Young Stars Classic 2016

[travel_dude]

You can't help but be a little impressed with Aagaard.  Was buzzing around all night.  He may be worth a contract, and it would slide anyway.  Although Burke played 4th line minutes, you can see the skill in the laser beam goal he scored.

[Kulstad]

Gotta say I wasn't impressed at all by MacDonald.  I didn't see anything that some people on these boards claim to be excited about.

[The_People1]

Whole game can be seen in replay here,

 

 

 

 

[The_People1]

Gotta say, Jankowski and Tkachuk were good.  Tkachuk took a big hit and then didn't quite have that step he did earlier in the game.  But prior to that hit, he was on his game.  Toe drags, no look passes, spin moves, etc.  and yet plays with an edge.  He looks good at this point but if he is to succeed at the NHL level, then he needs a year of bulking up and building stamina. I can't see anyone being able to play that way at the NHL level and last a full season unless they get a Jarome Iginla "in his prime body" and that's just not naturally possible at 18 years of age.  Sam Bennett left me with the same feeling in that playoff showing against the Canucks.  He needs to add muscle otherwise, he is going to hurt himself due to the way he plays.  While i can see the skill and talent, i'm going to have to say Tkachuk plays a full year in Junior and then we evaluate him again, if the Flames make the playoffs and the Knights season ends early, for example.

 

Jankowski, looking very good.  Was able to use his size against kids very well and show vision, control, patience, and maturity. He was so calm out there just leaning in on the D, protecting that puck, and then sliding passes cross ice with precision.  I really liked his game overall.  Both he and Tkachuk were the only players able to anticipate plays at a high level and also combine that with the physical tools to make the plays.  It's a matter of "when", not "if" he will make the NHL.  I'm not sure what else he needs to work on other than he needs NHL games to prove he belongs.  At this point, i would put his NHL ceiling at a 2nd line Center who would be very capable in a hybrid/two-way role.

 

Austin Carroll was a drag on that top line.  Bit too slow to react and lacked tools.

 

Hunter Smith, love his desire to stick up for his teammates (after the Tkachuk hit) but boy is he a punching bag.  I saw some other fights of his on youtube and for a big guy, he loses a lot of them.  With size advantage, he lets too many guys get inside on him.  And at 6'-7", he's only 225 lbs and clearly not a lot of upper body strength.  In terms of his outlook based on this game, he's a hard working player who has good speed for his size and could pan out for the Flames some day in a bottom 6 role.  I didn't see anything that would suggest to me his ceiling is that high. He's simply a hard working guy who is willing to throw his body around.  He is a great skater for his size so that adds to the likelihood he will make the NHL someday.  I would like to see him gain 15 more lbs of muscle so he can be a little more effective around the boards.  Ya he's big but he seems to lose a lot of battles and fights.

 

Kylington, argh, frustrating to watch.  It looks like he is the most gifted skater out there but glides out of position and over skates the play too often.  With the puck, he's taking too long to make decisions.  TJ Brodie, in comparison, moves the puck up the ice with purpose and his intentions are direct.  Kylington carries the puck up ice like he's always giving himself two options and tries to keep them both open until the moment both options close on him.  Argh. Why? Why?!

 

Another thing with Kylington is a lack of a heavy shot and lack of shot accuracy overall.  I hope he can work on that because he uses his skating skills like pump fakes and then applies a little hesitancy and toe drag to create shooting opportunities for himself from the point. But then, he drags, moves in, then drags more, than moves in, then drags more, then moves in, then... oops ran out of room and then either loses the puck or attempts a desperation move.  Not sure if his hesitancy has anything to do with a lack of shot confidence.

 

But to end, it's no wonder Kylington draws so many comparisons to PK Subban.  Both are great skaters and just like Subban's early years, made a lot of mistakes carrying the puck up the ice.  If Kylington can only add muscle and develop that shot like Subban has, then wow, we got a player.  

