Barn Burner: Boomer & Pinder with Rhett Warrener - Do The Flames Have Anyone Who Can CHANGE The Franchise?? | BB Clips

Episode Date: January 6, 2026

Boomer, Pinder and Rhett dive into a deeper conversation about the Calgary Flames prospect pool and whether any of these kids are actually difference-makers. Pinder thinks the organization has a handful of solid “B” prospects, while Rhett pushes back — wondering what that really means if none of them project as true No. 1 guys. Do the Flames have future stars coming… or just some nice players? It turns into a really good back-and-forth on what Calgary actually needs.VIDEO LINK: #nhl #nhlshorts #nhlplayoffs #nhlpredictions #nhlhockey #nhlpicks #stanleycup #stanleycupfinal #calgaryflames #calgary CHECK OUT OUR STUFF ⬇️BARN BURNER MERCHhttps://nationgear.ca/collections/shirts/FlamesnationBARN BURNER SHORTS https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj_bcGtvvo-cW2DHEDZ6dEO5ePDmlhZc9&si=jo8iNGxT4ImhS2Y8📲 Follow us:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fnbarnburner/X (Twitter): https://x.com/barnburnerfn?lang=en🎧 Listen on:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/barn-burner-boomer-pinder-with-rhett-warrener/id1648562889Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mc6Qd5U22R2zbMlQ7RxIiProducer: Jack Haverstock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are they any good? Yeah, I think they're really good. I think it's... According to what? The nerds that follow it closer than you and I. Like, they're a top 10 system and they haven't got the megastead. There's lots of sort of B plus prospects in there. That doesn't sound good.

So if you're, if you have B plus, how... There's a lot of them. I'll take one eight. Can I take one eight plus? That can't make you a top 10 system in the league if you have a bunch of B plus. It sounds like a bunch of volume of them and that they're very good players. So it's like the way. the wingers at the NHL level.

What I would say is like if you watch the world juniors and you watch Perrek and Reshny, like those were two of the best players in the tournament. How many guys playing the world juniors and don't ever do F all? They become good players or better players or both? I'm saying that guys that playing world juniors that you think are going to be stars.

Sure. Yeah. I'm not worried about Reshny and Perk not being good players in the NHL. I think you're full of shit. Well, I'm telling you by concerning. Not waiting yourself at all. I've asked you, based on what, someone other's opinion, do some homework and figure it out.

The answer's passed it off to some other. And then your idiot response says, oh, yeah, they're, oh, they're highly rated. Oh, the law to be prospects. So, what fuck said me. Gridden's having one of the best.

Got me swearing again. Griddons having one of the best U20 seasons in the end. Who's Gridden going to play with? Swear jar. That's what they got to draft this summer, I hope. Oh, so, but they have it, they're one of the best, I thought. No. they're like top, if I say

most generally, don't do that. If anyone's going to get called out for that, you're going to end up on the wrong side of that. 8 to 14 is sort of where you see them ranked by most of the prospect nerds, the system. And it was like when Triliving left, you're talking like mid-20s.

I guess my only. So they've amassed a lot of good young players, which ones turn into great-ed-ed-each-dellers or not? We don't know. They're prospects. They're not players yet. Yeah, and it could be two things. It could be that the best prospects that they have,

the guys that are going to be the best NHL players right now are the furthest away. They're the youngest. Yeah. But the thing about being the youngest is we know less about you because you're still only 18, 19 years old. Right. It's like, I don't know what this is. So because there was a time. It's like, oh, you can go down any of the, go back in time.

We can go through the drafts like, well, this guy is this. You know, they got this guy. This guy's, then you look back. But that's my issue is that we are back to that stage of Flames's lore of 80 even a coin said it. Okey. Obviously, I was still playing. He was playing. He was like, I've never gone to a camp

where I haven't noticed a kid that was going to be really good. Now, you keep saying Gridden. Yeah, I think he can be good. Is he a hundred point guy? No, but I mean. It's hard to be. No, like there's how many. That's, like, I think he's going to be a solid player.

