2017 NHL Draft - Players to Watch List

[robrob74]

Seeing as how I made a bunch of posts, I will post one more. 

I think I don't mind what we could get out of the draft, from what I read there are some decent options. I would be happy with these:

 

Owen Tippet: RW, dynamic and can beet with speed, skill and size & shoots right.

Alexei Lipanov: C, Shoots L. Agile and "opens up ice quickly" and has excellent agility.

Juuso Välimäki: D, Powerplay QB. Two-way D. Brodie type guy. Top4?

Cal Foote: Good 2 Way D, Should be a solid top4-or-6. Shoots: R 

Klim Kostin: Russian affect might be in effect. But I read that when he is on, he is compared to Malkin, but that means when he is taking nights off, he is not Malkin...  He can play C or RW, but he shoots L. 

 

Vesalainen... Is the dark horse

Some of the other players  I didn't go with because of Speed. I went with these guys because of hockey sense, skill, decent speed and upside. I think speed and hockey sense was most important. 

[JTech780]

3 hours ago, robrob74 said:

 

In Craigs' List, Button has him at 20. If it goes Button's way, that could be right in our wheel house. But other teams for sure would be looking at him.

 

http://www.tsn.ca/craig-s-list-lots-of-talent-after-patrick-hischier-1.702428

 

 

That is the only ranking I have seen where Tippett is ranked outside of the top 10, for example Sportsnet has him ranked at 4.

 

 

The guy that really is starting to intrigue me that should be available where we pick is Kristian Vesalainen. Bug guy at 6'4" has power forward potential, can play either wing. He is a Finn, who has played most the year in the Swedish Elite League. The production hasn't been there, but I still see potential there.

[robrob74]

3 minutes ago, JTech780 said:

 

That is the only ranking I have seen where Tippett is ranked outside of the top 10, for example Sportsnet has him ranked at 4.

 

 

The guy that really is starting to intrigue me that should be available where we pick is Kristian Vesalainen. Bug guy at 6'4" has power forward potential, can play either wing. He is a Finn, who has played most the year in the Swedish Elite League. The production hasn't been there, but I still see potential there.

 

I looked up a lot of the guys that were in those spots and he was one that I really liked as well. He could be a few years down the road, but in reality, who in this draft will step in in the next two years? He plays another year in is league, plays in Stockton for a year or two and then we will see after that?

[Crzydrvr]

4 hours ago, robrob74 said:

http://www.mynhldraft.com/2017/NHL-Draft-Profiles/Owen-Tippett

 

What about Owen Tippett?

He sounds like a good skater and has a nose for the net. Size is good too.

 

Athletically gifted player, excellent wheels and has a hard shot. A volume shooter, not a great passer but has good hands.

 

Not a huge fan of him but would still take him for his tools alone. I think he has problems thinking the game and relies a lot on his physical attributes which is a red flag to me. He reminds me a lot of a Jake Virtanen or an Evander Kane.

 

3 hours ago, robrob74 said:

What about Klim Kostin??

 

I was also looking at Owen Foote. 

What I've read of one fan's comments is he isn't very physical for his size. He has offensive tools. Looks to be a  3/4 D guy, which is what we might need. Although, we could use an elite D going forward down the road to replace Giordano. Although, 4 really good top4 D's could be good too.

 

Another athletic specimen, not a guy I see a lot so I'm not an expert, but I didn't like his tunnel vision and I hear he's been largely a nonfactor with attitude issues in Russia at all levels which matches his numbers.

 

He's another guy who has the physical capability to be a top player in the NHL, but he's a huge risk with the KHL factor.

 

3 hours ago, robrob74 said:

http://www.dobberprospects.com/juuso-valimaki/

 

Button has this Välimäki at ranked at 23rd overall. He could also be in our wheel house. 

I like that he's a QB on the PP. Has speed and the Flames' love of hockey sense.

 

Good two-way guy, not really sure what he's going to be at the NHL level but he's one of the few guys who doesn't really have a major red flag. He's just good at everything, but not elite at anything. Maybe that in and of itself is a red flag?