 

McDonald looked too robotic and predictable.  He was slow and not well timed.  Once down, he seemed to get stuck in his butterfly for a good second longer than most goalies can normally recover back to their feet.  Overall, he just seemed to lack anticipation skills that makes elite goalies what they are.  He seemed very reactionary and unaware of his surroundings, focusing only on the puck carrier.  They say goalies take awhile to ripen so, i'll chalk that up to youth.  McDonald looks like he's 3 years away and further to that, does not appear to have starter pedigree.

 

Mangiapane and Andersson were noticeable players but were kind of 'meh' most of the night.

[tmac70]

Gotta say I wasn't impressed at all by MacDonald.  I didn't see anything that some people on these boards claim to be excited about.

Have to agree. He reminded me of Hiller. Parson's  though was very good, relaxed calm. If that is the way he plays we have something.

[StarkRaving]

I'd like to see McDonald again.  Maybe he can rebound from that game.  I only saw the third period last night, but he was soft and slow.  Like a lot of Flames fans, I've never understood that draft pick, and I'd like to see some evidence that it wasn't a grave mistake.

 

In a few years, Tkachuk is going to be persona non grata in 29 hockey markets.  I think he's showing off to a degree though; he's going to have to dial it back a bit and try to strike a balance between his offensive skills and his antagonistic play.  I laughed out loud though when I saw the highlight of him (minus a stick) throwing a check at a player who was laying on the ice. 

 

The little bit I saw of Kilington was somewhat disappointing.  Despite his terrific skillset, he comes off as a fairly raw talent.  I hope he gets a ton of minutes in Stockton in order to sort out his confidence and decision making.

 

Andersson, on the other hand, played more like the defenseman I watched in the Barrie vs. North Bay playoff series in the spring.  Very confident. 

[MAC331]

Gotta say, Jankowski and Tkachuk were good.  Tkachuk took a big hit and then didn't quite have that step he did earlier in the game.  But prior to that hit, he was on his game.  Toe drags, no look passes, spin moves, etc.  and yet plays with an edge.  He looks good at this point but if he is to succeed at the NHL level, then he needs a year of bulking up and building stamina. I can't see anyone being able to play that way at the NHL level and last a full season unless they get a Jarome Iginla "in his prime body" and that's just not naturally possible at 18 years of age.  Sam Bennett left me with the same feeling in that playoff showing against the Canucks.  He needs to add muscle otherwise, he is going to hurt himself due to the way he plays.  While i can see the skill and talent, i'm going to have to say Tkachuk plays a full year in Junior and then we evaluate him again, if the Flames make the playoffs and the Knights season ends early, for example.

 

Jankowski, looking very good.  Was able to use his size against kids very well and show vision, control, patience, and maturity. He was so calm out there just leaning in on the D, protecting that puck, and then sliding passes cross ice with precision.  I really liked his game overall.  Both he and Tkachuk were the only players able to anticipate plays at a high level and also combine that with the physical tools to make the plays.  It's a matter of "when", not "if" he will make the NHL.  I'm not sure what else he needs to work on other than he needs NHL games to prove he belongs.  At this point, i would put his NHL ceiling at a 2nd line Center who would be very capable in a hybrid/two-way role.

 

Austin Carroll was a drag on that top line.  Bit too slow to react and lacked tools.

 

Hunter Smith, love his desire to stick up for his teammates (after the Tkachuk hit) but boy is he a punching bag.  I saw some other fights of his on youtube and for a big guy, he loses a lot of them.  With size advantage, he lets too many guys get inside on him.  And at 6'-7", he's only 225 lbs and clearly not a lot of upper body strength.  In terms of his outlook based on this game, he's a hard working player who has good speed for his size and could pan out for the Flames some day in a bottom 6 role.  I didn't see anything that would suggest to me his ceiling is that high. He's simply a hard working guy who is willing to throw his body around.  He is a great skater for his size so that adds to the likelihood he will make the NHL someday.  I would like to see him gain 15 more lbs of muscle so he can be a little more effective around the boards.  Ya he's big but he seems to lose a lot of battles and fights.

