|
ESPN ranks Calgary Flames' farm system among NHL's worst |
|
|
|
|
|
Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
ESPN's Corey Pronman recently released his annual farm system rankings and the Calgary Flames surprisingly didn't fare very well.
Just a year after being ranked inside the top-10 (9th), Pronman ranked the Flames' system among the worst in the NHL.
Here's Pronman's explanation for the ranking:
25 Calgary Flames
Previous rank: 9
The Flames don't have an elite player in their system after Matthew Tkachuk graduated in 2016-17, but solid drafting has resulted in reasonable talent at every position, particularly on defense with Juuso Valimaki, Adam Fox and Oliver Kylington. Their AHL team was entertaining this past season, with talent to see throughout the lineup. Their system could provide a lot of help to the big club during the next two seasons.
Tkachuk graduating to the NHL so quickly no doubt hurt the Flames' ranking, but I think dropping them that low is a bit excessive.
On defense alone, the Flames have a handful of potential impact players in Juuso Valimaki, Rasmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington and Adam Fox. It's unlikely all of them pan out as planned but many teams would be happy to have two defenders of that caliber.
They also have several solid prospects up front in Mark Jankowski, Dillon Dube, Andrew Mangiapane, and Matthew Phillips, as well as a strong goaltender system led by Tyler Parsons.
The Flames may not have a can't miss star but I think that can be said about a lot of teams, some of which don't have the same kind of depth.
Recent posts:
NHL Network ranks Johnny Gaudreau as 10th best winger
Grading the Flames' off-season
Jagr could be the forward the Flames are looking for
Ranking the top-5 wingers in the Western Conference
On Versteeg, Brodie, and power play shooting
On Gaudreau and Bennett
Kulak should replace Bartkowski on the 3rd pairing
Smith could be a more than adequate solution for the Flames
On Valimaki and his lofty goal of making the Flames out of camp
The Flames shouldn't bring back Iginla
Breaking down the Travis Hamonic trade
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»