Calgary Flames 2014 Draft Thread Part 1

[MC Ride]

Considering how much draft talk is going into the GDT's and various prospect threads right now, why not start an actual thread.

I'd say there's two possible scenario's right now. Either we finish at the bottom and draft top 5 OR we're mediocre and finish with a 6-12 pick.

IF we finish top 3, I'd like to invest in a forward. Ekblad is definitely skilled but top prospect defensemen are more risky than forwards (see Barker, Both Johnsons, Larsson, ect.).

IMO, we should go with

1) Reinhart
2) Dal Colle
3) Nylander
4) Draisaitl

However, if we finish in the middle of the pack and draft outside the top 5, there aren't any elite, top line forwards and so I'd rather invest in a defenseman that could potentially pan out as a number 2 guy.

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[TheHudlinator]

For me my rankings are:
Sam Reinhart
Aaron Ekblad
Leon Draisaitl
William Nylander
Nick Ritchie

 

[Taranis]

Above all else I would like to see a number one defenseman drafted. Aaron Ekblad is my number one choice.

 

[Baikenator]

we need that elite defenseman. in my opinion a true number one center and a solid two way defenseman are key factors to hoisting the stanley cup. With that being said ekblad was allowed into the OHL a year early as was mcdavid. i believe the flames should go after ekblad, as we have enough forward prospects with gaudreau,the jank,poirier and klimchuk. What do you guys think

 

[HighLifeMan]

If given the choice? Aaron Ekblad.
He fills almost every need we have, and is arguably the best player available.

 

[TheHudlinator]

If given the choice? Aaron Ekblad.
He fills almost every need we have, and is arguably the best player available.

He does fill almost all needs but I think Reinhart is the most skilled player in this draft and will be the best player to come out of it.

 

[1989]

Above all else I would like to see a number one defenseman drafted. Aaron Ekblad is my number one choice.

Ding.

People always argue with "well, you should always take the BPA" and "even if you have a glut of talent at one position, you can trade them to cover other holes in your organization."

And then I point to Edmonton and say, "Why don't you ask them how that's going?"

Edmonton may have waited too late to draft / cover their lack of defensive talent (Nurse / Klefbom notwithstanding thus far.) While Calgary is not on the same route (Calgary has much deeper goaltender prospects and some promising bottom-4 D-men and focused much more on character forwards with hockey IQ) legitimate top-2 blueliners tend not to be obtained easily.
Part of it is player evaluation, and the other part a simple ratio of player availability in a cap-hit league: there's only around 60 legitimate top-pairing defenders in the league compared to ~180 top-six forwards (more likely more but playing in bottom-six spots.)

That's the difference between having success in strengthening an organization through drafting like the Kings (Kopitar, Brown, Doughty), Blackhawks (Kane, Toews, Keith), Penguins (Crosby, Malkin, Letang) a little bit. A balanced style towards two-way play and offensive production, plus a true young top pairing defender.

As much as I'd like to see Reinhart on a team with his brother, this team NEEDS to draft a defenseman soon.

 

[MC Ride]

Honestly, if we somehow manage to land McDavid and Ekblad, we'd be a great team in a few years. That said, I'm sure the Oilers said the same thing with RNH and Hall.

 

[1989]

Honestly, if we somehow manage to land McDavid and Ekblad, we'd be a great team in a few years. That said, I'm sure the Oilers said the same thing with RNH and Hall.

Ekblad is projected to be a top-2 defender with size (6'4'')
McDavid's putting up Crosby numbers in the OHL and is 6'0" at the age of sixteen.

I don't think they're comparable players. Actually, I'd easily say the Oilers have nothing like these two players in their system.

 

[Calculon]

Ding.

People always argue with "well, you should always take the BPA" and "even if you have a glut of talent at one position, you can trade them to cover other holes in your organization."

And then I point to Edmonton and say, "Why don't you ask them how that's going?"

Problem is, the Oilers haven't even tried to trade one of their surplus assets for help elsewhere. All they've done is dangle the likes of Hemsky, Omark and Jones.

If the Flames take Ekblad because they're currently weak defensively while Reinhart is considered the best player available, they'll be making a phenomenally stupid mistake.

The only way they should take Ekblad is if he's clearly the BPA at that spot, or the difference between him and another player is small enough that position becomes a factor.

