2024 Prospect Camp Thread

[Yepthatsme]

Todays standouts:

Misa and Basha both deserve callouts. Two extremely young players for this tournament but both showed oodles of speed and skill. Both look like fantastic bets placed by management at the last draft.

Morten is still 25. Once again looked great this game, as he should with his age.

Brzustewicz continues to be the standout of the defensive group. Bodes super well for him heading into taking the next step playing in the pros, look for him to have a bigger than expected year in the AHL.

Parekh is a massive risk taker and is very guilty of trying to do too much with the puck, but in terms of his actual defensive play I’ve been pleasantly surprised, he’s been adept at taking away offensive players time and space and I haven’t really seen him get beat defensively this tournament too many times. I think he’s too smart to not know his limitations as he progresses, but as far as being a defensive liability I’m not seeing nearly the bad reads his reputation lets on. The turnovers will need to be coached out of him though.

Stromgren and Gridin continue to be difference makers in the offensive zone, both have been pretty creative with the puck on their sticks.

Honzek with a better game. Nothing flashy but made a lot of the right plays.

Mews continues to show a lot of great tools, had an alright game with flashes of more.

All in all, the players you want to show well have been doing so which is all you can ask for them.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Honzek had a lot of nice plays near the net. Could have ended up with 2 or 3 points easily tonight. He’s been physical in the first two games too. Needs to work on his defensive zone coverage and wall play still.

Parekh struggled in the first but then he simplified his game and really looked good in period 2 and 3.

Brewski was a stud again. I’ve said it since he got aquired but he reminds me a lot of Ras at the same age. So much poise with the puck. A few years in the gym and he’ll be a solid 2/3 D. I noticed people on the team were calling him”brew” when they wanted a pass.

Basha, Gridin and Misa really played well for 18 year olds. Gridin has poise and knows how to use time and space. Basha and Misa olay the game with pace. Mews had a good game and has been more physical than I expected.

Stromgren is nothing flashy but man he just never makes a bad play. He’ll get some NHL games this year.

Overall, I thought the Flames really controlled the game in terms of high end scoring chances. The oilers just didn’t have many tonight. I thought the score was flattering to them.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Honzek had a lot of nice plays near the net. Could have ended up with 2 or 3 points easily tonight. He’s been physical in the first two games too. Needs to work on his defensive zone coverage and wall play still.

Parekh struggled in the first but then he simplified his game and really looked good in period 2 and 3.

Brewski was a stud again. I’ve said it since he got aquired but he reminds me a lot of Ras at the same age. So much poise with the puck. A few years in the gym and he’ll be a solid 2/3 D. I noticed people on the team were calling him”brew” when they wanted a pass.

Basha, Gridin and Misa really played well for 18 year olds. Gridin has poise and knows how to use time and space. Basha and Misa olay the game with pace. Mews had a good game and has been more physical than I expected.

Stromgren is nothing flashy but man he just never makes a bad play. He’ll get some NHL games this year.

Overall, I thought the Flames really controlled the game in terms of high end scoring chances. The oilers just didn’t have many tonight. I thought the score was flattering to them.

Savoie has been so disappointing on the Oilers. I think O'Reilly looked great though.

 

[Lunatik]

Honzek with a better game. Nothing flashy but made a lot of the right plays.

This will be the bane of his existence as a Flame, our fans have a history of confusing not as flashy with not as good. We regularly see Flames players that aren't flashy get massively underrated.

Honzek had a lot of nice plays near the net. Could have ended up with 2 or 3 points easily tonight. He’s been physical in the first two games too. Needs to work on his defensive zone coverage and wall play still.

I think his board play will improve as he grows into his body, especially since he's not afraid to use it. Being 6'4 and under 190, he has a good amount of weight to add to his frame. His defensive coverage I think will improve because his choices in the offensive zone show he has a decent IQ, and I think defensive play for youngsters usually comes a little slower than offensive.

 

[Anglesmith]

Savoie has been so disappointing on the Oilers.

This is almost better than one of our prospects looking good. Same kinda feeling.

 

[Mobiandi]

I still think Honzek should return to junior

 

[Double Dion]

I still think Honzek should return to junior

Agreed. His game is not there. No creativity, no spice and not enough meat and potatoes either. He's a less tough Parker Bell presently. I had him as a mid 2nd rounder in that draft and it appears I was overly optimistic.

 

[super6646]

Missed the second game, but Brewski (I can't spell his name, I never will lol) really seems to have some stylistic similarities to Adam Fox. I'm not saying he'll be Adam Fox, but I thought he was really good out there. Mews made some nice plays as well.

Zayne will be a good one in the future, but he's 2+ yrs away from being an NHLer IMO. The skating is excellent and he has a good shot, but I thought he was an adventure defensively. Basha surprised a bit with his skating and hands, I think he could be a nice middle-six talent in the future.

