Prospect Info: 2021 Draft Thread

[User1996]

Eklund should get some hype too

 

[Fig]

I don't really care who we pick.

As long as he plays C and his name is Matthew Beniers.

I dunno if I should be concerned about going from one highly drafted Benny to another...

He's a Matthew though... So could go either way.

 

[InfinityIggy]

Eklund should get some hype too

If we want a real 1C I think we are better going for Eklund, we will likely be outta range of both Cs though.

 

[Yepthatsme]

I dunno if I should be concerned about going from one highly drafted Benny to another...

He's a Matthew though... So could go either way.

If we get Beniers this board will lose it’s mind because he is pretty much Monahan with maybe a higher ceiling. He is only great at one maybe two things, but he is really good at everything. He is the exact opposite of flashy, all he does is just make the smart play over and over again until at the end of the game he has a point or two. The thing that will really drive everyone bananas though is his skating is alright at best.

I’m be happy with this pick if guys like Guenther, Johnsson, and Eklund are off the board but there will be people here who really hate him 3-4 seasons in.

 

[User1996]

If we want a real 1C I think we are better going for Eklund, we will likely be outta range of both Cs though.

I could see one of them being in play, especially with some lottery luck, and with our record against the Sens, who knows how close we end up to last.

If neither are there, then barring a big winning streak, we get a heck of a D/G prospect

 

[cheechoo]

Beniers would probably be the best skating Flames forward I'd ever seen if we drafted him



Edgework is just effortless, but also his acceleration with the puck on his stick is almost McDavid like. Although I haven't seen him play too much. Not sure how elite his feel for the game is, or his playmaking ability or shot. He could be Jonathan Toews, he could be Phillip Danault.

 

[Volica]

Beniers, Eklund are the two guys at the top of my list.
If you draft enough guys who could play centre (I know there's some thought that Eklund will only be a winger, but the same thing was said about Elias Pettersson) early in a draft, one will eventually pan out to something worth while.

And legit, look at the math here, centres drafted in the top 10 of an NHL draft from 2010-2017.

2010: Tyler Seguin, Ryan Johansen, Alex Burmistrov, Michael Granlund.
2011: Nugent-Hopkins, Ryan Strome, Mika Zibanejad, Sean Couturier
2012: No pure centre drafted.
2013: MacKinnon, Barkov, Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan, Bo Horvat
2014: Sam Reinhart, Leon Draisaitl, Sam Bennett, (HM Dylan Larkin was the next C drafted)
2015: McDavid, Eichel, Zacha, Barzal **Used top 15 here, because this draft was known to be insanely deep
2016: Matthews, PLD, Tyson Jost
2017: Nico Hischier, Nolan Patrick, Elias Pettersson, Cody Glass, Casey Mittlestadt, Michael Rasmussen

Those years:
29 centres drafted in the first ten picks.
6 of them are no-doubt-about-it mega-star players (MacKinnon, Barkov, Draisaitl, McDavid, Eichel, Matthews).
6 of them are easily top line centres in the league (Seguin, Couturier, Zibanejad, Barzal, PLD, Elias Pettersson)
8 of them are top 6 centres, some cusping top line centres (RNH, Ryan Strome, Lindy, Monahan, Reinhart (I know he's more of a RW), Nico Hischier, Ryan Johansen, Horvat.
1 is emerging as middle-six, top-six potential guys (Zacha)
4 are busts to various degrees (Burmistrov, Granlund (he had some big years), Bennett, Jost)
4 are still trying to find their footing (Glass, Rasmussen, Patrick, Mittlestadt)

In reality, you take a centre early in the draft, based on these stats:
There's a 69% (nice) of drafting a centre in the top 10 of the draft that give you an at-minimum top 6 centre.
Of that 70ish percent, there's a 60% chance that that centre also ends up being a number 1 guy.
You take those odds every day.

In my mind, Calgary's move here is to just be terrible. Just be as bad as they know they can be.
It opens up two things.

1) Gives you a lotto ball at nabbing your centre.
2) IF you get a top 2 spot at the draft, you essentially bought the most valuable trade chip in an Eichel trade.

 

[Volica]

Beniers would probably be the best skating Flames forward I'd ever seen if we drafted him



Edgework is just effortless, but also his acceleration with the puck on his stick is almost McDavid like. Although I haven't seen him play too much. Not sure how elite his feel for the game is, or his playmaking ability or shot. He could be Jonathan Toews, he could be Phillip Danault.