 

Either way, I don't see him dropping outside the top 20. He's one of the few guys in this draft with a relatively safe floor. Someone will love his mobility and potential enough to take him high in the draft.

 

At some point I'm going to have to release a ranking sheet rather than answering questions, I just haven't gotten around to it. So look forward to that at some point in the distant future.

[cross16]

I'll be shocked if Vallamaki lasts that long. He is actually my favorite dman in this draft and i would put him above Liljegren. Compares very favorably to Olli Juolevvi imo. Love his ability to skate and read the play offensively. True PP QB but also can get physical and lay the body if he needs to. 

Button is also high on a guy I really like and that's Cale Makker. Playing in the AJ so projection is tough but I haven't seen a more exciting dman yet in this draft. He's all over the ice, in a good way, when you watch him. 

[jjgallow]

Cale Makar?

[cross16]

22 hours ago, jjgallow said:

Cale Makar?

 

yes. thank you. 

[jjgallow]

2 hours ago, cross16 said:

 

yes. thank you. 

 

Oh lol....I actually wasn't meaning to correct your spelling, I missed your last couple sentences.  I was suggesting him as well.

 

Very tough coming out of the AJHL but he seems like someone to take a risk on if he's still available.

[cross16]

correct away JJ. Rather I get it right.

 

I am a big fan. Super fun to watch. Very similar to Adam Fox in that way. Jumps off the screen. Doubt he makes it to the Flames though. i think he is a top 10-12 pick. 

[conundrumed]

1 minute ago, cross16 said:

correct away JJ. Rather I get it right.

 

I am a big fan. Super fun to watch. Very similar to Adam Fox in that way. Jumps off the screen. Doubt he makes it to the Flames though. i think he is a top 10-12 pick. 

He's committed to the NCAA. Any chance that drops his stock a bit? He has to gain size and strength. He's a good 4 years away from the NHL, so will that drop him a bit??

Or am I just talking myself into it! lol

[cross16]

Just now, conundrumed said:

He's committed to the NCAA. Any chance that drops his stock a bit? He has to gain size and strength. He's a good 4 years away from the NHL, so will that drop him a bit??

Or am I just talking myself into it! lol

 

the latter. haha. 

 

I can't imagine it makes a difference. I agree, he's a bit more of a project so I can't see a team really caring where he plays when they don't expect him in their lineup soon anyway. 

[conundrumed]

19 minutes ago, cross16 said:

 

the latter. haha. 

 

I can't imagine it makes a difference. I agree, he's a bit more of a project so I can't see a team really caring where he plays when they don't expect him in their lineup soon anyway. 

Oh well, lol.

Is our draft position 17th this year? With the addition of LV, just for clarity...

[cross16]

4 hours ago, conundrumed said:

Oh well, lol.

Is our draft position 17th this year? With the addition of LV, just for clarity...

 

Could be 30/31st.... 

 

But yes Vegas will draft ahead of the Flames. They are in the lottery. 

[conundrumed]

Sorry, is our highest possible pick 17th

although we'll clearly pick 31st.

[Crzydrvr]

Starting to finish up my rankings for the season. While the following is contingent on what little left in the U18 tournament remains as well as the Draft Combine, I count 6 players in this draft who I'd label as Top Ten caliber players (guys who could reasonably be expected to become 1st line players or top pairing defensemen, regardless of development path). For comparison's sake, last year under the exact same grading sheet had 12 Top Ten caliber players, 2015's draft would have had 14 under the same, and 2014 would have had 7.

 

The 6 are, in alphabetical order (because the damn list keeps changing weekly and won't be finalized for another few weeks):

 

D Miro Heiskanen, HIFK (Finland)

C Nico Hischier, Halifax (QMJHL)

F Casey Mittelstadt, Green Bay (USHL)

C Martin Necas, HC Kometa Brno (Czech)

C Nolan Patrick, Brandon (WHL)

C/RW Gabriel Vilardi, Windsor (OHL)

 

All in all, a surprisingly diverse and well-represented group, with 6 leagues and 5 nationalities represented.

