Mark "Fricken" Jankowski (aka The Big Jankowski)

[Fire]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Which likely took place today. The reassurance from Burke towards Janko and Gillies. I would say Gilmour as well but I feel as a seventh round pick there isnt't much to reassure him about. Just remind him if he wants to make it, he needs to work.

Exactly, he doesn't have to talk to the press every time he has a talk with a prospect.

[Badgers Nose]

Most college players that have NHL teams waiting for them are just kidding themselves with education. They will never convert a geology or psych degree into a ~$600k guaranteed min salary. They would be lucky to earn AHL salary with their little piece of paper.

It's stupid to stay in school if your employer wants you to come to work and is willing to literally throw money at you to do so.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

is willing to literally throw money at you to do so.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Slightly OT, but I wonder if Burke would ever pressure a player in the NCAA to leave school if he thought it was in the best interest of his NHL club.

I know Feaster said he won't pressure a kid to leave school but he also said that other NHL teams do. Wonder if Burke agrees.

I'm sure they do, the GM is under pressure as well although like Feaster they'll deny it.

[Vulcan]

My thoughts on Jankowski. I've said this before but he's on schedule for what is expected of him considering where he's come from. The thing is at the time of his draft, this should have been predicted and where he is isn't worth a first rounder in my opinion. He's still a decent prospect though but probably more of what would be expected of a 2nd rounder.

[metroneck]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

Most college players that have NHL teams waiting for them are just kidding themselves with education. They will never convert a geology or psych degree into a ~$600k guaranteed min salary. They would be lucky to earn AHL salary with their little piece of paper.

It's stupid to stay in school if your employer wants you to come to work and is willing to literally throw money at you to do so.

Yep. You can always go back to school if hockey does not work out, and probably focus more.

I am a total education snob, I loved Uni so much I got 2 pieces of paper (one useless, one fairly useful), but if it was my son, I'd say put school on hold if an NHL team wanted to sign you.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

Most college players that have NHL teams waiting for them are just kidding themselves with education. They will never convert a geology or psych degree into a ~$600k guaranteed min salary. They would be lucky to earn AHL salary with their little piece of paper.

It's stupid to stay in school if your employer wants you to come to work and is willing to literally throw money at you to do so.

They will in this province.

Anyway. Whether or not Burke liked the Jankowski pick is irrelevant. Janko is property of this team. He may not have been the best pick at 21. Fine. He may be a 2nd round talent. Would anyone disagree that 2nd round centres with the skill set of Mark Jankowski are a valuable thing to have in your organisation?

Of course not. The Jankowski pick is the equivalent of throwing a hail Mary from your own 15 yard line. It might work but it probably wasnt the prudent decision.

Burke would be a flat out buffoon if he didn't think Janko had a Role in this organisation going forward because he was drafted 15-20 spots too early.

I for one am eagerly awaiting the day I get my creme coloured flames jersey with a Jankowski 77 on the back. The amount of hate the kid gets for something that wasn't his fault in the slightest makes him really easy to root for.

You don't like the pick, fine. The guys who made it are fired. How about we just hope he becomes the player Feaster and Weisbrod thought he was, because I really care more about reestablishing some centre depth than whether or not jay feaster was right.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

I think Burke mentioned the Boston kids specifically because he was trying to deflect away from criticism about holy liking the big players. At 6'5 and 6'3 respectively he didn't need to talk about Gillies and Jankowski. Those comments were made in a very specific context.

I think more likely that the vast size difference between the media markets in Boston and Providence were likely contributors to what was reported. It's likely that no one even noticed that Burke was in Rhode Island this week.

[old-fart]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

They will in this province.

Anyway. Whether or not Burke liked the Jankowski pick is irrelevant. Janko is property of this team. He may not have been the best pick at 21. Fine. He may be a 2nd round talent. Would anyone disagree that 2nd round centres with the skill set of Mark Jankowski are a valuable thing to have in your organisation?

Of course not. The Jankowski pick is the equivalent of throwing a hail Mary from your own 15 yard line. It might work but it probably wasnt the prudent decision.

Burke would be a flat out buffoon if he didn't think Janko had a Role in this organisation going forward because he was drafted 15-20 spots too early.

I for one am eagerly awaiting the day I get my creme coloured flames jersey with a Jankowski 77 on the back. The amount of hate the kid gets for something that wasn't his fault in the slightest makes him really easy to root for.

You don't like the pick, fine. The guys who made it are fired. How about we just hope he becomes the player Feaster and Weisbrod thought he was, because I really care more about reestablishing some centre depth than whether or not jay feaster was right.

Giving up on the Janko pick now is like not waiting to see if that hail mary pass is caught, just turning off the tv and going for a beer.

I agree - the pick maybe wasn't the best pick at the time, but that ship sailed. Unless any of you have a Delorean in your garage at 2.1 Jigawatts of power we can't fix that. Janko is Flames property now and it is the Flames responsibility to develop him into the best player they can to get the most of that asset. If at the end of the day he ends up being a decent 2nd or even 3rd line center, great. If he never plays in the NHL, is he that much worse of a pick than, say, Nemo or even Fata?

[nik-]

Originally Posted by old-fart

Giving up on the Janko pick now is like not waiting to see if that hail mary pass is caught, just turning off the tv and going for a beer.