 

[1989]

Problem is, the Oilers haven't even tried to trade one of their surplus assets for help elsewhere. All they've done is dangle the likes of Hemsky, Omark and Jones.

If the Flames take Ekblad because they're currently weak defensively while Reinhart is considered the best player available, they'll be making a phenomenally stupid mistake.

The only way they should take Ekblad is if he's clearly the BPA at that spot, or the difference between him and another player is small enough that position becomes a factor.

You know what the problem with building a team through trading off "surplus" talent is?

You have to find a partner, cowboy. This isn't EA Sports' Be a GM.

What you want isn't necessarily what another team needs or has the ability to give up, and how often do you see different managers value players eye-to-eye?

In addition to that, what is the point of debating which player between Ekblad and Reinhart is definitely better when they play at two different positions and two different styles? Ekblad is no more likely to become Lidstrom as Reinhart is to become the next Malkin but I'd say both players will be pretty damn good at their respective jobs. Why shouldn't the Flames save themselves the trouble and draft a highly-touted player of whose position they happen to need anyways?

 

[Zirakzigil]

If given the choice? Aaron Ekblad.
He fills almost every need we have, and is arguably the best player available.

Reinhart has been unstoppable so far. Its his to lose right now, Ive been impressed how much hes upped his game this year. If the Flames are drafting in a similar spot as last year, which I think they will be, Virtanen might be a nice option as well.

 

[MarkGio]

Ekblad is our guy. He won't go number one and I highly doubt we draft the first overall. If we do somehow draft the first overall pick, we then take Reinhart. We have his brother here so those two could make an interesting team.

 

[herashak]

If we win the lottery we should hold reinhart ransom against the sabres. We could pull one of their young d men and still draft ekblad

 

[MarkGio]

I also think its worth trading away a few forwards this year and again stack ourselves for the draft. We could take a forward and two defensemen in the top 60 and hopefully build ourselves a winning franchise in a few years time.

 

[TheHudlinator]

Reinhart has been unstoppable so far. Its his to lose right now, Ive been impressed how much hes upped his game this year. If the Flames are drafting in a similar spot as last year, which I think they will be, Virtanen might be a nice option as well.

Yea right now no one is a head of Reinhart he has been amazing.

 

[HighLifeMan]

Reinhart has been unstoppable so far. Its his to lose right now, Ive been impressed how much hes upped his game this year. If the Flames are drafting in a similar spot as last year, which I think they will be, Virtanen might be a nice option as well.

It's still so early.
Trust me..I would be over the moon if we landed Reinhart. I haven't seen him play at all this year however, but when I saw him previously I simply did not see an elite offensive skill set. It's hard to look past those numbers though, and there is no doubt that he has taken his game to another level this year from all accounts. I could easily be convinced that he is the player to take, and that may just happen.

He is a right handed shot, which really is something we seriously lack within the organization. If we had the fortune of landing Reinhart I would seriously look into the option of trading a Baertschi/Gaudreau level prospect for a young defensemen.

 

[1989]

Ekblad is our guy. He won't go number one and I highly doubt we draft the first overall. If we do somehow draft the first overall pick, we then take Reinhart. We have his brother here so those two could make an interesting team.

How so? By all means, it's very unlikely they'd be playing on the same line.
In addition to that, I doubt Max could really give Sam much NHL pro advice seeing as how Max is currently developing, he might only be breaking into the NHL for a full season the same year Sam would.

If we win the lottery we should hold reinhart ransom against the sabres. We could pull one of their young d men and still draft ekblad

In a scenario where the Flames have the first overall, they could possibly ask for a player like Myers or Ristolainen and receive Buffalo's or other x team's young defensive blue-chip player and high pick (ideally, somewhere in the top 3.)

 

[Baikenator]

Without a doubt reinhart and ekblad are both phenomenal players. i would be more than happy if the flames could get either of them. The flames have needed a top center since iggy was in cowtown, i am hoping monahan is the guy and quite honestly he is looking more and more like one every game he plays. As i said in my post before i think we have enough forwards in our system. we have granlund, klimchuk and jankowski for centers. And as for defenseman outside of sieloff who we all know is known for his defensive game and wotherspoon who has a tad bit more of offensive upside, the defensive cupboard looks empty. But if reinhart is the best player available then go for it, i mean another way of looking at it is if we draft reinhart and we still need a defenseman we could always trade away some of our other young centers for a defenseman. What is your guys take on backlund, are you impressed with his play.

