2020 NHL Entry Draft

[Harry Lime]

I don't think that it was too far out of bounds to think that when the Talbot contract was signed, the hope was that Gilles or Zags played their way into a backup role for next season.

If something like Markstrom comes to pass, or a trade that involves a swapping of goalies, I can still see Zagidulin as the backup next season. It would have to be a good starter in net, though.

[David Struch]

I'd like to see Artyom Zagidulin get 20 games in Calgary too, he's a year older than David Rittich was at the time when he played 21 NHL games in his second pro season in North America.

[prizefighterinferno]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

It would be bad to me. Schneider is a low-ceiling player.

If he were a few days older, he would have been in last year's draft. He produced a lot of his points on the PP and from secondary assists.

His utility in Jr. comes from how physically mature he is - he's a man playing in a boys league.

I want no part of Schneider. Drafting a stay at home defenceman in the first round is barf city in my eyes. I would much sooner see them trade that pick than pick Schneider.

Completely agree, Schneider would be an awful pick at 19.

[Crown Royal]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

The idea of drafting by position drives me nuts. Trying to predict what an organizational need is 2 or more years in advance is difficult to the point that it is rarely accurate.

Having said that, if your scouts have some guys on par with each other, I can see going for position. At 19th, there could be a few players that they have ranked the same, therefore drafting by position could come into play.

Jankowski is the perfect example of this, we targeted him because he was a C, but then in 2013 and 2014 we ended up taking both Monahan and Bennett in the top 10 in their drafts and Backlund came into his own, as he never hit 0.5ppg until the season after Jankowski was drafted.

[Crown Royal]

Originally Posted by dammage79

He is living up to his hype so far in the KHL this season. He's making everyone look silly. Its insanity.

Its too early still to cash out on Parsons. Goalies require patience, except for McDonald, he fell flat on his face the year after his draft as well.

I'm still not giving up on Gillies being an NHLer either. I see him and immediately think of Jack Campbell who many had written off as well.

Theres just no room for Gillies in CGY now. He had to take steps to get the #2 seat in the NHL and he won't get it here because he just hasn't recovered from the delay his hip surgery caused.

The bold is simply not true. If you just glance at his stats with zero context, yeah they don't look good, but in the QMJHL that year McDonald was 3rd in SV% (min. 20gp) and just .06 away from 1st in the league. His GAA was ranked 6th (min. 20gp). He was also 6th in wins, despite playing for an Islanders team that wasn't all that good.

Call me crazy but I wouldn't call that falling flat on his face. He didn't work out, but at least be fair in your criticisms of him.

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by Crown Royal

The bold is simply not true. If you just glance at his stats with zero context, yeah they don't look good, but in the QMJHL that year McDonald was 3rd in SV% (min. 20gp) and just .06 away from 1st in the league. His GAA was ranked 6th (min. 20gp). He was also 6th in wins, despite playing for an Islanders team that wasn't all that good.

Call me crazy but I wouldn't call that falling flat on his face. He didn't work out, but at least be fair in your criticisms of him.

I think the reason people think McDonald fell flat on his face is that Demko immediately went on to produce good numbers for Boston College.
The two have been compared since they were drafted.

[Rick M.]

I saw McDonald a lot in his draft year and he was terrific on a Charlottetown team that was often trapped in its own zone for lengthy periods. McDonald was often the only defence. He hasn’t worked out but at the time he was a good pick.

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

I saw McDonald a lot in his draft year and he was terrific on a Charlottetown team that was often trapped in its own zone for lengthy periods. McDonald was often the only defence. He hasn’t worked out but at the time he was a good pick.

Lol everyone and their dog knew Demko would be the better pick. I remember the draft well, and nearly everyone on this board was confused with the pick of a relatively unknown goalie prospect on a very poor QMJHL team over the goalie who was leading the USNTDP at the time, and had a very good showing at the Hlinka.

No need to go back and revise; the pick was nonsense when it was made and just looks worse with time.

[Crown Royal]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Lol everyone and their dog knew Demko would be the better pick. I remember the draft well, and nearly everyone on this board was confused with the pick of a relatively unknown goalie prospect on a very poor QMJHL team over the goalie who was leading the USNTDP at the time, and had a very good showing at the Hlinka.

No need to go back and revise; the pick was nonsense when it was made and just looks worse with time.

Demko was definitely the more known of the two, but they were neck and neck going into the draft with McDonald seen as more raw. I wanted Demko because he was less of a risk, but people also can't forget heading into the draft he's also just had surgery on his hips, the same surgery that Gillies had that derailed him.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Lol everyone and their dog knew Demko would be the better pick. I remember the draft well, and nearly everyone on this board was confused with the pick of a relatively unknown goalie prospect on a very poor QMJHL team over the goalie who was leading the USNTDP at the time, and had a very good showing at the Hlinka.

No need to go back and revise; the pick was nonsense when it was made and just looks worse with time.

I’m not revising, I’m telling you how I felt at the time. How many times did you see McDonald in his draft year? By the way, the Flames Q scout at that time was Charlottetown-based Ex-Flame Bob MacMillan.

[Jiri Hrdina]

This is a pretty good overview of him when he was drafted:

https://thehockeywriters.com/mason-m...spect-profile/

He wasn't unknown at the time in the least. On most lists he was the #2 goalie, and on some the #1.

