So what kind of lunatic would run 39 rounds of prospect ranking polls in 44 days?
This kind of lunatic that’s who; I’m well aware of who I’m dealing with.
The hockey season is long, well that is for most people. However for the type of clientele that frequent Calgarypuck.com the season just can’t come soon enough.
Lately a hockey season for a Calgary fan runs like this …
1. Rookie camp and tournament
2. Main camp and preseason
3. Regular season
4. Trade deadline
5. Other teams in the NHL playoffs
6. The Draft
7. Free agency
Then?
Misery and good weather, both in strong doses.
From the middle of July until the first week of September the hockey season has the audacity to simply go away. No news, nothing to talk about, with hockey fans forced to contemplate the notion of going outside.
A good long drawn out 39 rounds of prospect rankings is just the tonic to burn up 7 weeks and keep the hockey season alive, if only for the select few that simply can’t put their passion aside for a deserved hibernation.
Of course its not simply keeping hockey fans sane, a process like elimination polls are excellent for gathering the opinions of not only the vocal minority but also the silent majority, and pulling from a large pool of people that really know what they’re talking about.
And, as in the case of this past season, a listing of site voted prospects can be excellent for dispelling views of other fans towards the group and how they judge players. Last October, the Flames traded two players off their 2013 prospect list to the Oilers in the deal that brought Ladislav Smid to the Flames. Calgary fans felt the trade was a good one from the Flames standpoint, only to be accused by Edmonton fans for discounting prospects once they were gone, as opposed to elevating them when they were Flames property.
Not so fast Northern!
The Flames moved their 11th and 17th ranked prospects in the deal, and very little debate was needed on the matter when the prospect ranking link was trotted out.
Year two in the process will add additional gains, in that we can now compare back to back summers of the same process in order to show movement onto the list, off of the list, up the list, and down the list.
The value will increase again in the future when we can look back and see just how close the group came to predicting the future of the Flames organization.
With that we introduce, for the first time an editorial to provide a summary to the Calgarypuck 2014 Prospect Rankings, thanks again for everyone’s support in voting and arguing!
Calgarypuck 2014 Prospect Ranking (Top Ten)
In order to truly gauge a team’s prospect depth a good analysis or study needs to go as deep as possible in order to chart the movement of prospects throughout the system. However the true money section of said study is the annual top ten list as these players are the most likely and soonest entries to a club’s NHL lineup.
The strength and sourcing of a top ten prospect list is key. With only one first round pick a season, a club needs to be successful on many fronts to build a list and with it a franchise that can move up the standings and eventually claim a Stanley Cup. To do so you need to make good on first round picks, get lucky (scouts will hate that) in mid to late round picks, and find depth assets in the second and third round. When all that’s said and done, a team needs to the development structure to turn mid June picks into future NHL players.
The Flames have had two successful runs in team history, both very different in terms of team construction.
The late 80’s Flames had strong first round draft selections (Roberts, MacInnis), great success in the second and third rounds (Nieuwendyk, Vernon), and some late round steals (Fleury, Suter, Loob) all of which built the star core of their franchise.
The 2004 team was built almost exclusively through the trade market with two aforementioned stars (Nieuwendyk, Fleury) swapped for Iginla and Regehr, and their goaltender Kipprusoff picked up for a second round pick.
When it comes to finding key players in a rebuild, you have to good sure, but you also have to be lucky.
Calgarypuck 2014 Top Ten Prospects
1. Johnny Gaudreau – The CP first selection is an excellent example of finding key pieces in a rebuild through unlikely sources. A fourth round pick in 2011, Gaudreau is small now, but was insanely small when his name was called. Much like Theo Fleury of the previous era his chances of translating tiny boy skill into a man’s game was smaller then the players height itself. However Gaudreau has gone from intriguing to down right exciting in the past two hockey seasons by dominating at the college level, lighting up a world junior tournament two years ago, and then surprising at the world championships this past spring. It also must be said, this isn’t the case of a win by default, Gaudreau at the top is a considerable accomplishment given the recent selection of Sam Bennett, and the players on the Flames draft list that have made moves in the past 24 months.
Projection: Scoring line winger Timing: 2014-15
2. Sam Bennett – The highest draft selection in Calgary Flames history, and a bit of a pleasant surprise given Central Scouting and The Hockey News listed the Kingston center as the top selection going into the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. A young draft pick (9 months younger than Sean Monahan upon his selection), Bennett will take a little time to develop and is very unlikely to match Monahan’s feat of making the Flames straight out of the draft and not returning to junior. A year to dominate in the OHL, play for team Canada at the World Juniors and hopefully fill out could easily make that a different story a year from now.
