You can follow Todd on Twitter @ToddCordell!
The 2013 NHL Entry Draft is over and done with and some Calgary Flames fans are left wanting more.
While I think Jay Feaster and his staff had a solid draft overall, I don't think it was great and question a few choices they made.
Quickly, let's take a look at the Flames selections:
6th overall - C Sean Monahan
22nd overall - LW Emile Poirier
28th overall - LW Morgan Klimchuk
67th overall - D Keegan Kanzig
135th overall - D Eric Roy
157th overall - F Tim Harrison
187th overall - D Rushan Rafikov
198th overall - D John Gilmour
The Flames started the day off great, in my opinion, with the Sean Monahan selection. He's a player I've scouted many times and have almost always left the rink very impressed with him.
Monahan is a big two-way centerman who can play in all situations. He has a high compete level, a very good shot and is an excellent playmaker. He's very good in power play situations and he should be able to step into the NHL this season.
There was some debate between fans as to if they should take Elias Lindholm or Monahan, but with Lindholm already gone and the Flames need for a center, I think most fans, if not all, were happy with the Monahan selection.
The Poirier selection was a little off the board but I guess if you like the guy and are worried he won't be available at 28, you have to take him. Poirier is a big kid who can skate and score goals. He has a lot of potential and could end up a solid top-6 forward so that pick is okay. I think he would've been available at 28 but the Flames could have done worse.
Personally, I would've taken Hunter Shinkaruk and hoped for the best with Poirier being available at 28 but that's just me.
Klimchuk is a guy I like. I had him ranked as my 32nd player and the Flames took him at 28. I know a lot of scouts who had Klimchuk going around 20 so there can't really be any complaints there. Klimchuk is a smart two-way player who oozes hockey sense. He can score goals and is a decent playmaker as well. A fine selection by Feaster and his staff.
After the first round, it starts getting a little dicey.
With the 67th pick in the draft, the Flames selected Keegan Kanzig. He's loaded with size at 6'7 but doesn't have any offensive ability. He didn't score a goal last season, had just seven assists and racked up 159 penalty minutes.
I guess there's a chance he could be a 3rd pairing defensive defenseman who can bring an edge, but he was projected by many to be a late round pick if he was selected at all.
Personally I would've went for a high upside player like Jimmy Lodge.
I really like the Eric Roy selection. He was my 57th ranked player and while he is less than mediocre defensively, I like his offensive potential. He can quarterback a power play, score a few goals and pick up some points so I like him in that regard. He's a high risk, high reward pick. He could turn out to be a 2nd or 3rd pairing defenseman who can quarterback your power play at the NHL level. There's also the possibility that his defensive game doesn't improve enough for him to ever get a taste of NHL hockey. In the end, I like Feaster's decision to gamble on some upside.
After that, it's a bit of a crap shoot. I've literally never heard of Tim Harrison and had a heck of a time finding any information on him. There were some guys I really liked still available and I think Feaster would've been better off going with someone else, but I haven't seen Harrison at all so I can't say for sure he's a bad pick.
I don't really know much about the Flames last two picks but they were both defenseman so it's clear the Flames thought there was a need there. In the end they came away with four defenseman, two speciality defenseman (Kanzig - defense, PK -- Roy, offense, PP) and two defenseman I don't know much about.
They also came away with a potential number one center and an NHL ready player in Monahan as well as a couple of good goal scoring wingers in Poirier and Klimchuk.
I didn't absolutely love what the Flames did, but overall I liked their draft. They definitely addressed some needs and stock piled the cupboards.
As I said, I have some questions about a couple of the picks but overall I think they did a pretty good job.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TheHockeyGuys.net
Email: [email protected]
Columbus Blue Jackets Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»