Right. And so what I'm saying when they have a lot of B plus prospects, like you're talking about guys of Coronado, skill so they could be top six wingers, but where's your star? That's what their system is missing. And that's why all of us for years have been saying short-term pain, long-term game, like tank a little. Like, do we have guys that are going to turn into stars? Like, is Reshny going to be? Reshney's sealing is probably a really good number two center, like a smaller Ryan O'Reilly. That's not a star, but it's a very good player. Gridden ceiling is probably a 30 to 40-40 goal winger, not a star, very good player. Perrek, there could be an offensive defenseman star there.

A 40-goal winger is star to me. Sure. If it's 40, it's like, yeah. I know what you're saying, but like that's, we're talking absolute ceiling. Like the best possible outcome, he's got an unbelievable playmaker on his line, the power play's hummon,

everything clicks one year, he hits 40. But if you get a 30-goal winger, like that's a really good player. Batagli is having a good year in the old. Mews is done for the year. Bash I missed all last year. They've got a lot of guys that could be good players in the NHL.

they don't have a future star unless it's saying. That's why they need to draft high the next couple years. The issue I have with all of that is your use of the word could. Because there's other organizations, and we'd love to be them, where they will be good players. We're all, right? They're undeniably going to be. Give an example.

Okay. Well, Perak is supposed to be. Who would be the highest rated prospect? and I mean, he's on the bloody team. Like a not in the NHL highest prospect. Well, no, I'll say that Perak would be your highest rated prospect. To me, he's still a prospect because he's played, what, 11 games? He would be a top prospect.

I'm probably a third. He would be your most skilled. You're the best player. See, now you could do it to me. The best player with the best chance to have a major impact on an offensively gifted style play. Yeah. And he can't play right now. Well, we'll see what they do.

That is going to be fascinating to watch. I don't know what they're going to do. No, no, no. You're going to, don't make excuses for him. It's fine. He's a kid. He didn't come in and kick the door down at 19. At 19.

Yep. There's a lot of players that do. And I'm not saying he had to her. It's not a criticism, but there are players that walk in and kick those guys are undeniable. This guy feels to me like, and it might be a opposite of opinion as far as how I want to coach Huska and type of player I've been given. I don't know that. But now I've lost my train of thought.

Well, what you're talking about is that Perek has that ceiling, but he hasn't coming and taken a job. Yeah, he's not out there playing. I don't want to excuse this away, but like Eric Carlson at his age played about half a season and put up 25 points. Evan Bouchard was not even playing pro hockey. I think Evan Bouchard is shit. I just think there's time.

I'm just talking about offensive defense. You didn't. If you had a 19. year old who hadn't come in and made a big impact that was commonplace. You didn't expect that. It's changed because of how good some of the young players.

I don't. I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't look at the flames or at Perek and say, geez, it's to, no, but if you're going to be, can he be impactful? Absolutely. Can he be really, really good?

Ed Jovenoski came in at 19 and dominated the league. And you're talking about. about almost Hall of Fame caliber guy? Like that's, but nine every year. Why is that, that's what I'm saying.

That's what I want. He was first overall. Jovo, this is my point. This is a top 10. Yes, he's, so eight guys got to go before.

There's not 10 hall of famers every year. It's kind of our point, right? So if the teams of the top five are good, there shouldn't be any hall of famers left unless it's an obscene draft class. I'm over generalizing, obviously. But like, this is why they need a top three pick guys.

Yeah, we're arguing to get to the same point. Yeah, that's not the conversation is whether they need a top three pick. It's what do they have right now? I don't know. Yeah, I don't see anyone, perhaps, perhaps that might be, and you're going to have warts with that kid, which, fine, whatever. I'm not a Bouchard fan, and if that's what he is, there will be people that love him and people that are frustrated. If he's not for you, you'll be able to trade him if he's Bouchard.

And part of what I was getting at was this, is that when you get so focused on your own team, and I've said it year after year, that you think, your prospects are damn fine. These guys are good. Okay, great. Well, can they play in the league? What have they turned out to be? And are we overvaluing the roundabout way a guy like Anderson?

Is part of the reason he hasn't been traded is because we're like everyone in Calgary values him more than the rest of the league? Is there any way that could be? I just watched the national. stuff and everyone says best defense. Yeah, but they love to talk about it. And being the best defenseman doesn't mean... I don't think he's a star. I think he's a two, three and a cup commander, right? Let's talk about that. I think he would be a great.