That skating is really nice.
I know there was some comparisons to Monahan earlier. Woof. Them's gone.

 

[User1996]

That skating is really nice.
I know there was some comparisons to Monahan earlier. Woof. Them's gone.

Anyone who watches Beniers actually carry a puck and compares him to Monahan...

You can finish the sentence how you see fit.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Anyone who watches Beniers actually carry a puck and compares him to Monahan...

You can finish the sentence how you see fit.

Agreed, they are completely different. It’s like comparing Monahan to Kesler. “They are not elite high end offensive superstars therefor they are the same”

 

[Volica]

Agreed, they are completely different. It’s like comparing Monahan to Kesler. “They are not elite high end offensive superstars therefor they are the same”

From like 2010, after that first cup to... even today? Every time a big Canadian centre that was not going to be elite offensively came through the draft, his comparable was always Jonathan Toews.

Like, so much so it was actually a joke among my friend group for a long time, we use to drink craft beer and be like "it's pretty good man, not overpowering, pretty smooth drink, good summer beer, shades of Jonahan Toews."

Watching the speed, the defensive hustle and the ability to carry the puck with confidence... I don't see any Sean Monahan there lol.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

C or dman for me, we need both.

 

[RasmusAndersson]

If we get Beniers this board will lose it’s mind because he is pretty much Monahan with maybe a higher ceiling. He is only great at one maybe two things, but he is really good at everything. He is the exact opposite of flashy, all he does is just make the smart play over and over again until at the end of the game he has a point or two. The thing that will really drive everyone bananas though is his skating is alright at best.

I’m be happy with this pick if guys like Guenther, Johnsson, and Eklund are off the board but there will be people here who really hate him 3-4 seasons in.

...have you ever watched Beniers play? Even a period maybe? Skating and non-stop motor are definitely some of his top skills and probably Monahan's biggest weaknesses lol. It would honestly be tough to find two more different C's

 

[RasmusAndersson]

Beniers, Eklund are the two guys at the top of my list.
If you draft enough guys who could play centre (I know there's some thought that Eklund will only be a winger, but the same thing was said about Elias Pettersson) early in a draft, one will eventually pan out to something worth while.

And legit, look at the math here, centres drafted in the top 10 of an NHL draft from 2010-2017.

2010: Tyler Seguin, Ryan Johansen, Alex Burmistrov, Michael Granlund.
2011: Nugent-Hopkins, Ryan Strome, Mika Zibanejad, Sean Couturier
2012: No pure centre drafted.
2013: MacKinnon, Barkov, Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan, Bo Horvat
2014: Sam Reinhart, Leon Draisaitl, Sam Bennett, (HM Dylan Larkin was the next C drafted)
2015: McDavid, Eichel, Zacha, Barzal **Used top 15 here, because this draft was known to be insanely deep
2016: Matthews, PLD, Tyson Jost
2017: Nico Hischier, Nolan Patrick, Elias Pettersson, Cody Glass, Casey Mittlestadt, Michael Rasmussen

Those years:
29 centres drafted in the first ten picks.
6 of them are no-doubt-about-it mega-star players (MacKinnon, Barkov, Draisaitl, McDavid, Eichel, Matthews).
6 of them are easily top line centres in the league (Seguin, Couturier, Zibanejad, Barzal, PLD, Elias Pettersson)
8 of them are top 6 centres, some cusping top line centres (RNH, Ryan Strome, Lindy, Monahan, Reinhart (I know he's more of a RW), Nico Hischier, Ryan Johansen, Horvat.
1 is emerging as middle-six, top-six potential guys (Zacha)
4 are busts to various degrees (Burmistrov, Granlund (he had some big years), Bennett, Jost)
4 are still trying to find their footing (Glass, Rasmussen, Patrick, Mittlestadt)

In reality, you take a centre early in the draft, based on these stats:
There's a 69% (nice) of drafting a centre in the top 10 of the draft that give you an at-minimum top 6 centre.
Of that 70ish percent, there's a 60% chance that that centre also ends up being a number 1 guy.
You take those odds every day.

In my mind, Calgary's move here is to just be terrible. Just be as bad as they know they can be.
It opens up two things.

1) Gives you a lotto ball at nabbing your centre.
2) IF you get a top 2 spot at the draft, you essentially bought the most valuable trade chip in an Eichel trade.

