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Last night the Calgary Flames lost 4-1 to the Vancouver Canucks in front of Flames fans at the Saddledome.
It wasn’t all bad though, mainly because most fans have accepted the fact that they no longer need wins as they aspire to secure a higher draft pick, but also because the Flames put forth a good effort. Curtis Glencross scored our only goal and combined, the Flames took 41 shots on Roberto Luongo who played quite well.
Most of the shots taken from the Flames came from their rookies; Reinhart earned his first assist as a Flame and took a total of five shots for the night, followed by Horak who had four, and Baertschi with three. It’s great to see the rookies participating offensively and starting to feel more and more comfortable as members of the Flames. Each of the abovementioned increased their playing time and Blair Jones, who was called in to replace Matt Stajan, played in the center role for a total of 9:58 minutes.
Next up the Flames will take on the Phoenix Coyotes Friday night at home. Hopefully they can continue to show promise for next year as they have recently displayed.
Continuing on with my brief overview of the potential top five draft picks is Halifax Moosehead’s Nathan MacKinnon. He is slated to go head to head with yesterday’s feature Seth Jones for the #1 spot in this year’s upcoming NHL draft. Some are drawing comparisons to Crosby because he’s the last #1 draft pick to come from the QMJHL back in 2005, in addition to being one of only four players ever selected.
What exactly can MacKinnon offer the Flames? Well first and foremost, he’s a centre which they have long been seeking and his stats are rather impressive. In but 44 games for the Halifax Moosehead, MacKinnon has 32 goals, 75 points and ended the 2012-2013 season with a +40 ranking. Amounting to his points was a 9 game point streak in October where he earned 14 goals and 5 assists.
That’s the type of center the Flames need; he can excite fans and teammates and bring life to a dying team. On top of that, he can skate, he’s skilled with the puck, and he has grit. MacKinnon is the type of player who wants to make a difference and that’s what the Flames will need as they redevelop their roster.
All that being said, MacKinnon admittedly wants to work on his faceoff percentage, something the Flames have struggled with immensely this year. On the negative side however, some people have suggested MacKinnon may be prone to injury. He injured his MCL and was sidelined for 2 weeks this season which is something that could come up later in his career, but that could be an argument against any player. Injuries are universal in the NHL and a 2 week injury seems pretty minor.
There was some disappointment with Nathan’s performance at the World Juniors, though I’d argue he showed poise accepting his 4th line role and being able to see the overall goal for team Canada. Depending on where the Flames stand with respect to draft position, I could see them having keeping their eye on this young man if he’s available. Would he be selected in the top 3? Tough to say, as the Flames may draft according to position rather than choosing the best available player.
MacKinnon is sure to be a star in the NHL one day and he’s the type of player teams will have a tough time turning down in the draft.
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On a somewhat related note, Flames’ 4th round 2011 draft pick Johnny Gaudreau announced on twitter Tuesday night that he’d spend another year at Boston College. Given his size and experience level so far, I think this is a wise choice for the young player to put on some size and continue to build his strength. He has been doing quite well of late and will certainly be a prospect high on Calgary’s radar.
Thanks for reading!
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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