 

Kylington, argh, frustrating to watch.  It looks like he is the most gifted skater out there but glides out of position and over skates the play too often.  With the puck, he's taking too long to make decisions.  TJ Brodie, in comparison, moves the puck up the ice with purpose and his intentions are direct.  Kylington carries the puck up ice like he's always giving himself two options and tries to keep them both open until the moment both options close on him.  Argh. Why? Why?!

 

Another thing with Kylington is a lack of a heavy shot and lack of shot accuracy overall.  I hope he can work on that because he uses his skating skills like pump fakes and then applies a little hesitancy and toe drag to create shooting opportunities for himself from the point. But then, he drags, moves in, then drags more, than moves in, then drags more, then moves in, then... oops ran out of room and then either loses the puck or attempts a desperation move.  Not sure if his hesitancy has anything to do with a lack of shot confidence.

 

But to end, it's no wonder Kylington draws so many comparisons to PK Subban.  Both are great skaters and just like Subban's early years, made a lot of mistakes carrying the puck up the ice.  If Kylington can only add muscle and develop that shot like Subban has, then wow, we got a player.  

 

McDonald looked too robotic and predictable.  He was slow and not well timed.  Once down, he seemed to get stuck in his butterfly for a good second longer than most goalies can normally recover back to their feet.  Overall, he just seemed to lack anticipation skills that makes elite goalies what they are.  He seemed very reactionary and unaware of his surroundings, focusing only on the puck carrier.  They say goalies take awhile to ripen so, i'll chalk that up to youth.  McDonald looks like he's 3 years away and further to that, does not appear to have starter pedigree.

 

Mangiapane and Andersson were noticeable players but were kind of 'meh' most of the night.

WOW is all I can say about this critic.

Have to agree. He reminded me of Hiller. Parson's  though was very good, relaxed calm. If that is the way he plays we have something.

MacDonald didn't play well this time and I highly doubt this was indicative of his play.

You can't help but be a little impressed with Aagaard.  Was buzzing around all night.  He may be worth a contract, and it would slide anyway.  Although Burke played 4th line minutes, you can see the skill in the laser beam goal he scored.

A few of the lesser familiar names have managed to stand out here and there. I like what I am seeing so far.

[travel_dude]

WOW is all I can say about this critic.

MacDonald didn't play well this time and I highly doubt this was indicative of his play.

A few of the lesser familiar names have managed to stand out here and there. I like what I am seeing so far.

 

I think Peeps is being fair in his assessment.  He's actually giving Smith a bit more leeway than I would at this point.  Yes, Kylington can be fun to watch, but he is also Russell/Wideman at times.  He has a ton of time to improve, so I am not worried.  

 

McDonald's half game was similar to the WJC play.  Not terrible, but not inspiring.  He's going to need a ton of ice this year.  The ECHL is probably going to be the best thing for him.  He's tall like Gillies, but has not filled out much.  He has to bulk up a bit.

 

I liked Aagaard.  Lomberg looks to be a good AHL player for now, but is exciting to watch.  I think Burke should be signed along with Aagaard.  Like having a couple extra 3rd round picks.

[DirtyDeeds]

I really hesitate to pass any judgements on any prospects based on a few minutes play in a small short tournament. I won't make any predictions based on these 3 games.

 

I will say that:

 

• I was happy to see Gilles play so well after the surgery and lengthy time off.
• Jankowski looked good enough and ready to compete.
• Seems to me Tkachuk is trying too much to impress.

I was hoping to see someone ready to push for a LW spot. Seems to me our RW hole on Flames has turned into more of a LW hole.

[cccsberg]

I think Peeps is being fair in his assessment.  He's actually giving Smith a bit more leeway than I would at this point.  Yes, Kylington can be fun to watch, but he is also Russell/Wideman at times.  He has a ton of time to improve, so I am not worried.  

 

McDonald's half game was similar to the WJC play.  Not terrible, but not inspiring.  He's going to need a ton of ice this year.  The ECHL is probably going to be the best thing for him.  He's tall like Gillies, but has not filled out much.  He has to bulk up a bit.