Like ya, but then why stop there and not sell off older/ expendable pieces and really try to build for the future instead of waiting 3-4 years for this C to be top-6 at which point Backlund and Tanev will be near retirement and Gaudreau Lindholm and Monahan are on the wrong side of 30. Gives us a better shot at a better pick this year and next year, way more cap flexibility, and additional assets. such a clear opportunity to actually re-tool and be good down the road instead of mediocre always

 

[Volica]

Like ya, but then why stop there and not sell off older/ expendable pieces and really try to build for the future instead of waiting 3-4 years for this C to be top-6 at which point Backlund and Tanev will be near retirement and Gaudreau Lindholm and Monahan are on the wrong side of 30. Gives us a better shot at a better pick this year and next year, way more cap flexibility, and additional assets. such a clear opportunity to actually re-tool and be good down the road instead of mediocre always

This isn’t NHL 2021.

 

[RasmusAndersson]

This isn’t NHL 2021.

Gotcha, thanks for clearing that up. If you would like I could definitely send you a quick link to previous Trade Deadline transaction lists so that you can see for yourself that bad teams selling off pieces actually does exist! New Jersey with Palmieri? eh they suck may as well keep him this isn't NHL 2021. Anaheim with Manson this year? we shall see.

 

[Yepthatsme]

...have you ever watched Beniers play? Even a period maybe? Skating and non-stop motor are definitely some of his top skills and probably Monahan's biggest weaknesses lol. It would honestly be tough to find two more different C's

Admittedly I went off from memory from the world juniors and what appears now to be a bad scouting report. His skating was definitely not at all what I thought it was like, which right there is already enough to shatter my Monahan comparison before other things are even considered.

Not to sound too bullish though after that mistake, but I’d still think I’d prefer Guenther or Eklund for their higher offensive ceiling though. Based on our play we should be picking #4 or #5 and could have our options.

 

[Body Checker]

Ok maybe supposed to be a weaker draft but as long as we stay in the top 8 I think we get either a top 4D (Power, Edvinsson, Clarke, Hughes) or a top 6 FW (Beniers, Eklund, Raty, Guenther)....................I am not as sure about Kent Johnson but could throw him in with the forwards maybe

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Ok maybe supposed to be a weaker draft but as long as we stay in the top 8 I think we get either a top 4D (Power, Edvinsson, Clarke, Hughes) or a top 6 FW (Beniers, Eklund, Raty, Guenther)....................I am not as sure about Kent Johnson but could throw him in with the forwards maybe

Johnson >>> Raty IMO. He’s really talented. I live out in the Kootenays in the summer and there was talk about him being a top 5 pick. He’s really talented.his numbers in his draft -1 season were comparable to Alex Newhook in his draft year who went 15 overall.

 

[Volica]

If we want a real 1C I think we are better going for Eklund, we will likely be outta range of both Cs though.

Flames heard this through the ethos, and said "Challenge accepted."

I'm really interested in seeing Bobby Mac's list, last update was before the season started. I'd love to know where the scouts have these guys.

 

[InfinityIggy]

Flames heard this through the ethos, and said "Challenge accepted."

I'm really interested in seeing Bobby Mac's list, last update was before the season started. I'd love to know where the scouts have these guys.

Yeah, there is so scarce information out there for this draft. I am certain we are going to see a lot of 'dramatic' picks this year. Since posting that comment I've read more and more how Eklund projects as a LW and is spending time at that position now.

This draft really seems like a crapshoot. A reasonable number of guys who would be top 5 picks most years. Good luck to scouts determining which guys are fools gold though.

 

[Mobiandi]

I'm almost certain we're gonna trade down if we don't get a top 6 pick

 

[InfinityIggy]

I'm almost certain we're gonna trade down if we don't get a top 6 pick

Honestly, one of the very few years that might be a wise choice. I feel like the shotgun approach is rarely appropriate, but given how weirdly this draft will be scouted having more bullets might be the better approach.

 

[Volica]

Yeah, there is so scarce information out there for this draft. I am certain we are going to see a lot of 'dramatic' picks this year. Since posting that comment I've read more and more how Eklund projects as a LW and is spending time at that position now.

This draft really seems like a crapshoot. A reasonable number of guys who would be top 5 picks most years. Good luck to scouts determining which guys are fools gold though.

I have no idea how this will pan out to be honest with you.
If there's a consensus 1. Tank for him. That's it lol.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Honestly, one of the very few years that might be a wise choice. I feel like the shotgun approach is rarely appropriate, but given how weirdly this draft will be scouted having more bullets might be the better approach.

nope for me there is a clear 8 high end players. 9 with the goalie. It would be a terrible idea to trade down other than if we are stuck with the goalie at 9.