For me at least, last year was a no-brainer. I maintained the entire time leading up to the draft that IF Monahan was still available (since there was no guarantee but it looked likely) That he was the player I hoped the Flames would grab. Not that I wouldn't have LOVED to have seen Nathan McKinnon showcase his skills in a Flames uniform, but that wasn't ever going to happen, and so fairly early I had my heart set on having Ottawa 67's Sean Monahan name get called at #6 to wear the Flaming "C".
This year the Flames are scheduled to draft 4th overall, and should have an opportunity once again to garner a solid prospect who might even be able to step in and make some contributions as early as the coming season, although the ultimate goal should be what the draft pick can do long-term and not just to try to get someone who might be able to play in 2014-2015. After all, and even though I admit that Sean Monahan certainly deserved to be in an NHL uni, I'm generally in favour of keeping prospects down until they're ready and not forcing them in a way that could hurt their confidence and may be a detriment to their long-term development.
General consensus seems to be that in this year's draft the top four players are almost interchangeable in Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennet, and Michael Dal Colle, and there's certainly arguments both for and against that could be made against all of them. Many feel that this draft doesn't really have any "boni-fide" franchise type players, but if Aaron Ekblad can live up to the comparison that he projects to having Shea Weber like potential, that would pretty much destroy that suggestion.
Even with that. Projected potential means nothing unless you are able to live up to the expectations as we're well aware here in Calgary. After all, even though last year's draft success is the most recent in memory, Flames fans are well aware of the many foibles the club has experienced in trying to select and develop players throughout their history. Names like Rico Fata, Daniel Tkaczuk, Brent Krahn, Greg Nimisz, and Tim Erixson can still get Flames fans eye twitching and cause their veins to throb when considering those first-round "gems".
So the goal is to follow up what almost everyone would have to consider the best Flames draft in decades... (I know, haveing three first round selections helps, but their draft record since Cliff Fletcher left has been atrocious at best) by maintaining the momentum and continuing to stock the shelves with players who can help this club long-term. There are certainly a lot of opinions out there on who the Flames could potentially take, it should be interesting to see what they eventually do with the pick.
One option is to trade the pick. Although they might like to have a higher selection, unless there's someone the club is dead-set on having, it doesn't make sense at this point to move up just for the sake of moving up. As for any speculation that the Flames might move down, I don't think there's a direct benefit it doing that when your best opportunity to improve is to select the player you feel has the most potential, therefore I don't see this being much of a possibility.
So if we assume that the Flames are likely to pick fourth, does it immediately follow that they will end up with one of the top four rated prospects above?
No... It doesn't... In fact, Colin Dambrauskas has intimated that he thinks the Flames should take Leon Draisaitl, who ISS currently has ranked 6th. I've heard some suggest Nick Ritchie, who looks like a potential power forward, but who has questions about his consistency and commitment. Aaron Ekblad seems like he could potentially have the greatest impact, but defenseman can be tough to project, and to be honest, I would be shocked to see him fall until 4. I'd like to have Sam Reinhart, he's got fantastic hockey sense, but I wonder if I favour him just because I remember how smart his dad was on the ice and am I possibly just projecting that onto Sam and unfairly raising his stock. Dal Colle's size and talent are enticing, but he's also had questions about his consistency. Sam Bennet, who wasn't really on many people's radar before last season, has skills, but his failure to complete even a single pull-up at the draft combine has many questioning his dedication.
I guess the simple answer at this point is: There is no simple answer. Truth is, almost every player in every draft comes in with some questions concerning their long-term growth and potential, but it's the job of the organization that drafted them to be able to mentor and guide that player in his development to help eliminate those questions and assist them to acheive their potential. For the first time in a long time, it looks like the Flames might finally have the type of systems in place to allow them to develop players moving forward (I still question the decision not to keep Troy Ward since I thought he was doing a great job on getting prospects to advance) so hopefully they can continue to have strong growth in their draft picks.
All that being said, since I don't have a player that I think is a definite shoe-in for the Flames at #4, who would you like to see them take?
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