If you're a Calgary Flames fan who remembers the last half of the 80's and early 90's at all, you HAVE to hope the comparison is true. After all, it could VERY easily be argued that the last boni-fide #1 centre the Calgary Flames had in their organization was Joe Nieuwendyk. A player drafted out of college who was a steal for the Flames and had goal scoring efforts of 51, 51, 45, and 45 in his first four seasons respectively... Of course, that was a time when the Calgary Flames were one of only a few teams actively scouting US college hockey and finding a gem like Nieuwendyk at Cornell and keeping him a secret wasn't so tough back then.
Fast forward to Friday night. A night where many were hoping that by trade or by pick, the Flames would possibly finally get the #1 centre the organization has been yearning for for almost 20 years...
But then they trade down from 14.
Sure, they get a second round pick and maintain a first rounder, albeit a lower pick than the one they had, but one has to assume that they weren't going to get the player they wanted at 14, OR they knew the guy they really wanted would last until 21. Fair enough. Although it does stand to reason that you'd get a better chance at getting an NHL ready player at 14 than 21, this is the same group that found Sven Baertschi at 13 last season and he looks like the real deal, so we should have faith...
So at 21 the Flames get who they describe as a big, talented player who has comparables to the aforementioned Flames captain. He's a College player (although it is Canadian College which isn't as thoroughly scouted as US College hockey) and he put up sick numbers ( 53 goals, 40 assists in just 57 games) and the Flames organization project the player central scouting had as the 43'rd ranked North American skater as a potential #1 centre... That sounds great until you get the caveat...
He's a project.
Fair enough right? The guy "could" be a star one day, the organization and fans will just need to be patient, and besides, it fits in with the team's rebuild plans...
Oh wait... They decided not to do that...
Well, sort of...
So... basically they're just going to let the bulk of the free agents walk and either replace them with younger up and coming players, or other free agents they can convince to come here to be part of a push. That means the team will definitely have different personnel...
But will it be better?
The thing is, as far as anyone can tell, the core will remain intact. That's right, the same core that has failed to deliver will once again be tasked to do what many have opined it has proven it CAN'T do since the miracle '04 run. Not only that, but barring something unforeseen happening, it won't be with an impact player they acquired in this year's draft...
That isn't to say that it can't be done. Baertschi gave a lot of people a boost in interest when he exploded onto the scene late last season and perhaps Bob Hartley can finally be the coach that actually gets the core players to "buy-into" his system. And there's no doubt that the fans of this team have the highest hope that one day Mark Jankowski can come close to, reach, or maybe even exceed the success that Joe Nieuwendyk enjoyed as a Flame. But that success seems pretty far off right now, and the Flames organization seems to once again be saying one thing while doing another behind their back...
It's enough to make you wonder about anything the team tells us at this point...
Have a great day!
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