Post by Calgary Flames on Aug 15, 2022 11:09:46 GMT -6
One of the most exciting days of the year, the NHL draft has come and gone and the Calgary Flames have added a total of 9 prospects to a pool that was one of the weaker in the league. His an intro to the players selected by the Flames.
Round 1 (21st overall): Noah Ostlund (center): The young centreman Swede is an elusive skater with excellent puck skills. He is a pass first player with excellent vision and creativity enabling him to pick apart opposing defenses and run a power play. Like most young players, he needs to add strength to improve his shot, explosiveness in skating, and for defensive battles. He is no slouch defensively as he knows where to go on the ice.
Round 2 (45th overall): Christian Kyrou (defense): The Flames go defense with their second pick of the draft. Kyrou is a high octane offensive D man who is an exceptional skater. He is comfortable rushing the puck or hitting tape to tape breakout passes in transition. His superb 4 way mobility allows him to quickly close gaps defensively and start the puck moving the other way. He profiles as a top 4 defender with huge PP potential.
Round 2 (53rd overall): Elias Solomonsson (defense): Another defenseman chosen, Solomonsson is another smooth skating offensive D man. Once heralded as one of the top defenders in the draft, Solomonsson is exceptionally fluid and powerful in his stride and has laser beam passing. The largest knock is that he can be unnecessarily aggressive giving up the puck in bad spots. Some scouts question his ability to process the game because of this but there is no doubt that the tools are there.
Round 2 (57th overall): Matthew Poitras (center): Similar to Ostlund, Poitras is a center that likes to drive play and have the puck on his stick. He flashes high end puck skills and a highly intelligent offensive game as he finds team mates with ease. He plays the game at pace and has the look of a power play weapon. He needs to work on his game away from the puck becoming more of a scoring threat and a little bit more reliable on D.
Round 3 (74th overall): Mats Lindgren (defense): This is where the Flames head scout, Vince Gibbons, took over the reigns. In Lindgren the Flames get another offensive minded D man who is very comfortable running a power play. He is very effective offensively and defensively in the transition game due to reading the game at a high level. He also is no slouch in his own end. Lindgren does have a mechanical tweak to make in his stride that should see him improve his length and power.
Round 3 (85th overall): Brandon Lisowsky (leftwing): Finally a winger and finally a natural goal scorer. Lisowsky has a hard and accurate shot that he uses from a variety of angles and locations on the ice. He can surprise goalies or simply blow it by them. He has a real "quick twitch" repertoire and can find the small places around the net. Despite being small at 5'7, he is defensively responsible and will throw his body around to slow down the opposition in his end or get after the puck on the forecheck.
Round 4 (117th overall): Matthew Seminoff (rightwing): Seminoff is a high energy winger that will feature on both special team units but his calling card is his defensive game. He has good puck skills and is a powerful skater but his hockey IQ is what sets him apart, especially in the defensive end. He has a relatively low ceiling because of that ability and further improvements in his straight line speed could see him as a middle six player that chips in at both ends.
Round 4 (119th overall): Josh Filmon (leftwing): GM McAndrews took over the drafting here again. Filmon is a big winger can also play at center. Filmon does a lot of things really well showing a clean stride, good puck skills and creativity, and an above average shot. Although he is already 6'2, he is only 160 lbs so the biggest thing he needs is development time. Look for his skating and shot to get more explosive as he fills out. He also is likely just tapping his offensive play making as he gains more confidence. Filmon oozes a middle six player that can impact the game in multiple ways.
Round 5 (137th overall): Marc-Andre Gaudet (defense): Calgary had to trade back into the 5th round, mostly to alleviate boredom. With that pick the team selected Gaudet, who is a two way defender with healthy size at 6'3. He has a strong defensive game processing the game well and playing with some grit. He has already received some powerplay time and has some untapped offensive potential. His skating, defensive IQ, size, and blossoming offensive game make Gaudet an intriguing pick this late in the draft.