Didn't notice Honzek out there tbh. Ik some people have said he "does the little things right," but for someone who the Flames projected as a Rantanen-type talent, he isn't anywhere close. Hoping he has a better season in the dub this year.

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

Missed the second game, but Brewski (I can't spell his name, I never will lol) really seems to have some stylistic similarities to Adam Fox. I'm not saying he'll be Adam Fox, but I thought he was really good out there. Mews made some nice plays as well.

Zayne will be a good one in the future, but he's 2+ yrs away from being an NHLer IMO. The skating is excellent and he has a good shot, but I thought he was an adventure defensively. Basha surprised a bit with his skating and hands, I think he could be a nice middle-six talent in the future.

Didn't notice Honzek out there tbh. Ik some people have said he "does the little things right," but for someone who the Flames projected as a Rantanen-type talent, he isn't anywhere close. Hoping he has a better season in the dub this year.

I don't really see the similarity to Fox in Brzustewicz, IMO he is much closer to Ras or a Ryan Ellis type player.

I would be shocked if Parekh isn't on the roster for the 25/26 season. There is just simply no benefit in keeping him in the OHL for 2 more years. Just like with Korchinski in Chicago and Mintyukov in Anaheim it will be sink or swim with him. Pair him with Weegar and hope for the best. Zayne's edgework is incredible, it reminds me a lot of (most recently) Quinn Hughes and Sergachev, and a bit further back, prime EK65. He does however need to simplify some of his game though as he just can't get away with nearly as many things at higher levels.

 

[JPeeper]

Flames playing the Nucks right now. Gridin just made it 1-0 off a nice hard quick shot, assisted from Morin.

Parekh makes it 2-0, but I missed it filling up the dishwasher.

 

[Lunatik]

Flames playing the Nucks right now. Gridin just made it 1-0 off a nice hard quick shot, assisted from Morin.

his releasee was quick as f*** especially since the pass was so close to his feet.

 

[SaintMorose]

Good period for the 3 1st round picks and once again Mews

 

[JPeeper]

Another Parekh turnover leads to a goal against.

Parekh's defense/decision making leaves a lot to be desired right now for me. He's still years away from the NHL, way too casual with the puck. I'll be curious to see how he plays during actual Flames camp in a few weeks.

Edit: I should caveat this by saying I am not worried, he's 18 years old. I'll take a guy with his offensive abilities over defensive play 10 times out of 10. Zayne is a very smart kid, so I have total faith proper coaching will improve his defensive play.

 

[super6646]

Ho ho ho ho ho ho HONZEKKKKKK!!!!

That was a smooth goal.

 

[super6646]

Nice rush by Basha

 

[Bounces R Way]

Crazy how much the defense misses Bru this game. Jamieson, Hurtig, and Jurmo all degrees of fugly.

 

[super6646]

Crazy how much the defense misses Bru this game. Jamieson, Hurtig, and Jurmo all degrees of fugly this game.

Was Jurmo the guy who cleared the puck back to a Canucks forward behind the net on the PK? Cause whoever that was, yikes!

 

[Bounces R Way]

Bunch of these kids gotta learn the importance of making sure lol

Was Jurmo the guy who cleared the puck back to a Canucks forward behind the net on the PK? Cause whoever that was, yikes!

I think so. They are all wearing similar numbers.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Really liked Gridin. Think we have a player there.

Honzek looked good in periods 2 and 3.

Lipinski was decent again.

Morin had a really nice game.

Everyone else was average to yikes.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Gridin reminds me of Pastrnak a bit. Liked him a lot this game.
Good to see Honzek get on the board. I don't see a super high ceiling with this player but I think the floor is higher than a lot of Flames fans seem to perceive it.

Poirier and Bruiser together would be a defensive trainwreck of epic proportions.

Bru's defensive deficiencies seem overstated to me. He's not Chris Tanev no but I think just because he's a young dman that has produced offense like crazy in junior lots of people think he must be cheating for offense. That's not what I've seen when I've watched him. He does seem to lack intensity and could improve his footspeed for sure but he seems like he's more focused on efficiency in his skating and his positioning. He is a very cerebral game manager type of defenseman.

Poirier's defensive deficiencies on the other hand are understated if anything. He's improved since junior but that's from fully atrocious to merely bad. Puck management is his main area of need and playing with a guy who can slow the game down and still move the puck like Brzustewicz could be very helpful for him. Many times with the Wranglers he just goes full hero puck and tries to beat 3 guys from his own goal line. He's a terrific athlete but he's not that good, if he doesn't learn how to play in a 5 man unit and use his D partner effectively he has no NHL future.

If they both just play with the same types of dmen they've always played with how do they work on the things they need to?

