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The Flames will certainly be focusing on offense this season, as their system is flush with defensive prospects and severely lacking any “wow” forwards. The Flames have traded away a number of their top offensive prospects and haven’t had the top picks needed to really bolster their system; which is unfortunate as the franchise is facing a number of questions, especially on offense, heading into the next few seasons.Unfortunately, because of the same reasons their lacking offensive talent in the system, the Flames don’t pick until the third round and will be hard pressed to find “can’t miss” talent this year.
2010 draft picks
Round 3 - 64th
Round 3 - 73rd
Round 4 - 103rd
Round 4 - 108th
Round 5 - 133rd
Round 6 - 163rd
Round 7 - 193rd
Top prospects (per Hockey’s Future):
1. Mikael Backlund, C
2. Greg Nemisz, RW
3. Tim Erixon, D
4. John Negrin, D
5. T.J. Brodie, D
6. Ryan Howse, LW
7. Mitch Wahl, C
8. Matt Pelech, D
9. Leland Irving, G
10. Matt Keetley, G
What the blogs are saying:
Of course, guessing picks in rounds three or later is several orders of magnitude more difficult. Draft boards tend to diverge wildly outside of the top 30 of any given draft, with some teams rating players that others wouldn’t touch. The consensus ranks developed by groups such as NHL central scouting are merely a sketchy roadmap for any wannabe draft day prophet as well - each team has it’s own scouts, preferences and priorities.
So while the Flames have easily identifiable needs and draft habits, the fact that they don’t currently own a choice in the top 60 means we’re throwing darts in the dark here. Doesn’t mean that this isn’t a worthwhile exercise, but just don’t be surprised if the Flames pick someone not mentioned (and perhaps, no one has ever heard of) at #64.