2021 Calgary Flames NHL Draft

[Thebrewcrew]

Interesting year for the draft, not really a consensus #1 pick. My top 3, in no particular order is, Beniers, Power and Hughes. The OHL players will be a tough evaluation, it's up in the air whether or not they play. The NFL draft will be a good indicator as they had many college kids opt-out, how that affects their draft stock, will be a good idea of where the OHL kids go. Guys like Pinelli, Clarke and Othmann should all be first rounders, but does not playing hurt their stock?

 

Lots of D at the top end of this draft. On the left side you've got Power, Hughes, Edvinsson, Svozil, Lambos. At RD, Clarke and Ceulemans.

 

In net, there's Wallstedt, he's a stud. He might go higher than Knight and Askarov did. I really like Sebastian Cossa too, big, uses his size well, efficient in his movements. I think he's an early 2nd, or late 1st. 

 

Some RW I really like at the top of the draft, Dylan Guenther and Fabian Lysell. Guenther is already one of the best players in the WHL, as a 17yr old. Lysell is tough to evaluate, in the top league he doesn't play much, but he has some elite tools, he can really shoot it and has high end vision. Late in the 1st, I like Samu Tuomaala. He's actually a bit like Lysell, however I think Lysell just does everything a little bit better. 

 

In general I think this will be a better draft than others seem to think. There are always good players to be had. Look at 2017, everyone said it wasn't a "deep" draft, the same that drafr that produced an order of Heiskanen, Makar, Pettersson...

 

Anyways, post any draft related thoughts here!

 

 

[jjgallow]

Thanks very much for posting!   

 

We need more of this.  much more.    It doesn't have to be depressing here.

 

I'm thinking Jesper is impressive.    Is he impressive as last year's goalie?  I don't know that.   But some are calling him the best Swedish goaltending prospect...ever.

And that's saying a lot when you consider swedish goaltending prospects.

https://dobberprospects.com/player/jesper-wallstedt/

 

What I do know is that there is a new generation of large, but skilled goalies coming that never existed before.   Previously if your were tall you were put out on the ice, not net.   Now that's all changed and we're seeing talented big goalies come up in the prospect system.

 

I believe we have to go BPA,. but that doesn't mean we can't make moves to adjust our placement (preferably up).    

 

The availability at Goaltending, RD, and LD   are the three most interesting in terms of a rebuild, and in that order.   

 

If we didn't get Jesper the next most interesting would be Brandt Clarke, for two reasons:

1.  He can score goals.  A lot of the other defencemen can't

2.  The RHS

 

I think that in the higher rounds, size is often over-rated and skill is actually under-rated.    A 6'1 player has basically no limitations.  Sure, 6'3 is better.  But if the 6'1 player is twice as skilled, you take them.    A premium is placed on "ready made" players that can go almost straight to the NHL.   That's not interesting to me.   I see it more as a cutoff.   In the top 10 you Should be able to get an Acceptable size, but what you want back is skill.

[jjgallow]

 

I also think there's some incredible sleepers.   

 

We're getting a high draft pick.  I hope we don't have to debate that.

 

But we could acquire a later first rounder or upgrade our 2nd rounder and there are some Serious sleepers in this draft.

 

These three players in particular should NOT be under-estimated and I believe they would go top 10 in some drafts that are less heavy in D an G:

https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/476602/sebastian-cossa
https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/582695/logan-mailloux    <already mentioned by @Thebrewcrew.   

https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/475841/corson-ceulemans

[The_People1]

It's so hard to gauge this draft.  I just hope we acquire enough bullets because it's that kind of draft year.  More is better.

 

There was no consensus #1 going into this draft and it wasn't touted as a deep draft from the very beginning so that makes this draft wide open.  Every draft year, we see kids start the season ranked in the top 5 drop to the late 20s.  Some drop out of the first round completely and then vice versa.  You could get late bloomers storm up into the top 10.  This year, man who knows considering some kids didn't even play.  You can draft top 10 talent hidden in round 2.  You can also draft a total bust in the top 10.