Projection: Top line center Timing: 2015-16
3. Sven Baertschi – the silent majority has spoken! Discussion of Mr. Baertschi on a day to day basis would suggest the kid is trade bait, he’s no longer a prospect, and the club should simply move on. The reality is the guy is young, and talented, and will quite likely factor into the Flame’s lineup as early as this season. The 2011 draft pick has to recover from broken ribs in the World Championships and show up with his hard hat on if he wants to change opinions and regain the favour of Flames coach Bob Hartley. Bottom line it takes talent to score two points per game in the WHL, and that talent is still there for the harvesting.
Projection: Scoring line winger Timing: 2015-16
4. Emile Poirier – Drafted in the 2013 1st round along with Sean Monahan and Morgan Klimchuk, a draft that looks very much like a franchise turner for the Calgary Flames. Shipping out veterans Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester for first round picks was a gamble, but one the Flames may have gotten right. Poirier finished up his Q season strong, but then topped up his season by joining the club’s AHL team and quickly adding to their offense. Has had surgery in the off season so may have a slow start to this season, likely in the AHL.
Projection: Agitating Scoring line winger Timing: 2015-16
5. Markus Granlund – With the fan focus squarely on the likes of Monahan, Klimchuk, Poirier and Baertschi, the emergence of Markus Granlund started very much under the radar. His performance two years ago at a World Junior Tournament served notice, but it wasn’t until he led the AHL in rookie scoring for much of last season did Flames fans start to believe the cupboard was way less bare then once believed. Granlund simply makes players around him better, he has a good touch, excellent on ice vision, and a solid work ethic. Worked extremely well with Max Reinhart in Abbotsford and didn’t look out of place with the Flames in a stint before he got injured.
Projection: Scoring line center/winger Timing: 2014-15
6. Morgan Klimchuk – When a floundering franchise makes two transactions to shed star players and add first round draft picks, they clearly would hope to see a prospect list a calendar year later that featured one graduating, and the two others in the top six according to fans in the know. Klimchuk is the third of the three draft picks, and is right on course. A cerebral plug and play winger with great hockey sense, Klimchuk shook off an injury plagued season and looked great at the summer camp and with Team Canada on a line with Connor McDavid (hoping I’ve created a look back here!). The kid is too smart not to play, its a matter of how far up the roster he reaches.
Projection: Scoring line winger Timing: 2016-17
7. Tyler Wotherspoon – Wotherspoon joined the Flames in the same entry draft as Markus Granlund, both 2nd round picks acquired along with Roman Horak in exchange for first round pick Tim Erixon, who wouldn’t sign an entry level contract with Calgary. One of those trades that push a franchise forward as it turns out as both selections are firmly rooted in the club’s top ten prospect list. Wotherspoon went down with a shoulder injury last season, but not before establishing himself as a serviceable bottom pairing defenseman at the age of 21. He hints at moving up the roster with an added offensive punch, but probably projects to a solid #4 defender.
Projection: 3/4 Defenseman Timing: 2014-15
8. Max Reinhart – When a team adds depth to its prospect base, players like Max Reinhart tend to get over looked and fall out of the lime light when it comes to projecting future rosters or getting exciting about up and coming players. Yet Reinhart just exploded in his second pro season, serving notice that his adjustment to pro hockey could easily project to a scoring presence at the NHL level. Son of former Flame Paul Reinhart, Max has moved to the wing in his development but can still play center, and plug in any where from the second to third line.
Projection: Checking line winger with pop Timing: 2014-15
9. Joni Ortio – Never write a prospect off. Never. Ortio’s first stint in the AHL during the 2011-12 season was a complete disaster, altering fan’s perceptions of the Finish stopper from intriguing to out of sight and out of mind. He went home, tweaked his game and then returned to the 2013-14 North American game a new style, and upgraded mental makeup. Now? Ortio was recently extended on a two year contract that includes a one way feature in the second season suggesting the Flames very much see Ortio as a potential starter in the near future.
Projection: NHL starter Timing: 2015-16
10. John Gillies – Prospects in a ranking depict a clear order of when players are supposed to make their mark with the big club, but if you drill deeper they also provide a tier by position, so its ironic that the club’s top two goaltending prospects emerged in the 9 and 10 spots in the rank. In fact the two went to a run off before Ortio edged out Gillies. A good problem to have. Gillies was a rising start two seasons ago before coming somewhat back to Earth last season with a less than stellar WJC performance. He righted the ship by the NCAA playoffs however and isn’t going away. A huge goaltender with an athletic style (most big stopper using their frames and not their reflexes), Gillies will likely turn pro after this season and enter the Flame’s pro system.
Projection: NHL Starter Timing: 2016-17
