Calgary Flames

BOSTON, MA -- The National Hockey League general managers endorsed all of the recommendations made by the NHL Competition Committee during a meeting Wednesday, according to NHLPA Special Assistant to the Executive Director Mathieu Schneider.   T...

Via the CHL I'm a bit surprised JC Lipon went undrafted last year. After posting an NHLE of 23 in his 18 year old season, he was passed over 240ish times by every team in Pittsburgh - for Lipon, perhaps the third time is the charm?Scouting ReportsLipon was only 17 when his first draft rolled around. His size (at the time, 5'9 and 165 pounds) and lack of production were enough to dissuade anyone from drafting him. The season after, Lipon scored 65 points in 69 games and grew a couple inches but it still wasn't enough for NHL teams to take a flyer.This year, he was 19 and put up some nice numbers: 89 points in just 61 games, for an NHLE of 36 in, technically, his first real draft+1 season. Lipon started strong, collecting 40 of his 89 points before Halloween rolled around. He's also grown a little: the WHL site now lists him at 6 feet and 181 pounds - only 10 or so pounds away from being average NHL size.Lipon is ranked 118th overall on Corey Pronman's top 250 list and the CSS puts him at 83rd among North American skaters. Lipon is a fast guy and played in all situations this season for his club, the Kamloops Blazers. His skating is considered good, but it isn't elite. He has struggled on the defensive side of the puck in the past, but his substantial PK time for the Blazers this year seems to suggest those worries might be history.Lipon's playmaking skills (i.e., his passing) seem to be the most attractive feature of the kid's game. On the flipside, he seems to take a lot of penalties, but I'm unsure if that is a direct result of his physical game (okay) or discipline problems (less okay). His only elite talent is likely puck distribution, but he doesn't have any major deficiencies in his game either.The NumbersLipon has some pretty attractive offensive splits: 32 of his 53 assists were primary assists (60%), Only 30 of his 89 points (10G, 20A) were powerplay points (34%), He contributed to 89 of the team's 214 goals for when dressed (42%), Scored 3 ENG, 2 SHG, 1 SHA and 1 ENA. Let's take a look at a couple of his comparables, shall we? I found players who were drafted in 2011 and still played in the WHL this season - needless to say, Lipon looks pretty impressive. Only one player is younger than Lipon on this chart (Stransky). Everyone else is at least 3 months older. table.tableizer-table { border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: ; font-size: 12px; } .tableizer-table td { padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc; } .tableizer-table th { background-color: #8C1010; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold; }   GP G A PPG NHLE Ty Rattie 62 48 62 1.77 44 JC Lipon 61 36 53 1.46 36 Michael St. Croix 72 37 55 1.28 31 Adam Lowry 72 45 43 1.22 30 Marek Tvrdon 18 8 14 1.22 30 Matej Stransky 72 40 45 1.18 29 Mark McNeill 65 25 42 1.03 25 Shane McColgan 69 19 47 0.96 24 Colin Jacobs 66 25 28 0.81 20 Kale Kessy 60 21 22 0.72 18 Travis Ewanyk 58 8 15 0.38 9 These numbers seem to be on Lipon's side as well. Of course, there is a little bit of reverse survivorship bias, as some players playing in the NHL an

CALGARY, AB -- Hunter Shinkaruk admits he can, for the first time in the better part of a year, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. At least temporarily, that is. The Medicine Hat Tigers standout has nothing but some personal training lined ...

CALGARY, AB -- Dillon Heatherington has a habit of running into Calgary Flames prospect Coda Gordon. The 2013 NHL Draft eligible defenseman first caught up with Gordon, the Flames' sixth pick in 2012, as 10-year-olds at spring hockey with Profe...

CALGARY, AB -- Colorado Avalanche Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Joe Sakic made waves on Tuesday when the Denver Post released a report stating the team would likely pass on NHL Central Scouting Services' No. 1 ranked North American...

