Player Discussion Micheal Ferland

[Lunatik]

I stand behind everything I have said in this thread. He needs more than 6 games to make me change my mind completely. I hope he makes me look like a fool though.

 

[Volica]

Hox with the epic scouting skillz here.

And note the proper spelling of his first name.
I'd like to point out that the last time the Flames had a bottom six winger with an uncommon spelling of his first name (one Shean Donovan) they did alright. Just sayin'

I'm going to pat myself on the back here too. I was very positive about Ferly; another one in the bank

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

Actually, about 2 ummers ago when we did our prospect rankings I was going on and on about how this guy needed to be in our top 20. I think he ended up being ranked around 23rd on our board, he fell down our rankings because he was sent down to Jr. after having a disappointing first year as a pro. He's absolutely been a riser for us, but I've always been a fan of his game and how it would translate to the NHL. I watched him play several times for the Wheat Kings back in 2011/12, and I was always floored by how good he looked with his all around play. Admittedly I hadn't watched him much since until his previous 2 training camps for us in which I was extremely impressed again, I thought he was one of our top young players both years.

Again I had him ranked higher because of how I saw his game translating in the NHL and also because he's had 2 pretty good years in Adirondack as compared to some of our other young guys. All I care about though is how well he's playing now. He's also not even close to being finished growing as a player, so it's hard to quantify what he's ceiling is. I'm just really happy for this young man.

Is he a top 5 prospect for now?

 

[Lunatik]

Is he a top 5 prospect for now?

No, not IMO. I still don't have him even in my top 10 even without considering Gaudreau, Jooris or Shore prospects.

In no particular order I have Bennett, Gillies, Poirier, Klimchuk, McDonald, Wotherspoon, Jankowski, Arnold, Granlund, Agostino and Hickey clearly ahead of him. Then I have Culkin, Reinhart & Ortio pretty much even with him.

 

[Skobel24]

Yeah you guys are all making good points, should I change the title to top 10? Lol

If you changed the thread title to top 10, the question would be an irrelevant one, as he's probably a top 10 prospect for the Flames, if not very close.

Ferland has been great in this short time frame, but it's just that. A short time frame.

 

[Anglesmith]

No, not IMO. I still don't have him even in my top 10 even without considering Gaudreau, Jooris or Shore prospects.

In no particular order I have Bennett, Gillies, Poirier, Klimchuk, McDonald, Wotherspoon, Jankowski, Arnold, Granlund, Agostino and Hickey clearly ahead of him. Then I have Culkin, Reinhart & Ortio pretty much even with him.

I don't understand what algorithm you use that can have Agostino higher than him.

From what I've seen, Ferland can do everything that Agostino can do, plus he's bigger and meaner.

I will say, though, that Ferland's abilities are magnified during a playoff series where you can wear down your opponent. I expect his importance to be reduced come next season, but hopefully with that he can improve other parts of his game.

 

[Skobel24]

I don't understand what algorithm you use that can have Agostino higher than him.

From what I've seen, Ferland can do everything that Agostino can do, plus he's bigger and meaner.

I will say, though, that Ferland's abilities are magnified during a playoff series where you can wear down your opponent. I expect his importance to be reduced come next season, but hopefully with that he can improve other parts of his game.

Agostino, IMO, has more upside. He's not the agitator/physical guy that Ferland is, but he's more skilled. Agostino also has a much better defensive game. He's smarter with the puck. Personally, I think he's ready for the NHL right now. I really hope Calgary calls him up at some point.

 

[Calculon]

Agostino, IMO, has more upside. He's not the agitator/physical guy that Ferland is, but he's more skilled. Agostino also has a much better defensive game. He's smarter with the puck. Personally, I think he's ready for the NHL right now. I really hope Calgary calls him up at some point.

He is up; part of the black aces. Pretty much zero chance he plays anytime soon though. Could be an injury call up next season depending on what happens with Reinhart+Wolf. But in the long-term, I don't see him beating out Gaudreau, Bouma, Ferland, Klimchuk, possibly Wolf as well as maybe Backlund or Bennett on the left wing.

I just don't see Agostino with enough offensive upside to justify a top ten or even 15 ranking.

 

[InfinityIggy]

He is certainly underrated but he's also 23. His upside just isn't as high as some other prospects. If we were to have a poll right now I imagine he is an easy top10 choice though.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

I stand behind everything I have said in this thread. He needs more than 6 games to make me change my mind completely. I hope he makes me look like a fool though.

Okay, but what about his 26 regular season games?

I agree, he's not necessarily a top five prospect for the Flames - for now Bennett, Gillies, Poirier for sure ahead of him, and I'd consider Morrison & Klimchuk right up there too.

 

[Skobel24]

Okay, but what about his 26 regular season games?

I agree, he's not necessarily a top five prospect for the Flames - for now Bennett, Gillies, Poirier for sure ahead of him, and I'd consider Morrison & Klimchuk right up there too.

Honestly, during the regular season, he was... average. He was a typical face puncher who played bottom line minutes.

 

[Lunatik]

I don't understand what algorithm you use that can have Agostino higher than him.

From what I've seen, Ferland can do everything that Agostino can do, plus he's bigger and meaner.

I will say, though, that Ferland's abilities are magnified during a playoff series where you can wear down your opponent. I expect his importance to be reduced come next season, but hopefully with that he can improve other parts of his game.

1st year pro led the Baby Flames in scoring and you don't see how I have him higher than a player that ideally you have on your 4th line?

Agostino is far more skilled offensively and is superior defensively. The only thing Ferland does better than Agostino is hit.

 

[Lunatik]

Okay, but what about his 26 regular season games?

