Thebrewcrew

Oh that really sucks for Wolf

Picking 9th. Gonna get a very good player. With Seattle picking ahead of Calgary, I think the biggest annoyance would be that I think they’ll be looking at defence. That could leave Catton on the board at 9th, which would be very exciting.

These Sharks are hard to watch Cool night for Coleman and Klapka though

Weegar would easily get his current deal if he were a UFA this year. 19 goals at 6.25 is incredible value. Yes it is a career year, but I would rather have him at 6.25 than Hanifin at 7.3 for example

He might be, but I think it’s worth him getting a change of scenery before making that declaration. Not all that different than a Miromanov really. He’s quite a bit younger, might be something there, might not. Funny enough Miromanov is the same age as Hanifin.

I don’t think the Flames are getting a 1st for Markstrom. Even the NJ deal, likely didn’t include a first and IMO that’s why it was nixed. I think we all need to prepare for the return to be a 2nd. I would be ok with a 2nd and Turcotte from LA. Bet on a youngster needing a change of scenery, also likely heading for waiver eligibility which could make him expendable.

Trevor Connelly is really skilled. There are some off-ice concerns https://thehockeynews.com/news/nhl-scouts-face-dilemma-with-2024-draft-prospect-trevor-connelly The Flames are coming off of bad situations with Ronni and Dube. If I was ownership, I would be telling my hockey-ops, they better do their due diligence. It’s possible that Connelly made a mistake, as kids do. Not sure if I would take him though. I’d want the player to be squeaky clean, if I were ownership.

https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/t_document/prd/c3nbujnzqcpodambs8ux.pdf Final central scouting rankings. Silayev ranked first amongst international skaters.

I think the Kraken are candidates to take a defenceman In their three drafts they've taken two centres and a winger with their 1st's. I think that would be annoying from a Flames perspective.

I believe there was a wrist injury with Lindstrom too. I think he’s long gone before Calgary picks. Big centre, skates well, he’s also a pain to play against. Checks all the boxes. He would fill a. Major need, but I think CBJ or MTL will take him before Calgary even has a chance.

First year in NA. Handled the transition pretty well. Playing on a bad team too. I would hope that Edmonton plays him more in the middle next year. Personally, I wouldn’t take him until that Stars pick. I think you’re talking about a bottom six forward. 15ish goals. Maybe pops for 20 and 40pts, Joel Armia type.

I would like Letourneau in the 2nd. The VAN first….. eeek They seemed to target size last year, which makes me wonder about Adam Jecho

Down to 9th for now. I’m not too worried, other than if 8th wins the lottery right now. Picking 8th, there are probably five players you can make a case for. At 9th, there are probably four. Not the end of the world.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/flames-mackenzie-weegar-sends-powerful-message-with-commitment-to-stay/sn-amp/ Weegar feels like the next captain. Kadri doesn’t have a ton of leverage. He signed his retirement deal essentially. He’s playing very well, but there’s still a ton of term.

I think Kadri is a Flame for the rest of his career. He is having a great year. His second best in terms of production. Two years ago he had very few suitors in UFA. Two years older, I think you could trade him, but you’re talking about retaining for five years and I doubt you’re getting a haul. Maybe something like Karlsson to PIT. 1st and two cap dumps. Maybe he wants out and things become untenable. Unless that happens, the Flames are probably better off keeping him.

No favors from Seattle. Flames win tonight, they pass the Kraken.

It’s not unique to Calgary as well. Boston went a few years without selecting a CHL player. Lot of emphasis for them on Americans. Buffalo had a stretch like that too. Think Cozens was the first in 20 some picks that had been a CHL player.

I want PG to win it all. They’ve really stabilized things as an organization, but it’s not an easy market to land players. I’ve been told that they’ve had drafts with a top 3-5 pick and they’ve had to take the 20th guy on their list because the first 19 wouldn’t play for them. Combination of the org and the market. It’s nice to see them doing well. Getting Heidt to play for them was huge.

Stylistically, he reminds me of Hughes.

Zeev Buium with a beauty assist for Denver in the National Championship. This is a good draft, but it’s also a weird draft. I have Celebrini and Demidov as the top two. After that, I think you can make an argument for a bunch of players from picks 3-11. Could Levshunov go 3rd? I think so. If a Chicago picks third, could I see them target a skilled forward to compliment Bedard? Yup. I feel good about the Flames coming out of their first pick with a really solid prospect. Probably their best prospect since Tkachuk, given where they’re likely to be picking. I think the last three games are sneaky difficult. The Yotes trying to send that era of the franchise off the right way. Canucks fighting for a division. It took OT for the Flames to beat SJ last week. In the season in finale, the Sharks may have Will Smith. 71pts in 40 games in the NCAA as a freshman. He could arrive in game 82 and make a statement. If I had to guess, pick 8 or 9 is where the Flames end up.

Let's have some fun. Here's my mock, after one spin on tankathon. 1. OTT- Macklin Celebrini 2. SJ- Ivan Demidov 3. CHI- Artyom Levshunov 4. ANA- Anton Silayev 5. CBJ- Cayden Lindstrom 6. MTL- Tij Iginla 7. UTAH- Berkly Catton 8. CGY What would you do in this scenario? I think there would be four options, they'd strongly consider. Dickinson, Eiserman, Parekh and Helenius. I think I would take Dickinson, but it could really go any way and I'd understand the thought process. Buium is in that mix too.

My goodness Anaheim is already in Cabo.

I would think it’s as expensive at a minimum. Theres a real shortage of ice surfaces in most major cities. People in Canada think we have a shortage, it’s even worse down there. The town I live in has an old arena. I spent a few years working there back in the day. Believe it was built in 1980. They put the ice in every September. If the weather is +20, the plant has a real hard time maintaining temperature to get ice to freeze. The cost to upgrade the plant is insane. Now imagine a climate where +20 is kinda the low water mark. Towns and municipalities don’t really have budget to splurge for an NHL grade plant. I’m just really skeptical the game will ever grow as much as the league would hope. It’s not affordable to play and arenas are very expensive to run, especially in warm climates.

There is quite a bit of money in Utah, so it is a smart play for the league. I also understand the idea of wanting to expand further in the US. The theory makes perfect sense. The issue though is that hockey isn’t a very financially inclusive sport. It’s so expansive. Just look at what equipment does for a at Pro Hockey Life. Tack on another 1500 bucks for minor hockey fees, minimum. It’s never going to grow as much as soccer, baseball, basketball or football, because not everyone can afford to play. Which brings me back to 34-36 teams, there’s not enough NHL caliber players in the world to do that.

As someone that stayed up to watch the Sharks last night, the NHL does not need to expand. That is the worst team in the roster and you want to add two more teams? The smallest of the big four leagues, doesn’t need to have the most teams. I get the financial aspect, but adding 2-4 teams is just crazy to me. There will be some absolutely horrible teams if they creat 20-80 new jobs for players. I think you can already argue the league is watered down. Hence the elevated scoring. Adding 2-4 more teams may help the owners wallets, but it’s certainly not a better product. You’re gonna have some truly awful teams.