– pic via stat19

It was noted this evening by Edmonton radio host Bob Stauffer that the Flames may be making a play for former Panthers 5th rounder Corban Knight. A 22-year old center from High River, Knight recently completed his fourth season at the University of North Dakota where he scored 49 points in 41 games.

Knight’s stock has increased since being picked by Florida in 2009. He was a better than a point-per-game producer in college after his freshman season and at 6’2", 200 pounds has the sort of size people are looking for in centermen.

Jason Gregor wrote an excellent profile of Knight recently:

Knight was very poised, polite and extremely humble during our phone interview. I’d say he offers more than just little offensive upside.

He was one of the 10 finalists for the 2013 Hobey Baker Award, handed out annually to the top NCAA men’s hockey player. Knight had a stellar senior year at UND. His accomplishments include:

Finishing in the top 10 in scoring in the nation;

A 19-game point streak, the longest at UND in the last 25 years;

Getting points in 29 games, second most in the nation;

Winning 60 per cent of his faceoffs. In fact, Knight’s past three seasons have been very consistent as he’s averaged 58 per cent in the faceoff dot.

…

Knight was very adamant that the strengths of his game are his defensive awareness and faceoffs, but he clearly possesses an offensive touch. He has steadily improved as a player, but he believes college allowed him to grow as a person.

Knight and his agent recently told the Panthers organization they would opt for free agency, which is why the player is available. He sounds like he falls in the org’s wheelhouse given how much Weisbrod and company have foregrounded things like character, hockey sense and collegiate atheletes since taking over.

Knight would also add another decent prospect at center, which is where the team would desperately like to build strength moving forward. I don’t think he has a high upside as a scorer in the show given his numbers, but at 22 and already a complete two-way player he could be much closer to jumping in and providing value relative to any of the kids the Flames will be taking in the draft.

Assuming they actually acquire and sign him of course. We’ll update this article if that happens.

Update

Flames have announced this morning they have acquired Knight from the Panthers. No word on the price yet, but we’ll update in the comments when that is released . Sounds like a 4th round pick. A very low cost to pay.

Knight is a good addition to the Flames prospect pool. In the current top-15 rankings, he’d likey slot in the top-5 at the very least.





