As a whole the Calgary Flames have a solid prospect system but one area they could certainly shore up is their defense.
GM Brad Treliving will have ample opportunity to do that in this year's draft. As of right now Treliving has nine draft picks at his disposal including six in the first three rounds of the draft.
Three of those six picks come in round 2. This is widely considered an above average draft, which means there will be plenty of talent still available.
With so many picks the Flames are bound to select a couple defensemen; most likely in the 2nd round where they own three picks.
I've already touched on some potential targets with their 1st round pick. Here are some players I like that could make sense for the Flames in round 2.
D Rasmus Andersson (Barrie - OHL) Andersson is a guy I scouted a ton this season and he rarely failed to impress me. His skating stride isn't the smoothest, however, he gets around the ice effectively and is still able to jump into the rush. He makes an excellent first pass and he is quite capable of skating the puck up ice if there are no passing lanes available. He's an excellent quarterback on the power play and he is a capable penalty killer as well.
He tallied 64 points in 67 regular season games while playing 25+ minutes a night for the Barrie Colts this past season.
I view him as a 1st round talent - I think down the road he'll be a very good - but it is very likely he'll be available for the Flames in the 2nd round. D Jacob Larsson (Frolunda - SHL) He will very likely go off the board early in the 2nd round - there's potential he doesn't even make it that far - so the Flames will have to grab him with their 2nd round pick or move up if they want him.
Larsson is a very good skater who makes a good first pass and is confident skating the puck up ice. He sees the ice well and has a powerful, accurate shot which makes him very tough to defend against. Defensively he is pretty solid but he isn't without holes in his game.
He's probably 2-3 years away from making the NHL but I think he'll be quite good when he gets there.
D Vince Dunn (Niagara - OHL) There's potential he sneaks into the 1st round but he will likely be a 2nd round pick as well. He's more of a project-type player but his upside is huge.
Dunn is a very fluid skater who can move the puck up ice or skate it himself. He loves jumping into the rush and can put up points in bunches.
His defensive game could use some work and at times his decision making isn't great, however, there are a lot of tools in the shed and if he learns how to use them properly he could be an excellent player.
Obviously it's very unlikely the Flames get all of these guys - they may not draft any - but if they choose to address their defense in the 2nd round these are a few players worth keeping your eye on.
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