To be clear, what I mean by "this is how it is done" is finding potential diamonds in the rough like Wheatcroft without giving up futures. All the Stars had to give up was a contract slot. The Flames have drafted overagers in later rounds that weren't even close to a Wheatcroft, and yet I see Flames fans defending those picks while at the same time criticizing me for saying the likes of Wheatcroft are lottery tickets worth scratching. I don't even understand the criticism, if it at most costs you an AHL salary, why not take a chance? If the kid can't hack it in the AHL, he becomes one of the Flames multiple ECHLers that they actually drafted.
Maybe they looked at him and didn’t think he was worth a contract spot
Maybe they tried to sign him and he wasn’t interested
Odd thing to complain about. The Flames have signed prospect free agents in the past and will do so in the future
Maybe they looked at him and didn’t think he was worth a contract spot
Maybe they tried to sign him and he wasn’t interested
Odd thing to complain about. The Flames have signed prospect free agents in the past and will do so in the future
I think the last two years probably caused some hesitation from prospects signing here with our roster moves.
It's not even a Sutter thing you can go back to 2016 and gifting a spot to Grossman in camp on a "pto".
Sounds like Conroy is going to change that.
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-Left-handed RW Andrei Loshko is a 6'1"170lb Belarussian, who registered 70 points in 67 games in the Q for the Chicoutimi Saqueneens, who finished 8th overall out of 18 teams. Loshko doesn't seem to get the respect he deserves as a quality 200-ft player, who can positively influence most aspects of the game when he's on the ice. Loshko is a details-oriented, offensively balanced play-driver at this level, who can control pace- and despite having an array of hard, accurate shots, with a pro-caliber release, the vast majority of his points come from his playmaking vision and creativity. Loshko has high IQ, smarts, and the ability to find teammates in high-danger consistently. He can make plays off the rush, and he can distribute from the half-wall on the PP- and he also scores from there with his deadly one-timer. He's adept at finding open space, and is very good at attacking from the middle lane, although he can be caught coasting and watching the play sometimes. He backchecks as hard as he forechecks, and stays involved in the play defensively, anticipating where the puck is going, and killing the play with his deft positioning, and active stick. He often gets the play going back the other way by making himself an option to facilitate the breakout, either by carrying himself, or by being a play-connector between his D and the other forwards. Mobility-wise, he has a long stride, but doesn't get enough power out of it, although he seems to have some small-area quickness, and a good start-up. He will need to upgrade his acceleration and top-speed, as well as his puck-control, as he currently overhandles the puck too often. Pretty underrated in my book, but he has real NHL top-6 upside if he bulks up and gets quicker. 3rd-5th round.
-Czech LW Lukas Hes is a 6'3",187lb hard-nosed power-forward who likes the rough-going. He has no problems asserting himself physically in either side of the ice. For a big man, he moves very well with fairly good acceleration. He can make plays off the rush, or he can set up in the zone and find teammates with crisp, accurate passes. Hes was the top under-18 player in Czechia's U20 league (and 5th overall), with a league-leading 34 goals, as well as 18 assists for 52 points in 44 games. Hes also earned 12 games on the second-tier men's team, scoring 2 goals. Obviously, his finishing skills might be his best asset, and he gets goals by attacking the middle, and by going to the net. His puck-control and protection skills allow him to push through traffic, and in to open space, but he can also draw attackers to him, thus opening space for teammates to receive his passes. Very tough player to handle on the forecheck. Defensively, he takes the same physical approach, and has the smarts to take away lanes and block shots with his body and stick, and is a solid two-way player at the junior level. He is even a decent penalty-killer. I've read, though that some of his puck skills might hold him back, such as his 1-on-1 stickhandling, and he can be pressured into giving up the puck at times. Despite having some great assets on his side, he is most often pegged to go in the later rounds.