Doesn't mean it was the right pick. But calling it a nonsense pick is also hyperbole.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

This is a pretty good overview of him when he was drafted:

https://thehockeywriters.com/mason-m...spect-profile/

He wasn't unknown at the time in the least. On mosts lists he was the #2 goalie, and on some the #1.

Doesn't mean it was the right pick. But calling it a nonsense pick is also hyperbole.

Right you are, Jiri. Obviously, I wish we had selected Demko, looking back.

[Strange Brew]

Hunter Smith is what I would call a nonsense pick, although even then he had his supporters.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Lol everyone and their dog knew Demko would be the better pick. I remember the draft well, and nearly everyone on this board was confused with the pick of a relatively unknown goalie prospect on a very poor QMJHL team over the goalie who was leading the USNTDP at the time, and had a very good showing at the Hlinka.

No need to go back and revise; the pick was nonsense when it was made and just looks worse with time.

Demko played his draft season at Boston College, where he was a teammate of Johnny Gaudreau.

He didn't have a strong showing at the Hlinka. He played 4 games, had a 2-2 record with a 3.55 GAA and .880 SV%.


The question mark on Demko was whether or not he was a big-game performer. He had silver medals from the U17, U18, and Hlinka tournaments. Boston College had been dominant all season on the backs of the performance of the Gaudreau line, but they failed to even advance beyond the Hockey East Quarterfinals and lost in the Frozen Four semifinals.



I have long believed that the Flames may have seen too much of Demko that year as they were keeping track of Johnny. Because Gaudreau's line was so dominant, Demko often didn't see a lot of action, which can often lead to a weak-looking goal when a goalie finally does face a shot.

He didn't look good in the Hockey East playoffs or the Frozen Four and I think that may have lowered him in the Flames' eyes in a way that other teams may not have been looking at.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Hunter Smith is what I would call a nonsense pick, although even then he had his supporters.

Agreed. At the time there was a growing dynamic where teams were interested in overagers. I recall reading an analytical overview that showed that in rounds 2 and beyond the hit rate on overagers was higher than first year eligible players. I can't find it now though, but I wonder if the Flames were buying into that. Or was it the classic BIG=GOOD approach.
Either way he was a guy that had a jump in junior production largely because he was way more physically mature than others. That type of thing should always be a red flag.

[Roof-Daddy]

So, again I'm going to voice my desire for two particular players that I'm hoping the Flames can snag in round 2.

RHD - Alex Cotton

Had 11 points in 54 games in his draft year, then this last season in his draft +1 year he blew up for a league leading 20 goals and 67 points in 63 games. This kid has tons of a talent and is figuring things out exponentially. He's extremely mobile and he isn't small either at 6'2, he just needs to fill out some more and get stronger. Added bonus, he fits an organizational need as a right shooting Dman.

RHC - Tristan Robins

Strong two way game, lots of speed and skill. Gotta love it when an 18 year old leads his team in scoring too, by almost 10 points. He wasn't being carried by being on a line with 19 or 20 year olds, or a higher pedigree draft eligible 18 year old. A good sign in my books. Also, like Cotton he also just so happens to fill an organizational need as a right shooting center.

Man I wish the Flames had multiple 2nd round picks like Ottawa and Montreal.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Agreed. At the time there was a growing dynamic where teams were interested in overagers. I recall reading an analytical overview that showed that in rounds 2 and beyond the hit rate on overagers was higher than first year eligible players. I can't find it now though, but I wonder if the Flames were buying into that. Or was it the classic BIG=GOOD approach.
Either way he was a guy that had a jump in junior production largely because he was way more physically mature than others. That type of thing should always be a red flag.

You forgot truculence!

[Icon]

Anyone have a good mock draft site they use, that has any updated draft rankings on it, etc?

I've found a couple but the rankings they're using are quite old (or maybe they just haven't been updated).

Mostly I'm bored.

[Icon]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

So, again I'm going to voice my desire for two particular players that I'm hoping the Flames can snag in round 2.

RHD - Alex Cotton

Had 11 points in 54 games in his draft year, then this last season in his draft +1 year he blew up for a league leading 20 goals and 67 points in 63 games. This kid has tons of a talent and is figuring things out exponentially. He's extremely mobile and he isn't small either at 6'2, he just needs to fill out some more and get stronger. Added bonus, he fits an organizational need as a right shooting Dman.

RHC - Tristan Robins

Strong two way game, lots of speed and skill. Gotta love it when an 18 year old leads his team in scoring too, by almost 10 points. He wasn't being carried by being on a line with 19 or 20 year olds, or a higher pedigree draft eligible 18 year old. A good sign in my books. Also, like Cotton he also just so happens to fill an organizational need as a right shooting center.

Man I wish the Flames had multiple 2nd round picks like Ottawa and Montreal.

I've been hoping our scouts have their eyes on Robins.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Icon

Anyone have a good mock draft site they use, that has any updated draft rankings on it, etc?

I've found a couple but the rankings they're using are quite old (or maybe they just haven't been updated).

Mostly I'm bored.

Draftsite, mynhldraft, they both update every two weeks to a month. One of those two does a 7 round mock. Tankathon is okay, dobbers is pretty good too.

The NHL cities mock drafts should be out next week for their respective teams.

Tori Petersons been publishing post round 1 player profile lists this past week on Flames.com

FC hockey has a fantastic mock draft tool you can use. Its fun. Although their tool uses their rankings in the sim, and their lists is a bit different from most others. That not a criticism.