tkachukwagon]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I never loved the Honzek pick but haven't written him off. He's a beanpole right now and if he can fill out a bit and add some muscle mass, it could go a long way to making him an effective middle six NHL player. He may take a little longer some other more physically mature prospects.

Saw this yesterday, agree he is a bean pole and needs to hit the gym this summer

https://twitter.com/user/status/1922064245514219798

[Erick Estrada]

Muscle isn't everything and I'm sure he's not skipping leg day but those calves could use a little work ha ha as those don't look like hockey player legs. Not worried about it but I think if he could add 10-15 lbs of muscle it would help him in the NHL.

[Sandman]

I think some people are being way too hard on Honzek. I had my eye on a few other players in his draft year, but I can see why Conny elected to take him. Bigger guys sometimes take longer to develop, and he almost made the team out of camp this year. Hopefully he will get better minutes with the Wranglers next season, if he’s not with the big club.

[Canada 02]

he was 6'4", 195lbs at training camp. I think that was 9lbs over his draft weight

Another summer training with Pospisil will be good for him

[NewFan]

From the current younger players - I hope Honzek become 2nd line LW who also can take some Face offs when it's needed. He has a big body and if he can win some board battles he will help his Centre and create some spaces for his line mates. I hope Honzek - Zary - Pospisil/Klapka become a good 2nd line or very good 3rd line for us.
I think Coronato will be our 1st line RW, but he needs bigger Centre with good IQ who can feed him by good pass.
And I hope we can build another 2nd or 3rd line from the prospects who plays in junior or college leagues.

[Slanter]

Originally Posted by BACKCHECK!!!

Kerins led his AHL team in goals and was 4th in the league in goal scoring.

Called up to the NHL, posts 4 points in 5 games, +3

Gets cut. At the bottom or even left off most of the prospect lists.

Somebody better tell him to shave those sideburns…

Can somebody explain this to me like I'm 5? The guy is 23 (a young 23; just had his birthday in April). The only guys that scored more goals than him in the AHL are older (by 2-4 years). He plays centre, where the Flames have hardly any depth. He's obviously tearing up the AHL, yet he's not considered a top Flames prospect?

I honestly don't understand why he isn't considered likely to become a regular in the NHL. I'm not trying to say I'm smarter than the Flames coaches/development staff. There's obviously a reason.

What is it?

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Slanter

Can somebody explain this to me like I'm 5? The guy is 23 (a young 23; just had his birthday in April). The only guys that scored more goals than him in the AHL are older (by 2-4 years). He plays centre, where the Flames have hardly any depth. He's obviously tearing up the AHL, yet he's not considered a top Flames prospect?

I honestly don't understand why he isn't considered likely to become a regular in the NHL. I'm not trying to say I'm smarter than the Flames coaches/development staff. There's obviously a reason.

What is it?

Foot speed and the rest of the 200 foot game.

Has the offensive skill to spend time developing him, but a lot to round out to call him a sure thing.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Slanter

Can somebody explain this to me like I'm 5? The guy is 23 (a young 23; just had his birthday in April). The only guys that scored more goals than him in the AHL are older (by 2-4 years). He plays centre, where the Flames have hardly any depth. He's obviously tearing up the AHL, yet he's not considered a top Flames prospect?

I honestly don't understand why he isn't considered likely to become a regular in the NHL. I'm not trying to say I'm smarter than the Flames coaches/development staff. There's obviously a reason.

What is it?

Being dominant in the AHL is often, but not always, an indicator that the player is an NHLer waiting for their chance. The one caveat to that is that there is a subset of players who are quick enough to put up points in the AHL, but just aren't quick enough to be effective in the NHL - a combination of being too small AND too slow, makes them unable to make the jump.

There are countless guys that fit that mold, but a good recent example with the Flames would be Austin Czarnik - could put up a point a game in the AHL annually, but just didn't have the tools to be effective in the NHL. Kerins is a very similar player, IMO.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Slanter

Can somebody explain this to me like I'm 5? The guy is 23 (a young 23; just had his birthday in April). The only guys that scored more goals than him in the AHL are older (by 2-4 years). He plays centre, where the Flames have hardly any depth. He's obviously tearing up the AHL, yet he's not considered a top Flames prospect?

I honestly don't understand why he isn't considered likely to become a regular in the NHL. I'm not trying to say I'm smarter than the Flames coaches/development staff. There's obviously a reason.

What is it?

He's undersized and slow. He's not big enough to fill his current role in the NHL. The NHL game moves a lot quicker.

He's projecting more to be like those guys in the AHL who are 2-4 years older and leading the AHL than to being an actual NHL player.

He could fill a mid-six NHL role, if he works a lot on his skating. That's been the scouting report on his from day 1. Great release and offensive instincts/positioning but skating lags.

[Knut]

Classic Tweener type unfortunately. Needs to be in a top 6 role in the NHL but not quite good enough to be there.

Think of guys like Dawes, Czarnik, Rattie, Phillips... Will still have a great professional career with cups of coffee in the NHL. Perhaps find a full time role on a bottom feeder.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by BagoPucks

Excited to see what Honzek and Kerins do this upcoming season. It will really tell if they take the next step or not and how their careers are going to play out.

I agree that it is a big year for Kerins, being his D+6 season.

But I strongly disagree for Honzek. It is just his D+3 season, and he hasn't even developed into a man yet. It could easily be 3 more years before we start to see what Honzek's NHL upside looks like. Unlike Kerins, Honzek has size and good speed - those are tools that if you have them, you can develop the rest of the player's game. Kerins has neither.

[RedHot25]

Essentially, for me, is he an nhler or a Matthew Phillips. Time will tell.