 

I liked Aagaard.  Lomberg looks to be a good AHL player for now, but is exciting to watch.  I think Burke should be signed along with Aagaard.  Like having a couple extra 3rd round picks.

Had to laugh, Kylington may have his issues (I still love him), but with speed like Mcdavid and ability to lead the rush AND get back on D like TJ Brodie, he is NOTHING like Russel/Wideman!

[xstrike]

One wonders why Kylington is still sticking to D. He's a good skater and has a good offensive skill set. I know the game is demanding more mobile, offensive D, but I'm curious if he would be better suited at F instead.

[travel_dude]

Had to laugh, Kylington may have his issues (I still love him), but with speed like Mcdavid and ability to lead the rush AND get back on D like TJ Brodie, he is NOTHING like Russel/Wideman!

 

Ability to defend and making questionable offensive choices (risk/reward).  Those are the two knocks on his play, and he exhibited them so far.  Those equate to things that make Wodemand and Russell less than stellar.

[DirtyDeeds]

Ability to defend and making questionable offensive choices (risk/reward).  Those are the two knocks on his play, and he exhibited them so far.  Those equate to things that make Wodemand and Russell less than stellar.

 

If Wideman is competing for our 3rd pairing then we must be in good shape. He is capable of 2nd pairing duty on a lot of teams.

This would leave little room for our prospects to compete for a spot until next year or later.

[xstrike]

Ability to defend and making questionable offensive choices (risk/reward).  Those are the two knocks on his play, and he exhibited them so far.  Those equate to things that make Wodemand and Russell less than stellar.

Yet Erik Karlsson seems to be a Norris candidate every year despite his signature being offense and not defence.

If Kylington gets to even 25% of what Karlsson or Subban are now, I think it's a good pick. Defence is easier to teach than elite skating or puck skills.

[cross16]

Macdonald had a bad game, there is certainly no way around that. I can give him the first one as it was a perfect shot and not that well defended by Rasmus Andersson but the other 2 goals need to be stopped. I've seen him play much better than that and he is better than that but he is really starting to plateau which has to be a concern for the Flames. You are not seeing the growth you would want to see in a player in Macdonald, this skills are there so maybe moving up a league ( assuming he is going pro) and some different coaching can help. Raw skills are there and so is the upside but he needs to step it up.

 

Russell is not actually a horrible comparison for Kylignton. Russell is still one of the best skaters i've ever seen in Junior hocky and Kylington is right there with him. Both overly rely on their skating and where Russell didn't really develop a bunch of other skills Kylington still has a chance to. Defenitly can't compare him to Wideman becuase Wideman is a below avg skater and even in his prime was an avg skater at best and unless he blows out his knees mutiple times I don't think you will ever describe Kylington as an average skater.  He would need some pretty crazy develop to become a Karlsson/Subban and I personally don't thikn that type of game is in him. 

 

From a style of play persepctive I really hope what we've seen in this trounament is a sign of things to come for the organization. They are fast, physical, on pucks but now work much harder to get it back and I really like the puck support i'm seeing that was so lacking under Hartley. I hope now that the shakels are off we can see how good a coach Ryan Huska is too. 

[travel_dude]

Macdonald had a bad game, there is certainly no way around that. I can give him the first one as it was a perfect shot and not that well defended by Rasmus Andersson but the other 2 goals need to be stopped. I've seen him play much better than that and he is better than that but he is really starting to plateau which has to be a concern for the Flames. You are not seeing the growth you would want to see in a player in Macdonald, this skills are there so maybe moving up a league ( assuming he is going pro) and some different coaching can help. Raw skills are there and so is the upside but he needs to step it up.

