Post by Calgary Flames on Oct 17, 2021 20:37:35 GMT -6
The Flames did not surprise too many people familiar with GM Sean McAndrews when they went young with their first couple of picks but it was a mild surprise when they took two D with their first two picks. The first pick was Rasmus Dahlin and the second pick was Miro Heiskanen. Let's have a look what the Flames get with their first two players in franchise history.
Rasmus Dahlin - The young Swede is a left shot defenseman known for his exceptional skating, fluidity with the puck and high hockey IQ. He was the 1st overall in the 2018 draft and is highly regarded as one of the best young talents in the NHL. In the PFHL his 85SK, 88PA and 82DF really stand out along with his 99PO. His salary of $6M is not too hefty compared to some of the other first rounders or players of comparable skill and upside.
Miro Heiskanen - This time a young Finn, the Flames select another left shot D with similar attributes to Dahlin. Heiskanen is already known as an situation minute muncher with 96EN and 95DU to go along with his 72PA and 82DF and a very high PO of 96. He might be the better all around defender capable of playing against the other team's top players but Dahlin is more likely the top pairing, PP QB every team covets.
With the third round pick the Flames finally chose a forward in centre Elias Lindholm. The 26 year old is signed to a very reasonable $4.85M 3 year deal and can play both centre and right wing. He is expected to line up at centre due to his strong 84FO and his 76PA, 75SC, and 74DF could make him one of the better two way pivots in the league. He has some upside to grow as well with an 85PO.
With two left shot D going off the board first for the Flames there were some obvious questions from the media. "Mr McAndrews, do you plan to pair these two young dmen together or splitting up the pair?" McAndrews responded with, "We are going to see how they look in camp together before we make any decisions but we will see how the rest of the draft plays out. If we can pair them with a couple of solid veterans it might be the way to go. But the chips may not fall that way. They both are solid at both ends of the ice so if they end up playing together we wouldn't be fussed. However if a Chris Tanev or Jake Muzzin type veteran defender fell into our lap to split these two up we might think it over."
When asked about his third pick, McAndrews had this to say, "We really didn't want to leave the first day of the draft without a centre. We were lucky to get to our 3rd pick on Day 1 and we were very happy to land Lindholm. He may not lead the league in scoring but you know you can count on him in any situation. We love his two way game and we think he fits in with what we have done here in building around two exceptional two way defenders and a centre to match. Similar to our defenders we could look to add to the centre position with a veteran down the road. There are a lot of veteran guys available that might make sense for us to select to slot into the 1C position and take the immediate pressure off of Lindholm although we think he can fill that role now."
Next the media asked, "Mr. McAndrews, you have yet to select a winger. How focused are you to add someone to play with Lindholm or a veteran centre upfront on your top line?" McAndrews responded with, "Of course, I want good players all over my lineup. We want to fill out our roster at the top of the draft with the best player available and if that is a winger next or a 3rd defenseman then so be it. However, we are trying to build out a balanced roster. While wingers are considered easier to find later in the draft we certainly don't want to ignore the position. There are a number of players at the position that we are evaluating but will have to see how they stack up against some of the other players available when our team gets to call a name again."
Of note, the Flames have spent a decent amount of cap so far. Lindholm came in below slot, Heiskenen above slot, and Dahlin right where you would expect. There really is no pressure yet for McAndrews to make dollar based decisions as he can spend now or spend later.
The entire Flames Organization would like to thank the leadership group of the PFHL for organizing such a great league and would also like to thank the other GMs of the league for contributing to a fantastic first day of the draft. GM McAndrews is on record saying that he believes this league will be awesome.
Rasmus Dahlin - The young Swede is a left shot defenseman known for his exceptional skating, fluidity with the puck and high hockey IQ. He was the 1st overall in the 2018 draft and is highly regarded as one of the best young talents in the NHL. In the PFHL his 85SK, 88PA and 82DF really stand out along with his 99PO. His salary of $6M is not too hefty compared to some of the other first rounders or players of comparable skill and upside.
Miro Heiskanen - This time a young Finn, the Flames select another left shot D with similar attributes to Dahlin. Heiskanen is already known as an situation minute muncher with 96EN and 95DU to go along with his 72PA and 82DF and a very high PO of 96. He might be the better all around defender capable of playing against the other team's top players but Dahlin is more likely the top pairing, PP QB every team covets.
With the third round pick the Flames finally chose a forward in centre Elias Lindholm. The 26 year old is signed to a very reasonable $4.85M 3 year deal and can play both centre and right wing. He is expected to line up at centre due to his strong 84FO and his 76PA, 75SC, and 74DF could make him one of the better two way pivots in the league. He has some upside to grow as well with an 85PO.
With two left shot D going off the board first for the Flames there were some obvious questions from the media. "Mr McAndrews, do you plan to pair these two young dmen together or splitting up the pair?" McAndrews responded with, "We are going to see how they look in camp together before we make any decisions but we will see how the rest of the draft plays out. If we can pair them with a couple of solid veterans it might be the way to go. But the chips may not fall that way. They both are solid at both ends of the ice so if they end up playing together we wouldn't be fussed. However if a Chris Tanev or Jake Muzzin type veteran defender fell into our lap to split these two up we might think it over."
When asked about his third pick, McAndrews had this to say, "We really didn't want to leave the first day of the draft without a centre. We were lucky to get to our 3rd pick on Day 1 and we were very happy to land Lindholm. He may not lead the league in scoring but you know you can count on him in any situation. We love his two way game and we think he fits in with what we have done here in building around two exceptional two way defenders and a centre to match. Similar to our defenders we could look to add to the centre position with a veteran down the road. There are a lot of veteran guys available that might make sense for us to select to slot into the 1C position and take the immediate pressure off of Lindholm although we think he can fill that role now."
Next the media asked, "Mr. McAndrews, you have yet to select a winger. How focused are you to add someone to play with Lindholm or a veteran centre upfront on your top line?" McAndrews responded with, "Of course, I want good players all over my lineup. We want to fill out our roster at the top of the draft with the best player available and if that is a winger next or a 3rd defenseman then so be it. However, we are trying to build out a balanced roster. While wingers are considered easier to find later in the draft we certainly don't want to ignore the position. There are a number of players at the position that we are evaluating but will have to see how they stack up against some of the other players available when our team gets to call a name again."
Of note, the Flames have spent a decent amount of cap so far. Lindholm came in below slot, Heiskenen above slot, and Dahlin right where you would expect. There really is no pressure yet for McAndrews to make dollar based decisions as he can spend now or spend later.
The entire Flames Organization would like to thank the leadership group of the PFHL for organizing such a great league and would also like to thank the other GMs of the league for contributing to a fantastic first day of the draft. GM McAndrews is on record saying that he believes this league will be awesome.