Round 6 (181st overall): Tyler Muszelik (goalie): With their final quick of the draft, the Flames took a flyer on a goalie. With high end goalie prospect, Dustin Wolf, already in the fold there is no pressure on Muszelik to develop quickly. He has good size at 6'3 and plays a very technically sound butterfly style. He is quick down low and up top and rarely over commits to a shooter. He is still refining his angles when facing plays off the rush and can continue to refine his game in the NCAA. There are no weaknesses to his game, he just needs to keep adding explosiveness and consistency to his game as he faces better competition.
Conclusion
All in all, the Flames 10 picks through 6 rounds of the draft netting 5 forwards, 4 defense and 1 goalie. The team leaned a little heavier towards North American players despite taking Ostlund in the first round and Solomonsson in the 2nd. They also favored major junior hockey with all of those North Americans except Muszelik (NTDP) playing in the WHL, OHL, or QMJHL. With this in mind, GM Sean McAndrews had this to say, "We were really happy with what we were able to do over the course of the draft. Our cupboards were a little bare when I took over the franchise and were made barer with some of the trades we made throughout the season. This draft was an important step to adding depth to the organization with an eye to the future."
"We really like upside in Ostlund. We think he is a real player and has the ability to be a strong offensive player. When you pick outside the top 10 you are unlikely to get someone that can help you right away but we don't really need that. Noah can develop at his own pace, add some strength, and round out his game before coming over. We also really like all of the guys we selected in round 2. I think Kyrou could be one of the best offensive D men in the draft and Solomonsson we think we got someone that perhaps got 'overscouted' due to his early season hype. All of the tools are there. Finally with Matthew we get another center similar to Noah. A guy that can drive play and has shown flashes of a complete game."
McAndrews went on, "The remaining guys all add something too. Lindgren is another offensive D man, Lisowsky is probably the best natural goal scorer we drafted, I love the grit Seminoff brings along with Gaudet while Filmon is a true project that needs to work on a lot but the pieces are there. It's always nice to take a flier on a goalie late and we think Muzzy has as good a chance as any late pick to develop into a quality piece of our organization."
Thank you to the leadership team and the other GMs for making the draft enjoyable and to Vince Gibbons for making some picks when I was unable to. Next up.....free agency!
Round 1 (21st overall): Noah Ostlund (center): The young centreman Swede is an elusive skater with excellent puck skills. He is a pass first player with excellent vision and creativity enabling him to pick apart opposing defenses and run a power play. Like most young players, he needs to add strength to improve his shot, explosiveness in skating, and for defensive battles. He is no slouch defensively as he knows where to go on the ice.
Round 2 (45th overall): Christian Kyrou (defense): The Flames go defense with their second pick of the draft. Kyrou is a high octane offensive D man who is an exceptional skater. He is comfortable rushing the puck or hitting tape to tape breakout passes in transition. His superb 4 way mobility allows him to quickly close gaps defensively and start the puck moving the other way. He profiles as a top 4 defender with huge PP potential.
Round 2 (53rd overall): Elias Solomonsson (defense): Another defenseman chosen, Solomonsson is another smooth skating offensive D man. Once heralded as one of the top defenders in the draft, Solomonsson is exceptionally fluid and powerful in his stride and has laser beam passing. The largest knock is that he can be unnecessarily aggressive giving up the puck in bad spots. Some scouts question his ability to process the game because of this but there is no doubt that the tools are there.
Round 2 (57th overall): Matthew Poitras (center): Similar to Ostlund, Poitras is a center that likes to drive play and have the puck on his stick. He flashes high end puck skills and a highly intelligent offensive game as he finds team mates with ease. He plays the game at pace and has the look of a power play weapon. He needs to work on his game away from the puck becoming more of a scoring threat and a little bit more reliable on D.
Round 3 (74th overall): Mats Lindgren (defense): This is where the Flames head scout, Vince Gibbons, took over the reigns. In Lindgren the Flames get another offensive minded D man who is very comfortable running a power play. He is very effective offensively and defensively in the transition game due to reading the game at a high level. He also is no slouch in his own end. Lindgren does have a mechanical tweak to make in his stride that should see him improve his length and power.