- pic via Bart HanlonWith the recent acquisition of Corban Knight – combined with the drafting in 2012 of college-bound kids Mark Jankowski, Matthew Deblouw and Jon Gillies – it's pretty obvious that the Calgary Flames are gung-ho about college prospects. This isn't exactly a brand-new proposition, as it's a drafting habit that arguably began in 2010, when the Flames grabbed University of Wisconsin defender John Ramage and then-incoming Boston College forward Bill Arnold.Since then, Arnold's become one of the most interesting prospects in Calgary's system. table.tableizer-table { border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: ; font-size: 12px; } .tableizer-table td { padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc; } .tableizer-table th { background-color: #8C1010; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold; }   Justin Ryan Kent Hayley BoL Arnold 5 10 10 9 5 Arnold has put together a pretty good resume since being drafted in the fourth round in 2010. He's been to the World Juniors and two Frozen Four tournaments. He's won two conference championships and an NCAA championship. He's gone from being a bottom-six college player averaging just under half a point per game and transformed into a guy who has scored 71 points in his last 80 games while remaining a very reliable, very complete hockey player.If there's a good comparable for Bill Arnold, it may be Max Reinhart. The eldest Reinhart son has excellent vision and hockey sense, but arguably isn't “exceptional” at anything beyond that. Arnold may lack Reinhart's puck distribution skills, but he's also kind of just good at everything. He's big (six-feet, 205 pounds) but relatively mobile. He's physical but doesn't take a lot of penalties. He's good defensively but doesn't lack a scoring touch.Moreover, the legendary BC coach Jerry York has described Arnold as a strong two-way player, but also a guy who's capable of taking over a game. His teammates speak highly of him and he'll return to Boston College for his senior year as an alternate captain of the club. When he's dabbled in the high-end international world of hockey, he's played quite well – he was named one of Team USA's top three players at the 2011 World Juniors.ConclusionBill Arnold is a year away from being a professional hockey player. Since being drafted by the Flames, he was a very good rookie in the NCAA, a really good sophomore in the NCAA and a really good junior in the NCAA. He probably doesn't project to be must higher than a third liner in the NHL, but his success in the NCAA – and how it's happened to unfold – suggests that he's likely to at least crack an NHL line-up in the near future.He may not have a sky-high NHL ceiling like teammate Johnny Gaudreau, but his build, playing style and general demeanour suggests that he has a much higher floor than a lot of players within Calgary's prospect base.Flames Top 15 Prospects #6 - Bill Arnold #7 - Mark Cundari #8 - Lance Bouma #9 - Jon Gillies #10 - Laurent Brossoit #11 - Markus Granlund #12 - Tyler Wotherspoon #13 - Kenny Agostino #14 - Michael Ferland #15 - Mark Jankowski

Owen Sound Attack teammates Zach Nastasiuk and Chris Bigras aren't brothers, but it certainly seems like it considering the bond they've established on and off the ice over the past eight years. The two began moving up the ranks together while ...

It was a tough choice between Sean Monahan and Elias Lindholm for the Flames' first selection in the 2013 NHL entry draft, but ultimately the choice came down to three things that the organization has touted for some time now: Monahan's size, the fact that he is a versatile, natural centre and his age (the 67s co-captain is one of the oldest players in this year's draft and considered to be one of the most NHL-ready). Monahan's game has been consistently described by scouts as well-developed and complete in every area, but not flashy or "explosive." He projects as a first-line centreman who can win faceoffs and is defensively capable, and despite his 78 points in 58 games, was quite possibly held back by his less than stellar teammates in the OHL this past season. From Flames Nation's Kent Wilson: His team, the Ottawa '67s, was one of the very worst clubs in the OHL this time around, however, managing just 16 wins in a 68 game season and ending up with a goal differential of -115 (!). The next best scorer on the club accumulated just 40 points, a full 38 points (!) behind Monahan, who was basically a one man show up front for Ottawa all year. ...Monahan's NHLE of 33 nevertheless puts him in good company historically, including guys like Rick Nash (33), Dustin Brown (32) and Mike Richards (32). Keep in mind, however, Monahan's output was probably suppressed by the low quality of his teammates this season - on a better team, it's very likely he's an 80-or-90 point player this season, so his NHLE might be understating his real offensive talent. As Kent shows, if Monahan had played in the NHL in his draft year, he would have accumulated 33 points, which compares him pretty favourably to some of the current heavy-hitters in the big league. The biggest concerns with Monahan at the moment are his average skating abilities and the fact that he scored more points on the powerplay than at even strength last season, which could also potentially speak to the poor quality of the team he played on. Overall, however, the consensus seems to be that Monahan is the real deal, and for a team like the Flames who will likely not be able to move up higher in the draft to select a sure bet like Jones or MacKinnon without sacrificing what few pieces they do have to build around (i.e. Brodie, Backlund or Baertschi), that's good news. It also bodes well for them that Monahan, if they do select him, will likely be among the most physically mature of their recent prospects; at 6"2 and nearly 200 lbs. and as one of the older players in this year's draft class, he could be ready to step in and offer a helping hand if needed as early as next season--if not with the Flames, then with the Heat. Poll Is Sean Monahan the right choice for the Flames at sixth overall in this year's draft? Yes No 5 votes | Results

Corban Knight is the newest Flame. He is also a scholar, a gentleman, a free mason and a superhero. — FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) June 18, 2013  Our own Mr. BookofLoob has been warning folks on twitter that the excitement level surrounding new Flame Corban Knight seems to be a little out of step with how important the player actually is in the grand scheme of things. And fair enough.But I bite my thumb an that entirely common sense advice. We Flames fans have had precious little to celebrate in over the last 20 few years, so any good news is great news given how parched we are for such sweet nectar.So in direct opposition to BoL's advice, many folks (well...mostly myself) are now showering Knight with effusive, entirely unreasonable superlatives on twitter. I figured we might as well extend the exercise to the site.  @rocktown_9 Corban Knight created the #GRITCHART. — Kent Wilson (@Kent_Wilson) June 18, 2013   @bookofloob Corban Knight is the greatest hero in American history. — Kent Wilson (@Kent_Wilson) June 18, 2013 Get in the spirit and share your Corban Knight facts in the comments.

CALGARY, AB -- Growing up, Corban Knight was an avid Vancouver Canucks fan. Born in Oliver, BC, the pivot idolized Trevor Linden, respecting the former Canucks' centreman presence both on and off the ice, and rooted solely for the boys from Bri...