 

It may suck that the playoffs are over for the Flames, but hopefully this little teaser will help kickstart draft season for everyone. Have fun guessing what order those guys and everyone else will be in, as well as talking about who is (or isn't) among that initial group of 6!

 

EDIT: Replaced Pettersson with Mittelstadt due to a mixup.

[jjgallow]

On 2017-04-12 at 4:18 PM, conundrumed said:

He's committed to the NCAA. Any chance that drops his stock a bit? He has to gain size and strength. He's a good 4 years away from the NHL, so will that drop him a bit??

Or am I just talking myself into it! lol

 

He could potentially fall, anything can happen.  And, to be honest, I don't think it would take very much at all this year for us to upgrade our pick.  We've made some good drafting decisions lately.  If we are starting to have faith in our scouting (and I actually am), maybe they'll have a justification for moving up.

[jjgallow]

 

I think another consideration, is the 2016 NHL draft scraps.

 

It was just SOOO strong, that I feel there are still some tremendous talents available on the cheap.  

http://thehockeywriters.com/2016-nhl-draft-top-undrafted-prospects/

 

For that reason I think it wouldn't hurt to acquire some late round picks (and they would be low-cost this year too).

 

IMHO, Zack Sawchenko showed huge improvement this year, and is under-rated.  http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=161144

       I would say he is very comparable with Tyler Parsons, actually.  I'd pick Parsons over him, but not by much.    We could use another Parsons.

 

 

Others who have shown they should have been drafted last year:

Vladimir Kuznetsov

Maxime Fortier

Kevin Hancock

Matt Timms

Brennen Menell

Brayden Burke?  maybe?

[conundrumed]

2 hours ago, jjgallow said:

 

I think another consideration, is the 2016 NHL draft scraps.

 

It was just SOOO strong, that I feel there are still some tremendous talents available on the cheap.  

http://thehockeywriters.com/2016-nhl-draft-top-undrafted-prospects/

 

For that reason I think it wouldn't hurt to acquire some late round picks (and they would be low-cost this year too).

 

IMHO, Zack Sawchenko showed huge improvement this year, and is under-rated.  http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=161144

       I would say he is very comparable with Tyler Parsons, actually.  I'd pick Parsons over him, but not by much.    We could use another Parsons.

 

 

Others who have shown they should have been drafted last year:

Vladimir Kuznetsov

Maxime Fortier

Kevin Hancock

Matt Timms

Brennen Menell

Brayden Burke?  maybe?

Burke was at our camp last year. To be honest, I thought he looked pretty decent. Lethbridge traded him to MJ early this season and the Canes' GM really didn't say nice things about him. To generalize, he questioned his character and work ethic is my take away, but you can form your own:

 

http://globalnews.ca/news/3058434/he-was-a-distraction-lethbridge-hurricanes-gm-explains-why-he-traded-star-forward-burke/

[travel_dude]

On 4/29/2017 at 1:09 PM, jjgallow said:

 

I think another consideration, is the 2016 NHL draft scraps.

 

It was just SOOO strong, that I feel there are still some tremendous talents available on the cheap.  

http://thehockeywriters.com/2016-nhl-draft-top-undrafted-prospects/

 

For that reason I think it wouldn't hurt to acquire some late round picks (and they would be low-cost this year too).

 

IMHO, Zack Sawchenko showed huge improvement this year, and is under-rated.  http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=161144

       I would say he is very comparable with Tyler Parsons, actually.  I'd pick Parsons over him, but not by much.    We could use another Parsons.

 

 

Others who have shown they should have been drafted last year:

Vladimir Kuznetsov

Maxime Fortier

Kevin Hancock

Matt Timms

Brennen Menell

Brayden Burke?  maybe?

 

I wondered why they didn't ink Burke when they had the chance, but TBH he did nothing that special in his time with the Flames.  Not that bad, just nothing to suggest he was capable of over a p/gp. Either he gets selected late in the 2017 draft or he goes un-signed again and we get another crack at him.