Throw every single pick at high upside guys. I can’t watch a team without elite talent much longer
Who cares if they bust. This team badly needs some game breakers. Bet on skill.Yep Fabian Lysell types; maybe a shooter like Lucius, Olausson has some upside
I'm kind of at a loss for what we should be targeting in this draft. I mean we clearly need elite skill but we also need players who can skate.
It feels like something consistently associated with high (1st and 2nd round) Flames picks is okay to poor skating and they don't seem to draft many guys who can legitimately fly. That's my worry if Kent Johnson were to fall to us. I think he's a really good player with a lot of skill and creativity but he's an average to below average skater and I have no faith in the Flames ability to develop his skating.I would go skating over pure skill at this point. Very hard to think and skill your way through NHL team defense. Skating is the most repeatable and reliable skill, and elite skating means you're more often in good positions offensively and defensively.
Overall the drafting has been OK the last 8 years but if I were to point to one notable failing it would be the lack of great skaters we have on the NHL team.
Except when they do draft those players, they dont play them, exhibit A: Kylington. I fully agree this team needs to skate better and needs game breaking talent. But they dont have a coach that will allow players to go through their growing pains and havent had that in years.It feels like something consistently associated with high (1st and 2nd round) Flames picks is okay to poor skating and they don't seem to draft many guys who can legitimately fly. That's my worry if Kent Johnson were to fall to us. I think he's a really good player with a lot of skill and creativity but he's an average to below average skater and I have no faith in the Flames ability to develop his skating.
I think it's important to not overemphasis speed and draft guys solely for it but not only is like 1/2 of our forward group slow but almost our entire defense are poor skaters (in either straight line speed or agility). Getting a Hagelin or Lombardi in the 3rd+ round of the draft would probably help balance our lineup a lot.
bpaI'm kind of at a loss for what we should be targeting in this draft. I mean we clearly need elite skill but we also need players who can skate. Kent Johnson is arguably the most talented forward in the draft but has skating issues and may not play center in the NHL (he played on Beniers wing all year). Can we afford to get any slower? Beniers has the skating but does he have the offensive talent to be a 1C? Eklund is said to play C and LW but spent the entire year at LW and may be undersized as an NHL center. Guenther is a pure RW; there is not any big question marks there as far as I can tell.
All of the consensus four D are plus skaters. Power has high potential both offensively and defensively (Good hands, offensive instincts and he's huge) but I've seen quite a few scouts question whether or not it will translate and as of right now the defensive side of his game needs improvement. Edvinsson is great defensively, a good skater and appears to have high end offensive tools but he also has a tendency to make some incredibly dumb plays and his production hasn't matched the "tools" yet. Clarke is an elite skater and great offensively but struggles defensively. Hughes is similar to Clarke but probably more raw and a LHS but is also one of the youngest players in the draft.
And for all we know we'll be picking 11-13.
The other issue with Kent Johnson is the question of whether he's a product of Beniers.
We've seen this numerous times with high draft picks by the organization. Greg Nemisz (Taylor Hall) Kris Chuko (Travis Zajac) and Chuck Kobasew (Brian Gionta) are a few that come to mind.
I would go skating over pure skill at this point. Very hard to think and skill your way through NHL team defense. Skating is the most repeatable and reliable skill, and elite skating means you're more often in good positions offensively and defensively.
Overall the drafting has been OK the last 8 years but if I were to point to one notable failing it would be the lack of great skaters we have on the NHL team.
It feels like something consistently associated with high (1st and 2nd round) Flames picks is okay to poor skating and they don't seem to draft many guys who can legitimately fly. That's my worry if Kent Johnson were to fall to us. I think he's a really good player with a lot of skill and creativity but he's an average to below average skater and I have no faith in the Flames ability to develop his skating.
I think it's important to not overemphasis speed and draft guys solely for it but not only is like 1/2 of our forward group slow but almost our entire defense are poor skaters (in either straight line speed or agility). Getting a Hagelin or Lombardi in the 3rd+ round of the draft would probably help balance our lineup a lot.
It feels like something consistently associated with high (1st and 2nd round) Flames picks is okay to poor skating and they don't seem to draft many guys who can legitimately fly. That's my worry if Kent Johnson were to fall to us. I think he's a really good player with a lot of skill and creativity but he's an average to below average skater and I have no faith in the Flames ability to develop his skating.
I think it's important to not overemphasis speed and draft guys solely for it but not only is like 1/2 of our forward group slow but almost our entire defense are poor skaters (in either straight line speed or agility). Getting a Hagelin or Lombardi in the 3rd+ round of the draft would probably help balance our lineup a lot.
It's remarkable how a guy like Bo Horvat could be drafted by the Canucks as a "poor" skater, and then the Canucks put him on a plan to become a better skater, and by last year he was this guy:
Meanwhile Monahan, Tkachuk, Andersson skate just like they did in Junior
It's remarkable how a guy like Bo Horvat could be drafted by the Canucks as a "poor" skater, and then the Canucks put him on a plan to become a better skater, and by last year he was this guy:
Meanwhile Monahan, Tkachuk, Andersson skate just like they did in Junior
I watched a video of a scout that liked Edvinsson quite a bit and thought of him as Broberg with a much higher floor. I'm guessing Jack's review may differ from his a little.
I'm assuming you mean Guenther, not Gauthier?Okay, say we win the #2 lotto spot and Owen Power goes #1 as expected.
Who would you take - Beniers or Gauthier?
I think it's a coin flip but I think I would take Beniers as a two way center who plays with pace. I love the thought of Beniers and Zary as our 1-2 in five years. However a Pelletier-Zary-Gauthier line is also very tempting.
I'm assuming you mean Guenther, not Gauthier?
In which case, for the Flames, I pick Guenther. This team needs a premier goal scorer and he projects to be exactly that.