 

[1989]

Without a doubt reinhart and ekblad are both phenomenal players. i would be more than happy if the flames could get either of them. The flames have needed a top center since iggy was in cowtown, i am hoping monahan is the guy and quite honestly he is looking more and more like one every game he plays. As i said in my post before i think we have enough forwards in our system. we have granlund, klimchuk and jankowski for centers. And as for defenseman outside of sieloff who we all know is known for his defensive game and wotherspoon who has a tad bit more of offensive upside, the defensive cupboard looks empty. But if reinhart is the best player available then go for it, i mean another way of looking at it is if we draft reinhart and we still need a defenseman we could always trade away some of our other young centers for a defenseman. What is your guys take on backlund, are you impressed with his play.

Pretty sure you have these two players' attributes confused with the other.

The defensive cupboard is not empty, but it's not stacked with players with guaranteed top-pairing potential - drafting players like Eric Roy and Keegan Kanzig point to more of the "high-risk, high-reward" style of player. They'd probably pan out to be bottom 3 blueliners, but could see some potential as #3 defenders.

And as I've already mentioned, trading away from an area of strength is easier said than done. Better to acquire the assets you need yourself without having to find a dance partner.

 

[GetThePuckOut]

If we pick around 5-7 as I'm expecting, two guys I'd be thrilled if we picked are Draisaitl or Virtanen.

I know we have many wingers, especially LW, but Virtanen has elite upside and plays the style that Calgary desperately needs to get back to.

 

[herashak]

If we got virtanen maybe we do a baertschi-josi trade

 

[Baikenator]

Pretty sure you have these two players' attributes confused with the other.

The defensive cupboard is not empty, but it's not stacked with players with guaranteed top-pairing potential - drafting players like Eric Roy and Keegan Kanzig point to more of the "high-risk, high-reward" style of player. They'd probably pan out to be bottom 3 blueliners, but could see some potential as #3 defenders.

And as I've already mentioned, trading away from an area of strength is easier said than done. Better to acquire the assets you need yourself without having to find a dance partner.

How do i have their attributes confused with eachother, sieloff has 17 career points in 2 seasons with the us dev team and 1 season with windsor. wotherspoon has 82 points in 4 seasons with portland. so i guess its fair to say that i under rated wotherspoons offensive skill. But sieloff is a defensive defenseman, he has it posted on his twitter lol.

 

[Calculon]

You know what the problem with building a team through trading off "surplus" talent is?

You have to find a partner, cowboy. This isn't EA Sports' Be a GM.

What you want isn't necessarily what another team needs or has the ability to give up, and how often do you see different managers value players eye-to-eye?

In addition to that, what is the point of debating which player between Ekblad and Reinhart is definitely better when they play at two different positions and two different styles? Ekblad is no more likely to become Lidstrom as Reinhart is to become the next Malkin but I'd say both players will be pretty damn good at their respective jobs. Why shouldn't the Flames save themselves the trouble and draft a highly-touted player of whose position they happen to need anyways?

1. Defensemen take longer to develop than forwards. See Hedman, Larsson, Hamilton, Myers, J.Johnson, Bogosion, E.Johnson, etc.

2. Trade partners can be found; trades still happen. Stewart for Johnson, Seguin for Eriksson, etc. So long as the Flames have a competent GM, this isn't an issue.

3. You're assuming they have equal ceilings. What if by draft day, the consensus is that Reinhart projects to be a franchise centre, while Ekblad top end potential appears to be that of a solid top pairing defensemen, but not a franchise one. Would you still take Ekblad over Reinhart in that case?

 

[Baikenator]

1. Defensemen take longer to develop than forwards. See Hedman, Larsson, Hamilton, Myers, J.Johnson, Bogosion, E.Johnson, etc.

2. Trade partners can be found; trades still happen. Stewart for Johnson, Seguin for Eriksson, etc. So long as the Flames have a competent GM, this isn't an issue.

3. You're assuming they have equal ceilings. What if by draft day, the consensus is that Reinhart projects to be a franchise centre, while Ekblad top end potential appears to be that of a solid top pairing defensemen, but not a franchise one. Would you still take Ekblad over Reinhart in that case?

I personally would take the best player available. and in that case its safe to say it would be reinhart.