I agree, he's not necessarily a top five prospect for the Flames - for now Bennett, Gillies, Poirier for sure ahead of him, and I'd consider Morrison & Klimchuk right up there too.

He was barely noticeable in his 26 regular season games until his most recent recall. Which is my #1 issue with Ferland, he has zero consistency. He will be great for a few weeks then he is barely a 4th line minor leaguer.

Also I too would put Morrisson ahead of him, but I forgot about him, lol.

 

[Skobel24]

He was barely noticeable in his 26 regular season games until his most recent recall. Which is my #1 issue with Ferland, he has zero consistency. He will be great for a few weeks then he is barely a 4th line minor leaguer.

Bit of an exaggeration there, but I agree with the rest. I'd actually be open to giving him another year in the AHL. Have Wolf with the Flames next season.

 

[Mr Lebowski]

his upside isn't that high. Also like 100 Third Graders said, 6 games is too early to change everything

Bennett, Gillies, Ortio, Poirier, Klimchuk, Granlund, Wotherspoon and maybe even Agostino and Sieloff are ahead of him at this point IMO.

 

[Calculon]

Bit of an exaggeration there, but I agree with the rest. I'd actually be open to giving him another year in the AHL. Have Wolf with the Flames next season.

Not happening. After the playoffs he's had, pretty much zero chance Ferland clears waivers next season.

But Wolf has to clear too so good chance he's up as well.

 

[Lunatik]

Bit of an exaggeration there, but I agree with the rest. I'd actually be open to giving him another year in the AHL. Have Wolf with the Flames next season.

I'm not exaggerating at all. After he was sent down the last time he was downright ****ing awful. His offensive game dried up like a drop of water in the Sahara and he played as physical as Mason Raymond. He was beyond useless.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

He was barely noticeable in his 26 regular season games until his most recent recall. Which is my #1 issue with Ferland, he has zero consistency. He will be great for a few weeks then he is barely a 4th line minor leaguer.

And that's fine - if/when he regresses and is barely a 4th line minor leaguer, we can call him hot garbage.

What if he continues this kind of play?

 

[Lunatik]

And that's fine - if/when he regresses and is barely a 4th line minor leaguer, we can call him hot garbage.

What if he continues this kind of play?

Then great, but he has had so many consistency issues that I am not banking on it.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

As I said above though, Ferdaddy is a tricky one to put a cap on. Saying he's a future 4th liner is a definite statement and I'm not sure how that can be said. He's still growing. I don't even think Ferland knows what kind of player he can be. He's a decent skater and probably has one of the best shots on the entire team, our management has been quoted as saying such.

Many believed if he would just go out and impose himself physically that he would of made the team out of camp. Well he's doing that consistently now and it's very hard not to imagine him in the lineup. My point is that he's grown over the course of this year and he may continue to do so for sometime. It took Lucic sometime to be who he is as well as is typical with most power forwards. I'm not making any proclamations about him, but I really like what I'm seeing and I see a lot in his game to like. I think he's going to be a big part of this team for a long time, and will hopefully have a similar impact that Glencross had.

Either way, you gotta love how many guys we have in our organization.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

I'm not exaggerating at all. After he was sent down the last time he was downright ****ing awful. His offensive game dried up like a drop of water in the Sahara and he played as physical as Mason Raymond. He was beyond useless.

This is true, he wasn't good after going down. But I think he's a guy who thrives on emotion so it doesn't surprise me to see so many waves in his play.

 

[Skobel24]

This is true, he wasn't good after going down. But I think he's a guy who thrives on emotion so it doesn't surprise me to see so many waves in his play.

Sounds like Baertschi, lol.

 

[Lunatik]

As I said above though, Ferdaddy is a tricky one to put a cap on. Saying he's a future 4th liner is a definite statement and I'm not sure how that can be said. He's still growing. I don't even think Ferland knows what kind of player he can be. He's a decent skater and probably has one of the best shots on the entire team, our management has been quoted as saying such.

Many believed if he would just go out and impose himself physically that he would of made the team out of camp. Well he's doing that consistently now and it's very hard not to imagine him in the lineup. My point is that he's grown over the course of this year and he may continue to do so for sometime. It took Lucic sometime to be who he is as well as is typical with most power forwards. I'm not making any proclamations about him, but I really like what I'm seeing and I see a lot in his game to like. I think he's going to be a big part of this team for a long time, and will hopefully have a similar impact that Glencross had.

Either way, you gotta love how many guys we have in our organization.

I should have stated more clearly that that's all I feel he will be in the grand scheme. I think he will have the occasional hot streak and look like he could be a 3rd liner.

In the end I just feel there are so many other guys that have higher end potential than him, that he's not a top 10 prospect. He definitely has a higher floor than some of the other guys I rank more highly, I will concede that. I will even say that he should get a shot on the 4th line next year, but I just can't get past the extreme inconsistencies in his game.

 

[DFF]

He is having a good playoff and close the season on the upside.

But if you look at the last 3-4 yrs, he has done ****


Not to say that he cant be a good prospect...others have done much more.

 

[Guido Sarducci]

Who the hell cares what his prospect rating is. He is helping the Flames win right now.

If management is putting Ferland in the line up, he is right now ahead of any healthy body who isn't in the line up. Every one of the Black Aces knows that Ferland is playing and they are not.

Prospects can rise and fall. And Ferland is on a big rise.

Why wasn't Josh Jooris a top 5 prospect? I'll tell you why. Because he wasn't even on our list. Didn't even crack consideration for the top 30. And then he made the team and contributed. Jooris is in the NHL, making an NHL wage. Do you really think that he is worried that Agostino out performed him on an internet poll?

In the big picture rankings don't mean squat. Results do. Ask Sven Baertschi how much being a top rated prospect is worth.