Calgary Flames Top 20 Prospects

This time 'round, I decided to prioritize projectability a little more than usual.  Also, because of the recent influx of talent, I was able to create a list of honourable mentions, since there were enough noteworthy players who didn't make the list who deserved mention.

Shades of Grey: Calgary Flames 2013 Draft Report Card

So the 2013 NHL Entry Draft is over and done with (man, that was long..).  The Flames have filled out their "most important draft in franchise history." There are 8 brand shiny new members of the Calgary Flames organization (and 211 new members of the NHL family)

Before I get down to business, a few thoughts:

2013 NHL Entry Draft: First Round Mock II (and madness ensued)

Well, the 2nd round of the playoffs is over, and a few more draft positions (most notably the Flames' #22) are set in stone.  I only did 2 mocks last year, but it's fun and stuff, so I decided to do another one RIGHT NOW.  Only this time, there's a twist.  I decided (pretty much right after I posted the last one) that I wanted to do something different.  Something... interesting.  You can go anywhere (to many sites much more useful than mine) and find mock drafts littered with sensible picks.  Informative, but boring (well, not really).

No.  This time, I wanted to gift my readers (yes, all six of you!) with something you won't find anywhere else.  A mock draft that's littered with insanity from start to finish.  (You know, as if every team was run by Scott Howson).

In every draft, someone does something ridiculous (2007: Los Angeles takes Thomas Hickey 4th overall for no apparent reason), sometimes many someones (2012: Garth Snow offers Howson ALL of the Islanders' picks in order to move up TWO spots; Howson, when offered ALL the Islanders' draft picks for his 2nd overall (which would move him down to 4th) TURNS DOWN THE OFFER; the Islanders take Griffin Reinhart 4th; Carolina trades their 8th pick and a lot of other great stuff for Jordan Staal; Pittsburg drafts Derrick Pouliot 8th; Grigorenko drops to 12th; Teravainen drops to 18th; Calgary, after trading down, drafts Mark Jankowski) and makes the rest of the draft supremely interesting.  It always happens.  No one sees it coming.  So, I thought I'd try my hand at predicting some of these reaches (not trades, because that would mess up the draft order).  All at the same time.  In one mock draft.

So, without further wasting of time, here is my 2013 NHL Entry Draft: First Round Mock II.

And Madness Ensued. (Disclaimer: someone (a GM perhaps) might be offended by this.  I say suck it up, this is a blog).

2013 NHL Entry Draft: First Round Mock

2013 Draft: Calgary Flames Draft Targets

after a few... interesting trades, the Flames (potentially) have 3 picks in the top 30 this year.  Moreover, they look to be getting the 1st top 5 pick in franchise history.  No pressure, Jay Feaster.

With that in mind, it's time to take a look at who they might (should) target in the 1st round of the upcoming draft.

Whacky Predictor of Futureness: 2013 Stanley Cup

The fact I'm doing this again might seem odd, given how unequivocally wrong I was last year, but it was fun, so shut up.

This year, I'm picking the hard-working, dynamic, pretty much completely awesome St. Louis Blues to win the West, while I have the Senators as the surprise Eastern finalist.  Ooooo.  What?  So I like my darkhorses.  So sue me.

As usual, I'm operating under the incorrect assumption that the trade deadline effectively doesn't exist.  For example, I won't have Jay Bouwmeester lining up for the Blues simply because I think the Blues and Flames would be good trade partners.  You know, just to pick a name and team right off the top of my head, for no reason.

2013 WJC: HOCKEY'S BACK!!!

I actually intended to do several WJC posts, but, well... I forgot, and didn't feel like cobbling together ill-timed previews in the middle of the round-robin stage.  I also intended to post something angry about the lockout, but I left my anger in my other pants.

Anyway, here's a look back at the Flames prospects' performances at the World Juniors.  Flames fans should be pretty happy with it.