Yeah. I like him as a player. I'm just saying, is he a true number one? No. Is he a true number two? Probably not. Is he a really, really good top four? 100%. 100%. And those guys get a lot. I don't think. think the flames over have too much stock. If anything, he's built up a bunch of stock after last year's

broken leg and miserable results. Like, he's been very good this year. So if you're a team and you're looking at him, you go, okay, I'm going to pick him up. I'm going to give up two firsts and a player. I don't know. Was that? I think because the answer is remembered to be the equivalent of two first. So maybe it's a guy

that was a first round or you value equivalent of first and a first. Maybe it's two first. Maybe it's two top prospects. Like if it was Dallas last year, Stankhoven and Maverick Bork, that's the ask at this point from the flames. Yeah, and that's, but then I have to also be able to sign him to what?

Probably max term 9 million year. And all that's all kind of very arbitrary because why are the flames asking that? Well, that's kind of what the market has said in the past. I don't think it's the flame saying,

we think he's a number one, so we're asking for this. I think they're looking, well, guys in the past have gotten this. And okay, so that's what we want. How do you, it's like when you start a podcast. How, what do you charge for ad reads? I have no idea what you did.

Probably more than what you did. Anyway, I just, and as far as the prospects, I swear Ger was free. I just don't know how, like, do you think the flames overvalue their prospects? I do. I think they have in the past. I don't believe that's the case under Connie at all. Yeah, I just don't know how they could right now based on what they have.

Like, what do they have? Like, who's being overvalued in your mind? Well, then, well, how are we saying that they're a top 10 prospect? Because they haven't arrived yet. And so when you're looking at their group of lottery tickets versus all these other teams, they're no sure things. They're all prospects. Their collection is a large one, which means if X percent failed, there's still, you've got a lot of tickets that could still win.

It's not a system like Edmontons or it's like, okay, we've got Sam O'Reilly and he's got to be our guy. Now we've got to train for Wright Howard and that's our, like, if that one guy doesn't work, there's nothing. It's dust. Whereas this, they've got a collection. of like, I'd say eight to 15 players that their ceiling is to be a solid NHL or some of them's a little higher and obviously a third of them will probably not.

But you've done no research on other team's stuff either. No, I'm not trying to argue. I would say Montreal and Washington have two of the best pipelines in the league and they've got guys coming. Like the Michael Hage kid that plays in Michigan is phenomenal. He had a great tournament. That's a really, really good player. They have Jacob Fallow. They just graduated

out of college. He's starting to play net for them. They just had Demadov and Hudson come up. So what about San Jose? San Jose's got Michael Mesa, who I really like, Dickinson. The problem is that we're not including guys that are being impactful because they've already got teenagers that are supposed to be prospects. Just like, you know, you've graduated Coronado and Wolfe and Perrek theoretically in the last three years, right, for the flames. Because Perrek's now on this roster. He's not in the minors.

Like they've graduated theoretically from Prospect to NH. There's guys that Walker Dewar was home, though. No, he's never been. He was on the roster. If you're saying that he was a, and he was a kid at the time. No, he was like mid-20s. He was a late bloke.

There's a difference to have been a 19-year-old in the NHL when most of your counterparts are playing junior and being a four-year college guy in your mid-20s that has no ceiling at all. Like Walker Dewers peaked at his very best as a fourth-liner in the NHL. But then why are some guys at 24 prospects and others aren't? Give me some names. who are you talking about?

Well, I'm talking about walking. Who's the prospect of 24? Well, Wolf. Is Rory Karen still a prospect? That's what I'm getting at. Who are the, is he 23 now? Like, what's the cut up? Like, it's kind of, I would think, not as a rule, but just generally speaking,

when a guy's now needing waivers, you've kind of lost the prospect. He was a sixth rounder in the Zary 2020 draft. Yeah. So he's, it's fringy. Yeah. Right? Like, it's kind of shitter got off the. Pot-time. So he's on your AHL.

He's doing... I wouldn't list him in the list of the top-10 process of the finals. I think he's going to be a great H-L player. Looks like a quad A guy. Go light up Europe. Because just, if you go back, because I think how... You can look at the draft that's a year old and be like, oh, these guys are going to be great. I just, I can't, I...

