FLAMES RETOOL TRACKER: Which right-wingers could Calgary target in 2025 NHL Draft?
There has been so much focus on centre ice that it's easy to forget that the Calgary Flames are thin on right wing, too.
Article content
When the name-calling commences at the 2025 NHL Draft, the Flames will be determined to address both. Pivot prospects should be the priority with one or even both of their first-round picks, but could they target a future flank with the No. 54 overall selection?
Article content
Article content
Measurements: 6-foot-2, 192 pounds
The skinny: There were a lot of smiles around Calgary when the Flames plucked Andrew Basha in the second round of the 2024 NHL Draft and there undoubtedly would be a repeat if they pick another hometown hopeful in 2025. The smooth-skating Behm is an alum of Edge School and the Royals 'AAA' program. He made headlines by winning a national golf long-drive title last summer and scouts have been impressed with the velocity that he can fire a hockey puck, too. He is projected to be a second-rounder.
Filip Ekberg
Hometown: Uppsala, Sweden
This season: 16 goals, 45 points in 53 games with the OHL's Ottawa 67's
Measurements: 5-foot-10, 166 pounds
The skinny: The World Under-18 Championship is one of the most important scouting showcases of the season and Ekberg certainly didn't waste his opportunity to make a positive impression. He won the tournament scoring title — and nabbed MVP honours, too — with 10 goals and 18 points in seven outings for Team Sweden. The Flames have had past success with mid-round swings on undersized forwards and, because defence prospect Henry Mews played part of this season with the 67's, the decision-makers at the Saddledome should be mighty familiar with Ekberg.
Latest National Stories
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Edmonton Journal
8 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Most over-rated Edmonton Oilers still plugging along elsewhere in pro hockey
They are, as a group, the most over-rated Edmonton Oilers of all-time. But they're still plugging along in pro hockey. Article content Who are they? Bottom-pairing d-men in Edmonton, players who as young pros ere held up by large and vocal factions of the Oilers fanbase as budding NHL stars, surefire Top 4 defencemen-to-be, with all the fancy statistics you'd ever want to back up the claim. Article content Article content But one after another failed to in his Oilers audition, then have struggled as well in other NHL organizations. Article content Article content This list has many similar players, mostly smaller d-men with NHL average-to-good puck-moving skills. None of them were high draft picks, but their lack of pedigree and inconsistent skill profile didn't stop many fans from adoring them, promoting them, and gnashing their teeth at the presumed incompetence of the Oilers organization when they crashed in Edmonton and eventually were traded away after a few seasons. Article content The fact that not one of them stuck as a Top 4 d-man in another NHL city suggests maybe the Oilers were right to move on, and that the faction that so believed in each player simply had it wrong. I had it wrong on a few of them, I admit. Article content Article content It's a bold statement to say these are the most over-rated Oilers of all, especially given how so many fans have fallen for high pedigree offensive players like Rob Schremp, Nail Yakupov, Magnus Paajarvi and Jesse Puljujarvi. Article content But I'll suggest there's a special intensity to the hope invested in these bottom-end d-men, one similar to the optimism of the gold prospector scratching for decades for the one big find, the ego-driven aspect that rises high inthose who hope to have that rare ability to spot a diamond-in-the-rough. Article content These d-men tended to be most beloved by fans who put a lot of weight in modern era hockey analytics and fancy stats, the team-based on-ice numbers that attempt to rank individual players. The one exception to that is big Desharnais, who was adored by the old school, Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em faction of fans. They loved the size and aggression he brought to the team. But after two playoff seasons where Desharnais struggled to move the puck, it was time for him to go, at least when he was offered a major raise by Vancouver. But the Canucks quickly moved on from Desharnais as well.
