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I’ve read some blog posts recently and the replies them that seem to indicate a strong feeling that the Flames have no prospects, that other teams have youth on their side and seem to imply that the Flames are destined to be a last place team. There are a couple things to look at here, are the Flames really that old? Do they really have no prospects?

Of the players signed and expected to play next year the average age is under 30, the elder members of the team being Langkow and Kipper at 34. Langkow is going into his last year and his cap hit is either going to taken off entirely after next year or at the very least extremely reduced. Given the direction of the team towards youth and moving NTC’s I would suggest Langkow is a contract they may move after he shows he can still play. The average being roughly just over 29 years old does not take into account guys who might play like Nemisz, Bouma, Brodie or Negrin.

Do the Flames have prospects? The cupboards certainly aren’t bare. If you compare the Flames prospects to say the Oilers prospects then there are some levels of difference for sure. I’m not sure that translates to a better team a few years from now though. The oilers as an example have long had better prospects but a worse team, this may change for certain but better prospects don’t mean a better team by any means. Prospects are just that too, they are an unproven commodity. To compare prospects gets dangerous, for instance the Flames have no prospects with the hype of RNH or Hall yet there is a large school of thought that Eberle is better than Hall as a well rounded hockey player. So what does it mean that Sven Bartschi has 10 more points in his draft year than Eberle? Not a lot.

RNH ( I will never take the time to spell out his name so prepare for disappointment now) was crazy in WHL this year, 109 points! 1.54 PPG!! WOW…except that in the final it was Max Reinhart, a third round pick of the Flames, leading his team to the WHL Championship and a showing at the Memorial Cup. Again, does RNH being a crazy player against kids his age make him a great prospect or does the drive and leadership of a Reinhart give him the edge? I know what oiler fans would say, but ask them about which is the better nhl team and they’ll quickly point out the Stanley cups for Edmonton, not all of the regular season championships Calgary had. So if you base it on championships… Just saying.

Calgary does have prospects, they do not have a ton of them. The few they do have are pretty quality though.

Greg Nemisz is a big center that can dish the puck and Penalty kill when needed.

T.J. Brodie is a name you may not know now but will by this season’s end. An AHL All Star and a kid that made the team out of camp last year. T.J. will be a benefit on the power play and makes terrific transitional passes.

Ryan Howse is a former CHL goal scoring champ. Very good speed and first step, plays aggressively but not overly physical and score like nobody’s business.

Sven Bartschi (for those of you wondering about the spelling of his name he has that funny sideways “:” on top of the “a” in his name, this makes and translates to Beartschi) I know we just drafted this kid but here’s the low down on him. Great hands (check out his one handed goal on you tube), decent speed, and a winner. He was the leading rookie for points in the WHL and ended up tied 2nd for points in the WHL Playoffs (along with Max Reinhart).

Markus Granlund is a player that like his brother (Wild first round pick Mikael) can do a nice lacrosse shot in a game, his you tube video is pretty entertaining. Granlund also captained the U-18 Finnish team and had 10 points in 6 games.

Keith Seabrook, you might recognize his last name, is a defenseman that has great offensive upside and is rounding out his defensive game, very good potential here.

Other notables: Mitch Wahl, Leland Irving (led the AHL with 8 shutouts), Joey Leach (also part of the Ice WHL Champ team).
Filed Under:   Flames   Prospects   Bartschi   Eberle   Nemisz  
June 28, 2011 11:43 AM ET | Delete
Honorable mentions for John Ramage and Joni Ortio...
June 28, 2011 11:49 AM ET | Delete
Yeah I dont think we are as bad as everyone seems to say but we certainly arent in the top half of the league either.
June 28, 2011 11:50 AM ET | Delete
This will be a very interesting year, Calgary still has some good pieces and now some cap room, if spent wisely could be a good year.
June 28, 2011 11:55 AM ET | Delete
Ramage and Ortio are viable prospects still, they are both going into years where they have to show some serious growth.
June 28, 2011 12:37 PM ET | Delete
I agree entirely and have been preaching this upon deaf ears. Great blog sane. Although I'm very dissapointed that Erixon is gone I can take some solace in knowing that he probably would have had a roster spot if he had stuck around. If he had stuck around you might not have seen an offer to Pardy but that is an entirely different conversation. I'm looking forward to seeing some of these kids have legit shots at the team.
June 28, 2011 12:40 PM ET | Delete
flames are unreal
June 28, 2011 12:40 PM ET | Delete
the oilers suck so much that they get 5 first rounders in a row.... sooo they will never be a good team, they will always be shit, GO FLAMES GO.
June 28, 2011 12:43 PM ET | Delete
If we go with kids
June 28, 2011 12:46 PM ET | Delete
June 28, 2011 1:11 PM ET | Delete
June 28, 2011 1:38 PM ET | Delete
Sven B has the same funny sideways “:” on top of the “a” in his name that Teemu Selanne has. It is the second last alphabet in far away Finland from where a Markus Granlund hails from too.
June 28, 2011 3:01 PM ET | Delete
you can chuck paul byron in there as well. He won't be a knock out but he'll develop into something of use
June 28, 2011 3:45 PM ET | Delete
Byron is a smallish forward wth some skill, I really think he's in the ahl this year and we will get a btter feel for what he can do.
June 28, 2011 3:56 PM ET | Delete
Anyone know much about Horak?
June 28, 2011 4:38 PM ET | Delete
The book on him is really fast, fairly skilled but not good defensively or really great hockey IQ
June 28, 2011 4:39 PM ET | Delete
Exactly and even though are stars aren't exactly young at 31ish range like Iggy and Tanguay they have a couple more solid years in them for these kids to develop and to get some more prospects
June 28, 2011 6:05 PM ET | Delete
is tanguay singing for 5 yrs pretty much saying that Iggy will get signed on for another 3yrs? If so I don't think thats a bad thing, would be good timing for the changing of the guard
June 28, 2011 8:37 PM ET | Delete
Good blog... I think Reinhart is an example of good drafting in later rounds... go for bloodlines if you can... this kid could be to Calgary what Bolland is to Chicago... or maybe even something more...
June 28, 2011 8:38 PM ET | Delete
Granlund/Seabrook were also smart picks/pickups
June 28, 2011 11:14 PM ET | Delete
"regular season championships", what is that?
June 28, 2011 11:19 PM ET | Delete
Superm the presidents trophy is awarded to the team with the highest point totals during the regular season.
June 28, 2011 11:39 PM ET | Delete
As far as I know, Calgary has 2 and Edmonton 2 presidents' trophies.That's why I was asking because the statement was not backed by facts.
June 29, 2011 1:51 AM ET | Delete
would be interesting if canucks don't pick up raymond. I think he would fit in CGY (plays well there). Be a good speed addition. He's streaky like bourque, but i think he's streaky with the canucks because he doesn't fit in with the sedins and their slow set up style of play. He's always in alone.
June 29, 2011 1:56 AM ET | Delete
I mean next year whens he's RFA
July 1, 2011 12:00 PM ET | Delete
July 4, 2011 9:44 AM ET | Delete
Superm, your statement misses the point. Oiler fans point Stanley cup championships (That big silver thing they give out at the end of the playoffs) that they won as the difference in teams not the presidents cups... So if RNH doesn't win a championship but Reinhart does what does that mean? Think a little before you puff your chest out.
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