TSN acknolwedges that the cupboard is not bare

[sureLoss]

A TSN feature on Canadian teams heading into the draft makes note that the perception that the Flames cupboard is bare is not accurate

http://www.tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?id=9691

It's easy to look at the Calgary Flames' depth chart and make the quick assessment that the cupboard is bare when it comes to prospects. Not quite - they just aren't that well known right now.

The team took a bit of a hit when blue chip defenceman Tim Erixon didn't come to terms with them on a contract and was traded to the New York Rangers. But it's not as 'doom and gloom' as many say.

Leading the pack is Sven Baertschi, who TSN Scout Craig Button believes could end up being one the five best players to come out of the class of 2011. The dynamic winger brought a big 'wow' factor in a very brief stint with the Flames this past season and it could be a taste of the things to come.

Markus Granlund, drafted in the second round by the Flames last year, has the potential to be a great player. The same can be said for Max Reinhart, who's expected to take the next step after his last season with the Kootenay Ice. The older brother of 2012 draft prospect Griffin Reinhart is a big, strong competitive centre who will one day bolster the third line. The same can be said for Michael Ferland, who spent the last three seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings, and Laurent Brossoit led the WHL's Edmonton Oil Kings to the Memorial Cup Final.

So the depth is there for GM Jay Feaster and the Flames and it should only get that much better when the team steps up to the podium for the 14th pick.

[ah123]

Whomever wrote that will be fired instantly. How dare they not toe the company line?

/green text

[Vinny01]

I remember last year Feaster saying that years down the road he wants people to look back at the 2011 draft as the time the Flames turned it around and after year one that clearly seems to be the case. Since Feaster has been here he has more than doubled the prospect pool in terms of potential talent.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Pff, who needs media recognition...

Us Flames fans know what we have in terms of prospects.

[Ozy_Flame]

God, I'm glad we're out of that "big Western Canadian kid" phase that Sutter brought. That set us back a few years.

[kehatch]

No mention of Brodie?

[Azure]

Originally Posted by kehatch

No mention of Brodie?

I was wondering the same thing.

He's pretty much a lock to make the team next year again if he plays the same way. Should be a top 4 guy too.

[Tacoman]

Also one of the few reports these days to not mention Johnny Gaudreau. We'll just keep him a secret for another year.

[TurnedTheCorner]

[kirant]

Originally Posted by Tacoman

Also one of the few reports these days to not mention Johnny Gaudreau. We'll just keep him a secret for another year.

Tiny winger John Gaudreau may be a concern because he's 5-foot-6, and there aren't that many NHL wingers that size, but a player capable of scoring a point-per-game as a freshman for the national champions is the kind of talent worth nurturing.

They found out.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Azure

I was wondering the same thing.

He's pretty much a lock to make the team next year again if he plays the same way. Should be a top 4 guy too.

He's an NHL player; he's not a prospect any more. But he's also not at the stage where he can be considered a core player. By the end of the year he will be.

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

Pff, who needs media recognition...

Us Flames fans know what we have in terms of prospects.

It doesn't hurt to have free agents hearing about a strong prospect base when they are considering signing with Calgary

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

God, I'm glad we're out of that "big Western Canadian kid" phase that Sutter brought. That set us back a few years.

Yeah.....i mean who needs guys like Max Reinhart, Tyler Wotherspoon, Laurent Brossoit, Ryan Howse, Lance Bouma, Michael Ferland, etc in their system....dumb Western Canadian kids!

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Yeah.....i mean who needs guys like Max Reinhart, Tyler Wotherspoon, Laurent Brossoit, Ryan Howse, Lance Bouma, Michael Ferland, etc in their system....dumb Western Canadian kids!

Don't know if that was his point transplant. Initially Sutter seemed obsessed with Western Canadian only players, but to his credit this shift in terms of talent happened prior to this leaving.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Don't know if that was his point transplant. Initially Sutter seemed obsessed with Western Canadian only players, but to his credit this shift in terms of talent happened prior to this leaving.

I think its a bit of a misconception though....yes his first draft or two, he did go heavy on WHL kids, but if we go back as to why, it was in an effort to create an identity for his club of sorts. Whether or not that identity was a good one or not is up for debate, but that was the reason at the time. He wanted players that wanted to play in Calgary as a source of pride.

After those first coupe draft classes though? Nothing to do with birthplace and everything to do with what he thought would be the right pieces going forward. Look at Irvings draft year...he was the ONLY WHL player chosen out of 7 or 8. And that kind of ratio continued til he left....it didnt matter where they were from, just as long as they could play.

Granted, he did not go the Czech/Russian route at all though....and understandably to a point.

[TurnedTheCorner]

I dunno about the misconception.

2003-2004: 19 players drafted, 14 Canadian (73%), 8 of 14 from WHL (57%)
2005-2010: 40 players drafted, 26 Canadian (65%), 17 of 26 from WHL (65%)

Or sliced differently:

25 of 59 drafted players from WHL (42%). 19 non-Canadian (32%), 15 from other CHL leagues (25%).

Canadians, especially Western Canadians, were favored pretty heavily during his entire tenure as GM.

[HPLovecraft]

Button repeated this basically verbatim on TSN the other night. Not sure if he was the one to write it, though.

[McG]

Flames draft and develop? That's unpossible!

on a serious note, i hope that troy ward got a healthy increase in salary because i sense that he is going to be one of the most critical pieces in the development of these young men into nhl studs.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I think its a bit of a misconception though....yes his first draft or two, he did go heavy on WHL kids, but if we go back as to why, it was in an effort to create an identity for his club of sorts. Whether or not that identity was a good one or not is up for debate, but that was the reason at the time. He wanted players that wanted to play in Calgary as a source of pride.

After those first coupe draft classes though? Nothing to do with birthplace and everything to do with what he thought would be the right pieces going forward. Look at Irvings draft year...he was the ONLY WHL player chosen out of 7 or 8. And that kind of ratio continued til he left....it didnt matter where they were from, just as long as they could play.

Granted, he did not go the Czech/Russian route at all though....and understandably to a point.

Agreed. The "obsession that set us back for decades" is overstated. 3 drafts (2004, 2005, 2006-Irving).... 2007 we drafted a Swede 1st round (Backlund), 2008 was Nemisz/Wahl (remember some had said Nemitz would go top 10 in another year... FTR I think Nemisz was a solid pick for his draft position, he'll be a player).... 2009 was a Swede in Tom Erixon... 2010 some dumb Western kids like Reinhart and Ferland...

We'll see where Irving comes out, but at the end of the day I bet we'll look back and see only 2 bad drafts - 2005, 2006. The sexy Calgarypuck pick with a cool Euro name, Lauri Korpikovski, didn't turn out anyways.

[Knalus]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I think its a bit of a misconception though....yes his first draft or two, he did go heavy on WHL kids, but if we go back as to why, it was in an effort to create an identity for his club of sorts. Whether or not that identity was a good one or not is up for debate, but that was the reason at the time. He wanted players that wanted to play in Calgary as a source of pride.

After those first coupe draft classes though? Nothing to do with birthplace and everything to do with what he thought would be the right pieces going forward. Look at Irvings draft year...he was the ONLY WHL player chosen out of 7 or 8. And that kind of ratio continued til he left....it didnt matter where they were from, just as long as they could play.

Granted, he did not go the Czech/Russian route at all though....and understandably to a point.

Another big reason why - he was a coach and a GM, which meant his travel schedule was pretty ####ty. He had opportunity to see WHL games, and not a whole lot else. Of course, in situations like that, you are going to pick what you are comfortable with.