 

Russell is not actually a horrible comparison for Kylignton. Russell is still one of the best skaters i've ever seen in Junior hocky and Kylington is right there with him. Both overly rely on their skating and where Russell didn't really develop a bunch of other skills Kylington still has a chance to. Defenitly can't compare him to Wideman becuase Wideman is a below avg skater and even in his prime was an avg skater at best and unless he blows out his knees mutiple times I don't think you will ever describe Kylington as an average skater.  He would need some pretty crazy develop to become a Karlsson/Subban and I personally don't thikn that type of game is in him. 

 

From a style of play persepctive I really hope what we've seen in this trounament is a sign of things to come for the organization. They are fast, physical, on pucks but now work much harder to get it back and I really like the puck support i'm seeing that was so lacking under Hartley. I hope now that the shakels are off we can see how good a coach Ryan Huska is too. 

 

Any comp to Wideman and Russell is more about his overall effectiveness to date.  Speedy like Russell.  Prone to mental mistakes like Wideman.  Carries the puck like Russell.  Overthinks the play sometimes like Russell and Wideman.

 

I don't see this as a problem, because he is a very young D-man.  He still needs to learn a lot to go with his natural talents,  

[cross16]

Parsons and Schneider the goalies today. Makes sense but I am a bit dissapointed Macdonald won't get a chance to rebound but he will also be in main camp so he can try and do it then.

[travel_dude]

Parsons and Schneider the goalies today. Makes sense but I am a bit dissapointed Macdonald won't get a chance to rebound but he will also be in main camp so he can try and do it then.

 

Even trying to have him play in main camp is going to be difficult.  Gillies, Rittich, Elliott, Johnson, McDonald, Parsons, Schneider....

The last two will likely get sent back to junior early enough, but that doesn't leave a lot of ice for the others.  

[cccsberg]

Just watched the video recaps from the Flames game yesterday. Man, does Lomberg look a lot like Theoren Fluery! Plays a lot like him too. He was the biggest, most consistent revelation from the Prospects tournament by far, even with great performances from many players.

Flames, get this guy signed!

[travel_dude]

Just watched the video recaps from the Flames game yesterday. Man, does Lomberg look a lot like Theoren Fluery! Plays a lot like him too. He was the biggest, most consistent revelation from the Prospects tournament by far, even with great performances from many players.

Flames, get this guy signed!

 

He is already signed to the Heat for another year.

 

http://flamesnation.ca/2016/9/2/stockton-adds-five-players-on-ahl-deals

[JTech780]

He is already signed to the Heat for another year.

 

http://flamesnation.ca/2016/9/2/stockton-adds-five-players-on-ahl-deals

I could see Lomberg developing into another Hathaway. He can skate, he has some skill, he likes to be in the middle of things. Let's see what he can do with a full year in Stockton. If nothing else he is going to make the rest of our prospects work and earn their ice time in Stockton, because he seems very hungry and eager.

[travel_dude]

I could see Lomberg developing into another Hathaway. He can skate, he has some skill, he likes to be in the middle of things. Let's see what he can do with a full year in Stockton. If nothing else he is going to make the rest of our prospects work and earn their ice time in Stockton, because he seems very hungry and eager.

 

Agreed.  He spent a lot of time in the ECHL last year, and wasn't great in the AHL last season.  He played in the Young Stars like it was the playoffs.  Enthusium is great, but can sometimes only get you so far in a long season.  If nothing else, he may be able to help the Heat learn how to win.  

[StarkRaving]

Lomberg played well in last year's tournament as well.   It's hard to come up with comparables for him.  Brandon Prust, maybe?

 

I thought Parsons was clutch last night when he had to be.  We spent far too much time on the PK last night, but he kept the score tied in the 3rd and into OT. 

[cccsberg]

Lomberg played well in last year's tournament as well.   It's hard to come up with comparables for him.  Brandon Prust, maybe?

 

I thought Parsons was clutch last night when he had to be.  We spent far too much time on the PK last night, but he kept the score tied in the 3rd and into OT.

Agree on Parsons. As for Lomberg, how about a better Byron, for starters?

[MAC331]

Could we have found a few needed Centers for Stockton in Lomberg and Aagaard ?