November Prospect Check-in

November was still not great for the Flames. Let's inject a bit of positive thinking by looking at the team's prospects, whose performances are making this season slightly easier to digest. Check out last month's check-in here.

Stockton Heat

It was a rough month for the Heat, who suffered the same problems as the Flames with goaltending issues dragging the team down. They've had two injured keepers, an ECHL callup, a loan, and two demoted keepers. Not that great, but they've continued to battle on. Keep up with the team by reading Ed's coverage here.

For a brief readup on NHLe, check out this post. Statisticians have also reanalyzed and changed the translation factors, which you can see here and here (NCAA).

Promising:

• Freddie Hamilton is, once again, looking like a solid pickup. The Flames only have two true right wingers with the team right now, so hopefully he gets a look sometime soon.
• Turner Elson is still making noise continuing his strong training camp performance. There's no need for another centre in the big league right now, but he could be a solid bottom six player in the next few years.
• There was no room for Derek Grant after Michael Ferland came back from injury, but he is still producing points in California. He has three points in four games since returning.
• Ditto for Brett Kulak and TJ Brodie. We miss you.
• Drew Shore looks ready to step in should the Flames suffer another injury. He's too good for the AHL.

Concerning:

• Jakub Nakladal has slowed down after his hot start. Maybe keeping him away from the ice for an extended stretch of time isn't a good thing.
• Morgan Klimchuk and Kenney Morrison have both suffered injuries. Klimchuk has been a point of concern since being drafted, so this certainly doesn't help.

CHL

Promising:

• Andrew Mangiapane is still killing it. He's 15th in total OHL scoring, and second on his team. He was a sixth round pick too, by the way.
• Teammate Rasmus Andersson is also picking it up. He's now fourth in OHL defenceman scoring, and top on the Colts.
  
• Riley Bruce has doubled his scoring from last year in just under half of the time. He's still a longshot to make the NHL, but he's certainly looking better than a seventh round pick STEAL OF THE DRAFT.
• Pavel Karnaukhov has returned from injury, and already scored a point. Good stuff all around!

Concerning:

• Third round pick Keegan Kanzig was sent back to the Hitmen after only playing one game for the Heat. While there is a defensive logjam in California, he also hasn't been good enough to cut it at the pro level. This will be his fifth WHL season, and it's rare for players to make the NHL if they can't escape the Dub by age 20. Once again, he was a third round pick.

NCAA

Promising:

• Mark Jankowski, while he has slowed down a bit, is still looking great. Brad Treliving has said that he will try to sign him in the offseason, but that's a concern in itself. Is he expressing doubt that Jankowski, arguably one of the hottest college players right now, will stay with the team that drafted him? The Flames will likely send him to the AHL to start, and if someone can offer him more icetime, why wouldn't he take it? They'd get a second rounder in compensation if he doesn't sign, so it's not all doom and gloom.
• And personally, I'm more excited for John Gilmour and Brandon Hickey, two of the better defenders in the NCAA. Gilmour is scoring a ton, while Hickey is looking solid on one of College Hockey's better teams.
  

Concerning:

• I was kidding around when I said that Matt DeBlouw and Tim Harrison might become AHLers.

Europe:

• Ollas Mattson has started scoring, which is good for him. Maybe he'll come over the pond someday.
• If you can say one thing positive about Rafikov, it's that he's playing most of his games in the KHL. He's not scoring, but he's playing there.
  

Goalies:

• Gilles and Poulin are both injured. A shame, considering that they were holding the Heat afloat for the most part. Gilles is most certainly the goaltender of the future, but don't count out Poulin. He's still young at 25, and he could fill a role should the Flames need another keeper (spoiler: they do).
  
• Ortio hasn't played in almost forever, so giving him the net should help. He was rocky in his first start, so hopefully some consistent time between the pipes will help him.
• Mason McDonald's stats are more reflective of the crazy QMJHL he plays in, and the bad Charlottetown Islanders he plays with. He's still getting strong consideration for the World Juniors due to his previous strong international performances.
• Nick Schneider is still incredibly meh. Still not sure what he did to deserve a contract.

Prospect of the month:

The title stays with the Barrie Colts, but transfers from Mangiapane to Rasmus Andersson. The Swede is second among 2015 draftees in the NHLe category, falling to Jeremy Roy. He's going to be something good, and hopefully sometime soon.

Thanks for tuning in again, see you next month!