I know, but the other thing is, if you don't look at those draft classes closely... But we said the same thing... We never said the Senate Trillivings draft classes. He had the one with Fox and Duby. and Kachuk that is an all-time draft. You will be hard-pressed to find a team in the last 20 years that is through two players that good.

He's going to do this. And Adam Reschke, they got him and this is going to be that. Boy, you change, you, Cheska was never a tough prospect. Come on. Like, if you look at their last, Sven Berchi this.

Sven was great. Sam Bennett. The problem is if you're going to use prospects failing an example of why prospect ranks are wrong, you've missed the whole point. I'm not saying. So many prospects feel.

That's just the game. I just want more time. I want to have the players to be older before I'm going all in and saying, oh, we're set. So we don't need to, we're good down the middle and we're good at this because we've got Matt Vagridden. So we don't need left-handed this or right-handed that. But who's saying that?

You're building this roster. But no one's saying you can't draft this draft. It's like just, I just, no one say you can't draft this position in that position. Like just if you want to go the year prior. out of Sam Hansik Etienne Moran, Adar Sunnev. How many of those guys are you saying, okay, there's one NHLer in Hansik and Sunnev maybe in two years. He feels like a one in three chance that he's an incherler.

Yeah. Maybe lower. 2022, there's nothing there. Yeah, and that's not Connie's draft. 2020, I don't care. He's talking about the prospect, the system, what the flames have moving forward. And so if I'm telling you they've got a top 10 system,

none of the guys I'm talking about it from the 2022, 2021-20 draft class. Okay, but then it goes back to these are a bunch of young guys. So there's real no. Peret just graduated. Not graduating. Like Zeri and Coronado are on the roster. Like you don't snap your fingers and Connie's picks alternative. It is going to take time for sure.

You know, and it sucks. But you're saying that the older guys aren't prospects anymore. So if it's taking time, then those prospects aren't good. No, what I'm saying is I really like their last two draft classes and I didn't like the last few under True Living. And to be fair, they traded a lot of picks in those draft classes. Okay. So that's your take. Connie's done a really good job of the last two drafts according to the draft nerds that I follow and read and whose opinions I value.

Like really, really two very strong draft classes. But again, they're 18 and 19 year olds. So it's going to take a while before their core players on NHL teams. Like the Wittenback kid in Quinn of PX, torching it. Like if you do a redraft, he's not going around four or five. Yeah, he was a fifth. They need to get back into, they're

going to need some Rasmus in two and Godreau in four and Manjapani and five. They're going to need some of that. I don't even think the manjapani is a great story. It's not the type of player that I'm talking about. Oh, I know. They're missing stars, guys.

That's all they're missing. They've got all kinds of depth role-playing pieces in the system. Yeah, I don't have a star. Manjapani cycling between second and third line. And what it does is it comes back to our first thing when you come out and they were terrible at the start of the year. And we were, well, you guys, you can't be fans if you're cheering. It's hard to get those blue chip guys at 16 and 18 and 21. It just looked like, well, you're near the bottom of the standings.

This is a chance for you to get at least one of those blue chip guys. So here's the question that puts it, I think, nice in perspective. how does this team get an undeniable number one center? Draft. And how many of those are there in a normal draft class? What's this year's seriously? Because McKenna's not a center, isn't it? No.

And Stembourg's not a center. And Verroft's a defenseman and Carls and Reed these defensemen. Like there might be one center. Who's that little Finn that couldn't score on a breakaway? I don't know. Curry. He was more than a passer. Curry's a winger.

No. I forget his, Bjorn? Jorne, Bjorn. We love Finns. Yeah. But like if you want to be a contender, which they always talk about being, you'll never be one without a number one center. And if you're hesitant to rebuild,

show me where the hell you're getting your number one center. It's like once a decade one will get moved. Eichol in a spat with his team with a serious neck injury, Joe Thornton because the Bruins went all in our culture and made an idiotic move. It was dumb. Like, when else have we seen the number one center move? Almost never. The Gretz play center?

Yeah, when did he move? That was 90, 91. That was a while ago. Yeah, 99. So that decade, you could. 99, retire, retired. Yeah, I was. I can't just go add a number one center.

No, and that's what I remember. You go trade for Austin Matthews? I'm trying to talk about something else other than the flames lost. But. It is so clear this team needs a high pick, and it's so frustrating for the fan base that they won't publicly acknowledge that.