-RHD Vojtech Port plays for the WHL's worst offensive team, the Edmonton Oil Kings, which may brighten up his otherwise dull-looking output of 17 points in 46 games. The Oil Kings were in fact the worst team in the entire CHL, and only scored 131 goals- behind Vancouver at 188, Charlottetown at 189, and Kingston and Niagara at 199. Edmonton's leading scorer? It was household name Gavin Hodnett, with 43 points in 61 games. Port is 6'2", and 176lbs, hails from Czechia, and is one of the younger players in the draft with an August 3rd birthday, so he has a bit more runway to develop his raw game. Port has pretty good speed when he gets going, but he has an otherwise short, choppy stride that lacks power when accelerating-the good news is that he has pretty good agility and east-west movement to evade checkers and beat opponents 1-on-1. He uses these skills to create offense from the rush, and go around attackers from the point. He looks to have good passing skill to go with his above-average IQ and vision, and a good shot as well. There's a lot of deception and manipulation in his game, and plenty of moves and dekes to throw off the opposition and open up space to pass to open teammates. Port is an excellent rush-defender, stifling the attack in the neutral zone before it ever gets over the blueline. The defensive zone is an area that's in progress, as the Oil Kings' D can often get overrun in puck-possession trying to clear the zone, due to the team being so poor. Also, Port is very slim and weak, so he struggles in overpowering his man, and separating man from puck. He is fine positionally, and keeps his stick active. This is a player who will put up much bigger numbers in the next 2 years as he gets stronger, and rounds out his game, as he already has some good offensive skills that are hidden by the team he plays for. In addition, despite their low scoring numbers, the Oil Kings employ an offensive system that encourages their D to frequently activate, and Port will greatly benefit from that. Look for him in the later rounds.
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With STL in dire need of a franchise D man and AZ having 2 picks in the top 12, I think there is a good possibility that Reinbacher and ASP will be selected in the top 12, allowing one of Benson/Leonard/Dvorsky to fall to Calgary if some teams before Calgary fall in love with a different player not named them. As long as we stand pat at 16, the prospect we pick likely becomes our top prospect behind Wolf.
Pretty common outside of the top five in this draft. Even Zach Benson at #6 has a 13 slot difference between his min and max.
Here's the draft looking at min / max / spread
Player Position Min Max Spread
1 Connor Bedard C 1 1 0
2 Adam Fantilli C 2 2 0
3 Matvei Michkov RW 3 5 2
4 Leo Carlsson C 3 6 3
5 Will Smith C 4 7 3
6 Zach Benson F 4 17 13
7 Ryan Leonard C 5 22 17
8 Dalibor Dvorský C 5 19 14
9 Oliver Moore C 7 19 12
10 David Reinbacher D 6 24 18
11 Axel Sandin Pellikka D 5 22 17
12 Colby Barlow LW 7 30 23
13 Eduard Sale RW 7 24 17
14 Matthew Wood F 10 31 21
15 Nate Danielson C 7 27 20
16 Gabe Perreault RW 8 27 19
17 Brayden Yager C 7 30 23
18 Samuel Honzek C 10 36 26
19 Dmitri Simashev D 9 49 40
20 Otto Stenberg C 12 41 29
21 Quentin Musty LW 13 39 26
22 Andrew Cristall LW 6 68 62
23 Calum Ritchie C 13 33 20
24 Mikhail Gulyayev D 16 43 27
25 Gavin Brindley RW 9 39 30
26 Daniil But LW 9 36 27
27 Tom Willander D 8 38 30
28 Riley Heidt F 13 59 46
29 Ethan Gauthier RW 16 79 63
30 Lukas Dragicevic D 18 60 42
31 Bradly Nadeau C 23 46 23
32 David Edstrom C 18 82 64
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Eduard Sale RW 7 24 (one dimensional, soft)
Matthew Wood F 10 31 (skating)
Nate Danielson C 7 27 (maybe tops out as 3rd/2nd line center)
Gabe Perreault RW 8 27 (boom/bust)
Brayden Yager C 7 30 (2nd line center projection)
Seems to be warts with each of these players which explains the spread in opinions from top 10 to bottom 10.
Think I've caught up to Sandman again temporarily (lol) in getting profiles added to Upside Hockey website. I've also added his prospect tiers to the top of the page for reference!
Prospect Profile page updated yet again on Upside Hockey - another 8 or so prospects added - we're well over 100 now!
Is Perreault's breaking of Matthews' U.S. Development Team record a big deal? It kind of sounds like it should be, but it hasn't pushed him up as far in people's rankings as much as I thought it would.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
Is Perreault's breaking of Matthews' U.S. Development Team record a big deal? It kind of sounds like it should be, but it hasn't pushed him up as far in people's rankings as much as I thought it would.
Perreault has size, skating, and defensive issues. He's an offensive wizard, and had stats similar to Jack Hughes', who is 5'11", but has elite feet.
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