 

[Dack]

I missed the Edmonton game but watched the highlights and the other 2 games. My brief thoughts on some of the Flames who played today.

Zayne Parekh: Guilty of trying to do too much quite a bit, highly skilled but needs to get better at picking his spots. His actual rush defense was honestly not bad though. Neither of his partners (Jurmo and Jamieson) really functioned as a safety net so when he took risks and it went wrong it looked bad. He's a guy who's going to get better as he gets more chemistry with his teammates too, a lot of his points come off of tips and joining the rush and it's a lot harder to do that when you're unfamilar with everyone.

Matvei Gridin: He doesn't have the puck a lot but he's very smart and has a lot of skill. His one timer pass vs Edmonton and his pass to Honzek this game were both examples of next level vision. I love how he's willing to pull the trigger before the puck has even made it to him. He was the Flames best player today.

Andrew Basha: Somewhat similar to Parekh, slippery and skilled. Sometimes hold onto the puck too long. 1st round level talent though, could very easily see him being a 2nd line player. I like that he's willing to take the puck around the net on zone entries. So many players enter the zone, make it to the goal line and just figure they've held it too long and throw it at the net or around the boards. Holding it gives you more opportunities to find a line mate floating into empty space.

Jacob Battaglia: Very interesting discrepancy between what he is and what was advertised. Most scouting opinions on him seem to be that he was a shoot first bottom six guy but both in rookie camp and in this tournament he's shown off some ridiculously smart passing and smooth hands. It's between him and Gridin who made the most "how did you see that" passes in these games. Needs to improve his skating.

Sam Honzek: Started to come alive after getting paired with Gridin. Needs to work on his hands/ soft area skill and add some killer instinct to his game. He was looking to attack a little more but he really needs to learn how to use his frame and speed to generate in the offensive zone, he's far too much of a perimeter player and he's not particularly good at it. I think he's still multiple years away. Definitely not showing much in the way of driving play yet though.

Luke Misa: Well rounded player. He should look to improve his shooting but he has the skating and playmaking already, forced lots of turnovers and plays bigger than his frame. I can't remember the last round 5-7 pick who stuck out as positively as him in rookie camp and this tournament. Mangiapane maybe? Didn't do much today though.

Henry Mews: Awful game today but he was pretty good for an 18 year old in the tournament as a whole. Some moments of nice hands/passes.

Some other guys were good too and many others were bad these are just the ones I focused on the closest.

 

[super6646]

Honestly though, considering thye were up against a significantly more experienced roster, I think Calgary held their own today.

Parekh really really impresses me though. We've badly needed a dman who can just QB a pp and fire the puck to the net. We haven't had that true high echelon offense dman since Hamilton or Giordano, so here's hoping.

I missed the Edmonton game but watched the highlights and the other 2 games. My brief thoughts on some of the Flames who played today.

Zayne Parekh: Guilty of trying to do too much quite a bit, highly skilled but needs to get better at picking his spots. His actual rush defense was honestly not bad though. Neither of his partners (Jurmo and Jamieson) really functioned as a safety net so when he took risks and it went wrong it looked bad. He's a guy who's going to get better as he gets more chemistry with his teammates too, a lot of his points come off of tips and joining the rush and it's a lot harder to do that when you're unfamilar with everyone.

Matvei Gridin: He doesn't have the puck a lot but he's very smart and has a lot of skill. His one timer pass vs Edmonton and his pass to Honzek this game were both examples of next level vision. I love how he's willing to pull the trigger before the puck has even made it to him. He was the Flames best player today.

Andrew Basha: Somewhat similar to Parekh, slippery and skilled. Sometimes hold onto the puck too long. 1st round level talent though, could very easily see him being a 2nd line player. I like that he's willing to take the puck around the net on zone entries. So many players enter the zone, make it to the goal line and just figure they've held it too long and throw it at the net or around the boards. Holding it gives you more opportunities to find a line mate floating into empty space.

Jacob Battaglia: Very interesting discrepancy between what he is and what was advertised. Most scouting opinions on him seem to be that he was a shoot first bottom six guy but both in rookie camp and in this tournament he's shown off some ridiculously smart passing and smooth hands. It's between him and Gridin who made the most "how did you see that" passes in these games. Needs to improve his skating.

Sam Honzek: Started to come alive after getting paired with Gridin. Needs to work on his hands/ soft area skill and add some killer instinct to his game. He was looking to attack a little more but he really needs to learn how to use his frame and speed to generate in the offensive zone, he's far too much of a perimeter player and he's not particularly good at it. I think he's still multiple years away. Definitely not showing much in the way of driving play yet though.

