"I'm doing everything that I can to play with the Calgary Flames [in 2017-18]," said Valimaki, who had 61 points (19 goals, 42 assists) in 60 games with Tri-City of the Western Hockey League last season. "That's where my goal is right now. But it's not the end of the world if I still play in junior. I'm working to play in the NHL."

For defensemen, the Calgary Flames are going to be a tough team to make this fall.There are five, sure-fire locks in Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton, Travis Hamonic, T.J. Brodie, and Micheal Stone.Barring any pre-season injuries, that leaves one lineup spot, and two roster spots, open for a plethora of prospects and/or potential PTO invites to compete for.It's certainly not an easy defense to crack, which decreases the likelihood of an 18-year-old making the team out of camp.That hasn't prevented Juuso Valimaki from setting his sights on a roster spot ( excerpt via NHL.com ).It's good to be confident, and aim high, but Valimaki making the team this fall is unlikely.In saying that, there are some things working in his favor that put it (somewhat) in the realm of possibility.For starters, he's a left-handed shot. The Flames don't have much on the left side (Brett Kulak, who I like as a depth guy, Matt Bartkowski, and Oliver Kylington are the only guys he has to go up against) so that will help his cause.Mid 1st rounders generally don't jump to the NHL a few months after being selected but Jakob Chychrun (also a 16th overall pick) did it a year ago and Valimaki's 5v5 numbers actually stack up favorably in several aspects.For a wider look approach, though, let's take a look at some CHL defensemen drafted highly over the last three years (that's as far back as HockeyRelativity goes) and how they fared before making the NHL, or at least seriously pushing for a spot.Valimaki recorded even-strength points, and primary points, at a higher rate than any of those defensemen in their draft years. His on-ice goals for numbers weren't as good, however, they were still on the right side of the ledger and he didn't play on powerhouse teams like the rest of those guys did.It's fair to say Valimaki had the best draft year out of the group (his production was better and, again, he played on the worst team of the bunch, which hurt his on-ice goal numbers). His draft year numbers hold up very well against draft+1 years, too.In Ivan Provorov's draft+1 year he played on a Memorial Cup caliber team, and was named CHL Defenseman of the Year, yet still didn't produce points at as high of a clip as Valimaki. He went on to make the Philadelphia Flyers a few months later.Mikhail Sergachev played on a Memorial Cup *winning* team in his draft+1 year, and was a finalist for OHL Defenseman of the Year, and his numbers were only slightly better than Valimaki's. He is considered NHL ready and will likely play with the Tampa Bay Lightning in a few months time.I included Olli Juolevi because he was also a high pick but, realistically, his numbers don't hold a candle to Valimaki's, though he will likely play in the NHL sooner than later, too.I'm not saying Valimaki is better or will be better than Provorov, for example (I really like him). All I'm saying is his numbers are comparable to what Provorov posted before making the jump.Valimaki may not make the Flames this fall -- it's a tough team to crack, and players chosen in his slot aren't usually rushed to the NHL -- but he's probably not as far off as many realize.