 

But also, it wasn't a deep year to begin with so it could all be a nothing burger.

[JTech780]

Not a great draft year, no real elite talent in this draft. There are still some good players though.

 

I really like the 3 freshmen from Michigan, Power, Beniers and Johnson are very talented. Power brings size and skating ability. Beniers is quick and really shifty. Johnson isn't the most dynamic of skaters but he gets around just fine, has good vision and tons of hockey IQ.

 

Luke Hughes skates like his brothers but is 6'2", don't know that he has the same offensive upside that his brothers have, but with his size and skating ability he will be a really solid all around defenseman. Also heading to Michigan next year.

 

Brandt Clarke thinks the game well, good size, RHS, doesn't have elite skating, but he is a good skater.

[JTech780]

One wild card in the first round is where does Aatu Raty go? Coming into the season he had a chance to go 1st overall, now there could be a chance that he not only slips out of the top 10, but he could end up outside the 1st round. He has had a disastrous D-1 year. Didn't even get invited to the Finnish WJC camp. It will be really interesting to watch where he goes in this draft.

[jjgallow]

1 hour ago, The_People1 said:

It's so hard to gauge this draft.  I just hope we acquire enough bullets because it's that kind of draft year.  More is better.

 

There was no consensus #1 going into this draft and it wasn't touted as a deep draft from the very beginning so that makes this draft wide open.  Every draft year, we see kids start the season ranked in the top 5 drop to the late 20s.  Some drop out of the first round completely and then vice versa.  You could get late bloomers storm up into the top 10.  This year, man who knows considering some kids didn't even play.  You can draft top 10 talent hidden in round 2.  You can also draft a total bust in the top 10.

 

But also, it wasn't a deep year to begin with so it could all be a nothing burger.

 

I think it depends on what you're measuring with maybe.

 

Who was drafted as the best defenceman last year... Jake Sanderson?

 

Defencemen in the 2021 draft that would be drafted above him:

Owen Power

Simon Evinsson

Brand Clarke

Luke Hughes

 

And in my opinion there others such as Ceulemans and Lambo that may be better as well.

 

 

Goaltending wise:  Jesper Wallstedt is incredibly good.   Is he as good as last year's I don't know but he could be.  Definitely some feel he is better.  They can be compared.

"But that's not all".....you've got Sebastian Cossa too.   And this kid is crazy good.  Will go in first round.   That's right, two goaltending first rounders, legit.

 

 

So, if you're looking at goaltending and defence, I think the pool of talent is literally three times deeper this year than most years (including last year).  Although last year did have one very good goalie.

 

Quite frankly, in a rebuild (and we Are going to be rebuilding), I don't even know why we would care about anything else but goaltending and defence, the two most important positions in the game, to start off.      We can deal with the highlight real lollipop crap for later draft years.

 

 

[jjgallow]

I'm not done lol.

 

I brought this up earlier, I will again.   You know what this year reminds me of?    Reminds me of 2008 draft.  Without Stamkos.   And it might have a Stamkos too, the year is just so weird we may have missed him.

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl2008e.html

 

2008 was widely regarded as a poor draft year with the Only exception of Stamkos.

 

What's it now?    Well it's loaded to the brim with Stanley Cup winning defencemen is what it is.

[Thebrewcrew]

A couple wildcards

 

Carson Lambos is done for the year. I think he could really slide as a result. This years version of Hendrix Lapierre, talented kid, but injuries derailed his draft year.

 

Like JTech mentioned, Aatu Raty. Was once the presumptive #1 pick, he may end up being selected closer to 20th than 10th now. The World Junior thing was a little odd, being cut as a returning player. The top end of the draft isn't filled with C's though, which may be a way for him to sneak into the top 10, you've got Beniers and then maybe William Eklund that can play C. It's tough for the European kids playing pro though, they can easily fall out of favour. Liljegren in 17 was thought of as a top 5 pick and slid, even Kylington in 15 was expected to be a top 10 pick and then ended up as the last pick of the 2nd. 

