2011 NHL Entry Draft Profiles: Ty Rattie

Goals: 28

Points: 79

Weight: 170 lbs.

Height: 5'11"

Position: RW

Junior Team: Portland Winterhawks 

Midterm CSS Rank: 11

Final Rank: 17 

Ty Rattie is another player that experienced a break-out year as a 17/18 year-old in his second full season with the WHL's Portland Winterhawks. The lanky right-winger accumulated 28 goals and 51 assists in 67-games with the Winterhawks in the regular season while adding an additional nine goals and 22 points in 21 playoff games before Portland bowed out to Max Reinhart's Kootenay Ice in the WHL final. Rattie's 79-points placed him third amongst 2011 draft-eligible forwards behind only Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and teammate Sven Bartschi. 

Unlike Scheifele, the majority of Rattie's points in 2010-11 came at even strength; while he still scored at a rate of about 0.31 PP points/game with six goals and 15 assists with the extra man in 67 games, he found the back of the net 22 times and collected 58 points at EV. 

The Winterhawks finished atop the WHL's Western Conference with 103 points, and the squad was so talented this past season that Rattie finished fourth in scoring behind Ryan Johansen, over-ager Craig Cunningham, and Sven Bartschi, playing on a line with the latter two throughout much of the season. 

The Scouting Report's Curtis Deem is confident that Rattie isn't simply riding his linemates' coattails, however: 

While playing with two such highly skilled players undoubtedly helped Rattie become a higher scoring player, the 18-year old Airdrie, Alberta native was certainly a key part of the Portland attack. Rattie is an excellent passer, with good vision and patience with the puck. He effectively used these tools to set up his teammates with tape-to-tape passes that often generated scoring chances, many for easy tap-in goals. Rattie is also an excellent shooter, able to get his shot away quickly and accurately, and though his goal totals aren’t overwhelming, this allows him to open up space for his teammates, and keeps defenders honest when they’re playing against him.

Rattie is a good skater, but he is by no means going to put you in awe with his speed – another aspect of his game that could use improvement. His defensive play improved a little over the season, but still needs work

At this point, Rattie has to be considered a project player by whichever NHL team selects him. Without a doubt, he has some serious offensive skill, but he will need to add some mass and learn to play the game with the same attention and effort in all three zones before he’s ready to make the jump.

With the 13th overall pick in the Draft, it's unlikely that the Flames are going to score a player that isn't a "project player," which is unfortunate since their system is already stocked with such prospects. While it's obvious that Rattie has the skills, it's difficult to know what you're truly working with when a prospect plays on a team stacked with talent up front (i.e. Greg Nemisz and the Windsor Spitfires). Personally, I'd like to see the Flames go after someone slightly bigger than Rattie, but again, when your greatest need lies at the forward position, you have to take a chance with a player that is skilled offensively and hope that they become more well-rounded with time if you're Jay Feaster and the Flames scouting staff.