I agree - the pick maybe wasn't the best pick at the time, but that ship sailed. Unless any of you have a Delorean in your garage at 2.1 Jigawatts of power we can't fix that. Janko is Flames property now and it is the Flames responsibility to develop him into the best player they can to get the most of that asset. If at the end of the day he ends up being a decent 2nd or even 3rd line center, great. If he never plays in the NHL, is he that much worse of a pick than, say, Nemo or even Fata?

This post is wrong.



... it's 1.21 gigawatts

[Tinordi]

Originally Posted by old-fart

If he never plays in the NHL, is he that much worse of a pick than, say, Nemo or even Fata?

That will be dependent on how players we could have picked, like WJC tournament MVP Teravainen, pan out.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

That will be dependent on how players we could have picked, like WJC tournament MVP Teravainen, pan out.

I had no idea they took the MVP away from Filip Forsberg and gave it to Teravainen.

[TheDebaser]

I honestly just find this pick interesting, I think it's much too early to say much about it.

Here's some food for thought though, Jankowski is 6'3", still growing, and he only weighs 186 pounds. He could still have 20-30 pounds of muscle to gain before he hits the show. A 186 pound player and a 215+ pound player are completely different beasts. I think that the big question with Janko will end up being 1)whether or not he can get stronger quick enough and 2) whether or not he will be able to translate his game into a more powerful style.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

I had no idea they took the MVP away from Filip Forsberg and gave it to Teravainen.

Swedish bias. Teravainan has 3 more points and was +11 compared to Forsberg's +3. I didn't see a lot of Swedish games though, so Forsberg could have been a beast. However in Finlands games Teravainen was always in the mix.

[Robbob]

I think one of the problems with Jankowski is the team he plays for. You only see flashes of his offense because of the system they play. I guess the one beneficial aspect of the system is he may be better developed in his 200ft game when all is said and done. The thing that still intrigues me is he has that raw skill and you see those flashes. Whether he can put it all together is another story. I don't think you can give up on a pick this soon.

[Beatle17]

I think Jankowski and Teravainen have the same amount of points in the NHL don't they. It will be interesting to see how they develop once they are both good enough to play in the NHL.

[Calgary4LIfe]

For me, Teravainen will always be the link to Jankowksi. Some of that sting wore off a bit when scouts started saying post draft (and even up until the start of this season) that TT doesn't translate in the NHL as a center, and he is a top-6 type or bust.

I do think TT is a very good legitimate prospect. I do think he will make an impact in the NHL as a very slick top6 winger, and he will fit in with Chicago nicely, as they have some nice beef to surround him with (to quote BB).

However, he may not be NHL ready even next season. Thus far, his timeline isn't much faster than Jankowski. I thought with TT, at least the Flames would get an injection of youth and skill sooner, but that doesn't seem to be the case (and yes, of course Chicago is a tougher team to make, and they are not in a rush to inject talent and youth like the Flames were). I don't think a prospect should be rushed at any time anyways, so that argument doesn't work in my eyes.

Though we can all see TT working his 'magic' at the WJC, and he had a fairly good season last year, but other than that he hasn't been this 'awesome' prospect that the Flames were stupid to pass over. He is below average in size (and on the Flames, makes it even tougher to move forward with too many smaller guys).

At this point, you have no clear-cut answer as to who is going to have a better career in the NHL, and who is going to be a bigger impact player. TT may come in next season, or the season afterwards. Jankowski is about 1 year behind that timeline I am guessing. It is a bit early to anoint Teravainen as the 'sure bet' and disregard Jankowski as the stupid inferior pick based on things they have done in different leagues and nations.

I see nothing that clearly shows TT is vastly superior. Perhaps closer making it to the NHL? One-two years ahead. I am waiting for when they are both in the NHL to see who was or would have been the 'mistake' between the two of them.

Considering we needed centers so badly organizationally that draft, and that TT and Jankowski were the two highest-ceiling centers left (Laughton I think will be a good 3rd line center one day, just like Girgensons), those are who are 'linked' in my eyes.

[FlameZilla]

^^^^^

TT being top 6 or bust versus Jankowski who I believe would be able to contribute whether he's a top 6 or not. Once his frame is filled out I expect him to become at the very least what Joe Colborne has become. At best he may be a solid top 6 centre.

My main 'cringe' player we passed on was Olli Maata, however I wanted Jankowski before the draft started so I was ecstatic with the pick. Sure, Maata would look good on our blue line now, but I wanted them to take the risk and gamble on the exciting potential of Janko. It was a gamble, but there are very few 'sure things' when drafting.

[FBI]

Plus this pick has at least been interesting and given us a lot to talk about. (And will continue to for years I imagine)

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by FlameZilla

^^^^^

TT being top 6 or bust versus Jankowski who I believe would be able to contribute whether he's a top 6 or not. Once his frame is filled out I expect him to become at the very least what Joe Colborne has become. At best he may be a solid top 6 centre.

My main 'cringe' player we passed on was Olli Maata, however I wanted Jankowski before the draft started so I was ecstatic with the pick. Sure, Maata would look good on our blue line now, but I wanted them to take the risk and gamble on the exciting potential of Janko. It was a gamble, but there are very few 'sure things' when drafting.

I take the view that you gamble from a position of strength not when you are risking your grocery money. For me Maata was the obvious choice. Me being a Flames fan I hope Jankowski turns out, but there were better picks out there.