Though he's stumbled a bit in the draft rankings (and just broke his wrist), I am selfishly hoping (family friends - and Ryan literally could not come from a better family) the Flames draft Vancouver Giants defenseman Ryan Lin with the Vegas pick in the first round. I'm not really sure why he's dropped in the rankings as he's having a very solid year (third in the WHL in defenseman scoring with 11-39-50 in 42 games).
A year ago, he was neck and neck with Verhoeff in the top 5 (they're great friends by the way and there is a ton of mutual respect and admiration). Now he's a late first rounder.
In any case, I hope the Flames can grab him. He's a hell of a player with a lot of upside. Very much in line with "today's NHL."
You don't want someone you lnow and like personally to be drafted by the Flames. Especially as a CPucker.
Lawrence may have screwed himself in choosing to jump over to NCAA mid-season. Not a good look for a supposed top 5 (many rankings have him top 3) pick to have an NCAA stat line of 5GP 0G 0A 0PTS -2.
At the same time, maybe this gets people off of McKenna's back for 'only' being 1.20 points per game.
He’s flying up the rankings. I said it a few days ago, he’s my #1 for the Flames. Centre that controls the play. Love him
Lawrence, Bjorck and Malholtra seem like very legitimate candidates to be drafted by the Flames based on the current standings. I would love a crack at Stenberg/Mckenna, but failing that, these 3 Cs are top of the lineup, do it all players that should step into an NHL lineup with ease in 2 seasons or so.
Pairing any of these 3 guys with Reschny, Parekh, Gridin, Wolf and Coronato has the makings of a pretty exciting new Flames core. Conny needs to add another good top of the lineup D with the other first round pick this year and things will be starting to really stack up.
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I hate to tell you this, but I’ve just launched an air biscuit
It will be really interesting if Vancouver finishes last, and Calgary 2nd last. I am hoping that it will turn out exactly like the Juolevi vs Tkachuk draft.
I have a feeling that Vancouver goes Stenberg at 1. Seems like there’s more hype material coming out of Vancouver about him
100%
They have a bias towards Swedes traditionally, so I expect this will be the case if he is available when they pick.
(I hope we take him first though)
I think Lawrence will adjust and move back up the rankings. Centers always go higher than the various lists out there because they are really hard to find.
I don't mind him dropping though, in case the Flames end up drafting 6th or 7th. And at that spot, I would race up to the podium to take him.
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Unless we get lucky we're probably not getting Stenberg or McKenna.
That's true of every team. You have to win the lottery to get either of those picks.
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‘You see in Calgary, [Ryan] Huska is no joke. It’s good. He’s really set on a specific model defensively. If you can be reliable, you have the freedom to play offence.’
—Ethan Wyttenbach
That's true of every team. You have to win the lottery to get either of those picks.
The exception being the team that finishes last. Pretty sure the odds would favour them getting one of the top 2 picks. The lowest they could draft is 3rd overall but they would be considered unlucky to drop 2 spots.
The exception being the team that finishes last. Pretty sure the odds would favour them getting one of the top 2 picks. The lowest they could draft is 3rd overall but they would be considered unlucky to drop 2 spots.
According to Tankathon, the last-place team has a 25.5% chance of drafting 1st, 18.8% 2nd, 55.7% 3rd. Dropping two spots is actually the most likely outcome.
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WARNING: The preceding message may not have been processed in a sarcasm-free facility.
‘You see in Calgary, [Ryan] Huska is no joke. It’s good. He’s really set on a specific model defensively. If you can be reliable, you have the freedom to play offence.’
—Ethan Wyttenbach