[jjgallow]

5 hours ago, Thebrewcrew said:

A couple wildcards

 

Carson Lambos is done for the year. I think he could really slide as a result. This years version of Hendrix Lapierre, talented kid, but injuries derailed his draft year.

 

Like JTech mentioned, Aatu Raty. Was once the presumptive #1 pick, he may end up being selected closer to 20th than 10th now. The World Junior thing was a little odd, being cut as a returning player. The top end of the draft isn't filled with C's though, which may be a way for him to sneak into the top 10, you've got Beniers and then maybe William Eklund that can play C. It's tough for the European kids playing pro though, they can easily fall out of favour. Liljegren in 17 was thought of as a top 5 pick and slid, even Kylington in 15 was expected to be a top 10 pick and then ended up as the last pick of the 2nd. 

 

I think if we look back at history, we find that kids who fall, generally fall for a reason.    

 

There are some exceptions.  Mark Messier could be the classic.

 

But I find that you have to really unimpress to actually fall out of favor in the draft.     Better to keep an eye on unknowns rising fast.   Those Tend to have better outcomes.

[Thebrewcrew]

40 minutes ago, jjgallow said:

 

I think if we look back at history, we find that kids who fall, generally fall for a reason.    

 

There are some exceptions.  Mark Messier could be the classic.

 

But I find that you have to really unimpress to actually fall out of favor in the draft.     Better to keep an eye on unknowns rising fast.   Those Tend to have better outcomes.

Personally, I’d stay away from Raty. Now, I haven’t studied his game enough to make comments on how he’s performed, I’m essentially going off the public scouting sphere’s opinion of him. But I keep going back to the World Juniors. The Finns are always a hard working team and usually not the most skilled. When a returning player, that is supposed to be a high NHL pick is cut from a team that isn’t incredibly deep like Finland, that scares the heck out of me.

 

Now you do have to be careful, Sean Couturier is an example. He was a projected #1, that fell throughout the season and ended up at 8th. He’s emerged as one of the most complete C’s in the league and at this point you can argue he’s a more impactful player than RNH, who of course was the top pick.

[The_People1]

Last time a kid was ranked top 5 and slid all the way to the second round, we drafted him... Oliver Kylington.  

 

And it's kind of no wonder.  Kids who skate like the wind get scouts eyes on them early and Kylington might be the best skater in his draft class.  But after a further look, you realize there's not much hockey in the kid.

 

So kids fall for a reason.  I'm okay over looking injuries because like Barzal and Dube for example, once they heal, they justify their draft position.  But kids who fall and don't have an injury to blame it on, then those are huge red flags.

[The_People1]

1 hour ago, jjgallow said:

 

I think if we look back at history, we find that kids who fall, generally fall for a reason.    

 

There are some exceptions.  Mark Messier could be the classic.

 

But I find that you have to really unimpress to actually fall out of favor in the draft.     Better to keep an eye on unknowns rising fast.   Those Tend to have better outcomes.

 

For sure, I'd rather take a kid trending well than one trending poorly.  Rather draft a kid who went from rank 30 to 15 than one who was ranked 7 and fell to 15.  

[sak22]

10 hours ago, Thebrewcrew said:

 

Now you do have to be careful, Sean Couturier is an example. He was a projected #1, that fell throughout the season and ended up at 8th. He’s emerged as one of the most complete C’s in the league and at this point you can argue he’s a more impactful player than RNH, who of course was the top pick.

Funny thing with the RNH draft, is that ten years later the 6-10 picks look better than most of the 1-5.  I don't know if I get Couturier vibes from Raty or Angelo Esposito, I kind of feel its more of the latter.

[cross16]

It's always interesting to me to see why players fall. I think in many cases when players that are perceived top prospects end up falling it can be due to over analysis. Guys like Willie Nylander, Couturier, Cam Fowler, and Jakob Chychrun I thought wound up sliding because of over scouting and just too much critique of their games versus other prospects who were coming up at the time. I'd argue all 4 of those guys proved people wrong, so there is a balancing act here. 