Winnipeg Free Press
8 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ernie Clement hits the Jays' 3rd homer in final 2 innings, Toronto beats Dodgers 5-4 to avoid sweep
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani led off the game with his 41st homer, but Ernie Clement hit the tiebreaking homer leading off the ninth inning, and the AL-leading Toronto Blue Jays hung on to avoid a series sweep with a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. Mason Fluharty earned his first career save in spectacular fashion after replacing erratic Jays closer Jeff Hoffman in the ninth with the bases loaded and one out. The rookie left-hander struck out Ohtani with a full-count breaking ball before getting Mookie Betts on a game-ending grounder. After Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a tying homer and Addison Barger followed with a go-ahead shot for Toronto off struggling Blake Treinen in the eighth inning, Clement hit the first pitch from Alex Vesia (2-2) in the ninth into the left-field bleachers. Hoffman (7-4) walked Freddie Freeman with the bases loaded to blow Toronto's lead in the eighth, and he walked three of the Dodgers' first four batters in the ninth. Ohtani drove Eric Lauer's fourth pitch 400 feet. The three-time MVP's third homer in four games tied him with Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber for the NL lead. Freeman also homered in the first. Ohtani had two hits and was intentionally walked twice. The Dodgers' bullpen wasted another strong start by Tyler Glasnow, who yielded two runs on four hits and four walks while pitching into the sixth and striking out eight. Glasnow's winless streak stretched to 10 starts since March 31 despite his 1.82 ERA since coming off the injured list. Key moment Guerrero and Barger homered on juicy, belt-high sweepers from Treinen, while Clement put a great swing on a well-thrown low slider from Vesia. Key stat Ohtani, who only became an everyday leadoff hitter after joining the Dodgers last season, has already hit 23 career homers to start a game, including an MLB-leading 11 this season. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Up next Yoshinobu Yamamoto (10-7, 2.51 ERA) opens another Freeway Series for the Dodgers in Anaheim on Monday. José Berríos (8-4, 3.89 ERA) takes the mound in Toronto against the Cubs on Tuesday. ___ AP MLB:
Winnipeg Free Press
12 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ichiro Suzuki says he never dreamt of having his number retired by the Mariners
SEATTLE (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki paused at times to collect his thoughts and placed his hand on his heart as he spoke thoughtfully about what it meant to have his No. 51 retired by the Seattle Mariners. Suzuki met with reporters before Seattle's game Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays, the morning after his jersey was retired by the team. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame last month, Suzuki was touched by praise from Mariners manager Dan Wilson, a former teammate, and team chairman John Stanton, who announced that Suzuki will have his own statue at T-Mobile Park, joining broadcaster Dave Niehaus, Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez. He said he never imagined his number would be enshrined at the ballpark. 'It's something that you couldn't even dream or think about, and it actually happened,' Suzuki said through a translator. Suzuki is the third Seattle player to have his number retired by the team, joining Griffey and Martinez. 'The view I had yesterday from the field, looking up at a full, full stand of Mariners fans, was amazing. At Cooperstown, there were a lot of fans, but it was kind of from a higher position looking down. This yesterday where we were looking up, and it was just a full stand of people, that was great,' Suzuki said Suzuki first joined the Mariners in 2001. That year he joined Fred Lynn (1975) as the only players to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. Over his 19-year career, Suzuki was a two-time AL batting champion and 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner, hitting .311 with 117 homers, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases with Seattle, the New York Yankees and Miami. Suzuki wound up with 3,089 hits over his career that included 14 total seasons with Seattle. After stints with the Yankees and Miami, he spent his final two seasons with the Mariners and retired in 2019. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. The Mariners will erect the statue of Suzuki at T-Mobile Park in 2026. It will feature his iconic batting stance pose. Suzuki still works for the Mariners, serving as a special assistant to Stanton. He often works out with players during pregame warmups, which he did Sunday. 'I think what's special about this team is you see a lot of teams where negativity kind of gets passed down, and it just kind of grows with a team. That's something that happens a lot and its easy for negativity to grow within a team,' Suzuki said. 'But this team, the positive is getting passed down from player to player, and it is growing and growing. … It's the positive that is being passed around and you can just see it and feel it.' ___ AP MLB:
