The Athletic: Scott Wheeler's 2020 NHL prospect pool rankings: No 26 Calgary Flames

[SeanCharles]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

The meme that the Flames have so many more "prospects" playing in the NHL does not stand up to the facts.

The Flames are smack in the middle of the average age of the top 20 players at 15 th spot 28.1 years old.

The oldest roster in the NHL is LA @ 30.7 and the youngest team is Colorado at 27.1

The average age of the 620 NHL players is 28.4

This site has Valimaki in the top 20 Flames and have his age correct at 21.3

www.rosterresource.com/nhl-roster-breakdowns/

I think the point is we have youngsters like Andersson, Kylington, Dube, Mangiapane all contributing as 1st and 2nd year regulars. We also have Valimaki waiting in the wings. These players will only get better with more experience and are all trending towards being higher impact than 4th line/3rd pairing players.

Its not as bad as we think given all these guys essentially just graduated.

We also have a young player in Tkachuk who is a huge part of our team so we are it pretty good shape.

Of course we need to continue to stock the cupboards but I have a good feeling about Pelletier and Pettersen.

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

The meme that the Flames have so many more "prospects" playing in the NHL does not stand up to the facts.

The Flames are smack in the middle of the average age of the top 20 players at 15 th spot 28.1 years old.

The oldest roster in the NHL is LA @ 30.7 and the youngest team is Colorado at 27.1

The average age of the 620 NHL players is 28.4

This site has Valimaki in the top 20 Flames and have his age correct at 21.3

www.rosterresource.com/nhl-roster-breakdowns/

First of that source is from 2018. Notice that Mike Smith is the oldest Flame.

But even so average age is a not a good statistical representation of a teams position in within their trajectory of prospect development.

The Flames have:
7 players 23 and under.
6 players 24-27
5 players 28-30 (note that Stone and Rinaldo don't play every night)
4 players 31 and older ( one being their back up goaltender)


So really the break down of players dressed most nights is.
7
6
3
3
Which is about at a league average.

When Valimaki does return the roster will shift again with 8 players under 23 and 4 players 28-30.

It is not a meme that the Flames have done a good job of graduating prospects its true. It is normal for a teams prospect pool to fluctuate between years, with another good draft the Flames will be in fine standing on future subjective lists.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

First of that source is from 2018. Notice that Mike Smith is the oldest Flame.

But even so average age is a not a good statistical representation of a teams position in within their trajectory of prospect development.

The Flames have:
7 players 23 and under.
6 players 24-27
5 players 28-30 (note that Stone and Rinaldo don't play every night)
4 players 31 and older ( one being their back up goaltender)


So really the break down of players dressed most nights is.
7
6
3
3
Which is about at a league average.

When Valimaki does return the roster will shift again with 8 players under 23 and 4 players 28-30.

It is not a meme that the Flames have done a good job of graduating prospects its true. It is normal for a teams prospect pool to fluctuate between years, with another good draft the Flames will be in fine standing on future subjective lists.

The Flames sat out the first three rounds of the 2018 draft and didn't have a 2nd rounder last year. That's going to leave you with a weaker prospect pool in 2020. Zavgorodniy and Pelletier being hurt and not able to play in the world jrs also hurt the visibility of them vs guys who shone there.