 

But i'm with sak on this, Raty has more of an Angelo Esposito vibe to me too. Skilled player that shot up draft boards but there struggling once the competition gets better. From what i've read and seen so far it seems Raty doesn't like to play in traffic and keeps to a perimeter game. I'm not confident that can be coached out of someone so while I plan to watch a little more, he's not someone I would have interest in at this time. 

 

For me, it's not an overly exciting draft year unless you are in the top 10. All drafts will have good players but this one feels like a steep drop off into the teens/20s compared to over years. At this point in the season i'm more in the camp that a top 10 pick would be a nicer outcome to what the likely alternative is. 

[Thebrewcrew]

I'm a big Dylan Guenther fan. 

 

I think there's a group of 5 at the top of the class. If the Flames pick 6-10th, Guenther might be at or near the top of my list. 

[The_People1]

Is the new tank called, "at least half your players have Covid?"  And imagine your team plays 10 games less than everyone else... Is standings based on win percentage?

[Thebrewcrew]

33 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

Is the new tank called, "at least half your players have Covid?"  And imagine your team plays 10 games less than everyone else... Is standings based on win percentage?

 

Yes, if all of the scheduled games aren't played, the standings are based on pts%, kinda like last year. I have a hard time seeing every team playing their full schedule at this point.

[travel_dude]

42 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

Is the new tank called, "at least half your players have Covid?"  And imagine your team plays 10 games less than everyone else... Is standings based on win percentage?

 

I dn't see how that would be considered fair.

You would need to allow another play-in.

That's not happening.

[bigfaninlethbridge]

3 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

I dn't see how that would be considered fair.

You would need to allow another play-in.

That's not happening.

This right here.  It's completely unfair to all teams.  What if our team suddenly gets hot like they are known to do and finish out the season with a bunch of wins, but miss out on the 5 remaining Vancouver games and as a result miss playoffs?  If it's based on points percentage for the entire season then we'd be hooped, despite the fact that we would be playing better with a higher chance of coming off with more points had those games been played while the team is playing well.

[bigfaninlethbridge]

Looks like it may not happen anyways.  The league is looking at extending the end date of the season for the North division.

 

[jjgallow]

7 hours ago, bigfaninlethbridge said:

This right here.  It's completely unfair to all teams.  What if our team suddenly gets hot like they are known to do and finish out the season with a bunch of wins, but miss out on the 5 remaining Vancouver games and as a result miss playoffs?  If it's based on points percentage for the entire season then we'd be hooped, despite the fact that we would be playing better with a higher chance of coming off with more points had those games been played while the team is playing well.

 

This IS them hot.   Wait until the new coach buzz wears off.

 

to keep in mind:

 

The purpose of the playoffs is to determine who the best NHL team is.    

 

If your team can only get in playing against the easier teams, spoiler:  Its not your team.

[jjgallow]

8 hours ago, Thebrewcrew said:

I'm a big Dylan Guenther fan. 

 

I think there's a group of 5 at the top of the class. If the Flames pick 6-10th, Guenther might be at or near the top of my list. 

 

I am too, and as claimed before I don't see this as a weak draft in the slightest.

 

There wasn't a single defencemen last year anywhere close to Guenther's level.  Not a one.  Not close.

 

And there are a Handful of them in this draft.   Guenther has elite first-line skills.  To say the least.   He's trading at a discount because he's not huge.   But, this is a Strong kid and NHL size and NHL talent and he is quite frankly under-ranked.

[The_Tribal Chief]

Personally the flames dont need more defence they need scoring defence doesnt win ya games if ya cant put the put in the net

[travel_dude]

6 hours ago, The_Snowbear said:

Personally the flames dont need more defence they need scoring defence doesnt win ya games if ya cant put the put in the net

 

It's pretty thin back on D.  We have 4D that I would consider being good for the next 4 years.  The pipeline isn't that good right now; we have a few guys that could be 5/6 guys.  We have a guy in Europe that could be a decent offensive guy.  And a junior player that has holes in his D game that scores a ton.