The Flames' current roster consists of just 3 players who are under the age of 27.  Of those three players, Mikael Backlund is likely the only one that Calgary fans will expect to be a difference maker in the future.  The Flames' top five scorers are Jarome Iginla (33), Alex Tanguay (31), Olli Jokinen (32), Rene Bourque (29), and Brendan Morrison (35).  Calgary has no high-end talent in the prospect pool and they're lacking depth everywhere so it only makes sense to draft the best player available.  A rebuild is necessary.  With the 13th pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, the Calgary Flames select...

Joel Armia, RW 

ISS: 13

CSS: 4 (EU)

The Scouting Report: 11

In 48 games with Assat Pori in Finland's SM-liiga, Armia tallied 18 goals and 11 assists for 29 points as a 17 year old. So yes, Joel can certainly play with men.

For unfair but fun comparison, in Saku Koivu's draft year, he posted 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points in 46 games.  In Mikko Koivu's draft year, he posted 1 point in 21 games.  In Olli Jokinen's draft year, he posted 14 goals (with 27 assists) in 50 games.  Olli has scored 30 goals in an NHL season 4 times.  Armia has shown more goal scoring than all of these players in their draft year.

This is what The Scouting Report had to say about Armia:

After climbing the rankings early, it seems like Armia’s stock may have tailed off a bit the past few months in the eyes of most. Despite going under the radar at the U20’s in Buffalo, Armia still had a productive first season in the SM-Liiga and went on to lead Finland in scoring at the U18’s. The Finn is still pretty raw, but a winger with his size and skill is an attractive package and it’s hard to imagine him slipping much further than 11.

Armia is committed for one more season to Assat Pori and this may cause him to slip to the Flames at

#13.  Here is a very detailed and in-depth write up on Joel Armia by The Hockey Writers.

Joel is a big forward at 6' 3.5" and 190 pounds.  He is strong on the puck and is said to be a pure goal scorer.  He could improve his first step quickness and add on a little more weight but is said to not have any major flaws in his game.  He can be a great player for Calgary to build around for years to come.

Click here for a good look at Armia's 2010-2011 season.

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Next Up in the LHH Mock Draft:

metalcoconut is on the clock for Dallas at #14
Metzfan22 will pick for NYR at #15
DirtyIsle has Buffalo at #16