Round 3 (85th overall): Brandon Lisowsky (leftwing): Finally a winger and finally a natural goal scorer. Lisowsky has a hard and accurate shot that he uses from a variety of angles and locations on the ice. He can surprise goalies or simply blow it by them. He has a real "quick twitch" repertoire and can find the small places around the net. Despite being small at 5'7, he is defensively responsible and will throw his body around to slow down the opposition in his end or get after the puck on the forecheck.
Round 4 (117th overall): Matthew Seminoff (rightwing): Seminoff is a high energy winger that will feature on both special team units but his calling card is his defensive game. He has good puck skills and is a powerful skater but his hockey IQ is what sets him apart, especially in the defensive end. He has a relatively low ceiling because of that ability and further improvements in his straight line speed could see him as a middle six player that chips in at both ends.
Round 4 (119th overall): Josh Filmon (leftwing): GM McAndrews took over the drafting here again. Filmon is a big winger can also play at center. Filmon does a lot of things really well showing a clean stride, good puck skills and creativity, and an above average shot. Although he is already 6'2, he is only 160 lbs so the biggest thing he needs is development time. Look for his skating and shot to get more explosive as he fills out. He also is likely just tapping his offensive play making as he gains more confidence. Filmon oozes a middle six player that can impact the game in multiple ways.
Round 5 (137th overall): Marc-Andre Gaudet (defense): Calgary had to trade back into the 5th round, mostly to alleviate boredom. With that pick the team selected Gaudet, who is a two way defender with healthy size at 6'3. He has a strong defensive game processing the game well and playing with some grit. He has already received some powerplay time and has some untapped offensive potential. His skating, defensive IQ, size, and blossoming offensive game make Gaudet an intriguing pick this late in the draft.
Round 6 (181st overall): Tyler Muszelik (goalie): With their final quick of the draft, the Flames took a flyer on a goalie. With high end goalie prospect, Dustin Wolf, already in the fold there is no pressure on Muszelik to develop quickly. He has good size at 6'3 and plays a very technically sound butterfly style. He is quick down low and up top and rarely over commits to a shooter. He is still refining his angles when facing plays off the rush and can continue to refine his game in the NCAA. There are no weaknesses to his game, he just needs to keep adding explosiveness and consistency to his game as he faces better competition.
Conclusion
All in all, the Flames 10 picks through 6 rounds of the draft netting 5 forwards, 4 defense and 1 goalie. The team leaned a little heavier towards North American players despite taking Ostlund in the first round and Solomonsson in the 2nd. They also favored major junior hockey with all of those North Americans except Muszelik (NTDP) playing in the WHL, OHL, or QMJHL. With this in mind, GM Sean McAndrews had this to say, "We were really happy with what we were able to do over the course of the draft. Our cupboards were a little bare when I took over the franchise and were made barer with some of the trades we made throughout the season. This draft was an important step to adding depth to the organization with an eye to the future."
"We really like upside in Ostlund. We think he is a real player and has the ability to be a strong offensive player. When you pick outside the top 10 you are unlikely to get someone that can help you right away but we don't really need that. Noah can develop at his own pace, add some strength, and round out his game before coming over. We also really like all of the guys we selected in round 2. I think Kyrou could be one of the best offensive D men in the draft and Solomonsson we think we got someone that perhaps got 'overscouted' due to his early season hype. All of the tools are there. Finally with Matthew we get another center similar to Noah. A guy that can drive play and has shown flashes of a complete game."
McAndrews went on, "The remaining guys all add something too. Lindgren is another offensive D man, Lisowsky is probably the best natural goal scorer we drafted, I love the grit Seminoff brings along with Gaudet while Filmon is a true project that needs to work on a lot but the pieces are there. It's always nice to take a flier on a goalie late and we think Muzzy has as good a chance as any late pick to develop into a quality piece of our organization."
Thank you to the leadership team and the other GMs for making the draft enjoyable and to Vince Gibbons for making some picks when I was unable to. Next up.....free agency!