Luke Misa: Well rounded player. He should look to improve his shooting but he has the skating and playmaking already, forced lots of turnovers and plays bigger than his frame. I can't remember the last round 5-7 pick who stuck out as positively as him in rookie camp and this tournament. Mangiapane maybe? Didn't do much today though.

Henry Mews: Awful game today but he was pretty good for an 18 year old in the tournament as a whole. Some moments of nice hands/passes.

Some other guys were good too and many others were bad these are just the ones I focused on the closest.

This is something I've noticed too. Overall, his skills with the puck were solid. His skating was also pretty f***ing good too? Idk, maybe I'm not used to seeing speed up front, but he looked like he was bolting out of a cannon at points.

 

[Mobiandi]

Didn't notice Honzek out there tbh. Ik some people have said he "does the little things right," but for someone who the Flames projected as a Rantanen-type talent, he isn't anywhere close. Hoping he has a better season in the dub this year.

It’s for this reason he needs to go back to junior.

He should be standing out like Parekh whether it’s doing good or making adventurous mistakes. Quietly going about his business is a bad sign for a mid-1st round talent in this tournament. He needs the confidence that comes with dominating his opposition and his peers to make risky plays in games such as these. Sending him to the Wranglers is premature and will diminish his floor/ceiling while he learns how to play against grown men

 

[Yepthatsme]

Gridin reminds me of Pastrnak a bit. Liked him a lot this game.
Good to see Honzek get on the board. I don't see a super high ceiling with this player but I think the floor is higher than a lot of Flames fans seem to perceive it.



Bru's defensive deficiencies seem overstated to me. He's not Chris Tanev no but I think just because he's a young dman that has produced offense like crazy in junior lots of people think he must be cheating for offense. That's not what I've seen when I've watched him. He does seem to lack intensity and could improve his footspeed for sure but he seems like he's more focused on efficiency in his skating and his positioning. He is a very cerebral game manager type of defenseman.

Poirier's defensive deficiencies on the other hand are understated if anything. He's improved since junior but that's from fully atrocious to merely bad. Puck management is his main area of need and playing with a guy who can slow the game down and still move the puck like Brzustewicz could be very helpful for him. Many times with the Wranglers he just goes full hero puck and tries to beat 3 guys from his own goal line. He's a terrific athlete but he's not that good, if he doesn't learn how to play in a 5 man unit and use his D partner effectively he has no NHL future.

If they both just play with the same types of dmen they've always played with how do they work on the things they need to?

Really seeing that a lot of the discourse on Brzustewicz around this site is dominated by people who are jilted by his decision to spurn the Canucks. I haven’t seen anything so far with his skating or defensive play that looks like it won’t end up as “passable” at the NHL level, but if you go by this site’s scouting reports alone you’d think they are both significant walls he will have to overcome to be just an everyday NHLer.

Gotta feel for Poirier, in the span of 6 months he went from having a path open to being this teams premier offensive defenseman with top powerplay time for years to come if he reached his potential, to not having a realistic long term role with the team with the additions of Parekh and Bru. Regardless of Parekh hitting his full potential, his play is going to demand top powerplay time. Bru looks like he has a reasonable shot at becoming the offensive mind of a second pair at the NHL level. Unless something goes fairly wrong with their developments, that reasonably locks out any role Poirier could have in our top 4 or on the top powerplay. That won’t be much of an opportunity to create offense at the level he will need for a coach/organization to forgive him being a liability in other facets.

Hopefully he beats out Barrie and/or Bean for a role on the team this year. Could be best for him and the Flames if he could make a bit of a name for himself at the NHL level the next year or two to get some trade value, because he has much better prospects gunning for his potential role now.

 

[Yepthatsme]

It’s for this reason he needs to go back to junior.

He should be standing out like Parekh whether it’s doing good or making adventurous mistakes. Quietly going about his business is a bad sign for a mid-1st round talent in this tournament. He needs the confidence that comes with dominating his opposition and his peers to make risky plays in games such as these. Sending him to the Wranglers is premature and will diminish his floor/ceiling while he learns how to play against grown men

What? Parekh is a top 5 defensive prospect in the sport currently, and doesn’t have a peer for his offensive upside. Trying to say Honzek isn’t ready because he isn’t as flashy a Parekh is bad, especially because anyone who’s followed Honzek knows his playstyle isn’t flashy, like at all.

I really hope looking electric in this tournament isn’t the requirement to be ready to be an AHLer, because by my count Calgary’s roster roster this tournament has 10 skaters slated to play in the AHL this year, and 11-12 counting goalies. Still say what’s best for him is access to Calgary’s strength and conditioning trainers as well as skating coach full time is what’s best for him. Hearing he just started to do more mobility work this offseason after how injury riddled he’s been the last 2 years is pretty telling, and every notable name we have spend time on our AHL team seems to take massive strides improving their skating. For a project pick like him, both would do wonders.