General Heat discussion thread

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

You're probably right. Reinhart will be one of the better centres on the team, but oddly enough Kolanos doesn't play centre on the Heat - he's usually a LW. I'd say Walter is definitely our #1 centre. Byron is probably #2 and after that you've got Reinhart and Laing.

What's up with Horak?

Is he still up with the Flames?

I see he's on the clear day roster, so hopefully he gets some AHL playoff time.

[flames_fan13]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

What's up with Horak?

Is he still up with the Flames?

I see he's on the clear day roster, so hopefully he gets some AHL playoff time.

He's with the Heat, I'm pretty sure he played in both of the games against Chicago on Thursday and Friday.

[Jaybird]

Originally Posted by Freeway

The Flames have a high opinion of Ward as a talent evaluator, so a LOT of the point of having these kids in with Troy during the stretch drive is so he can figure out how they slot in for next year (and to see if they can handle pressure situations).

Reinhart is the most likely to slot in given his Memorial Cup experience, I'd say.

I have noticed that Ward favours bringing in College guys especially players that he has a history with and it seems that the Flames are fine with his suggestions. I certainly am not an expert but I don't think he is a great talent evaluator or maybe it is his talent development that I am not sure of.
I wonder if the Flames were disappointed with Kolanos when he was up with the Flames. Ward was reponsible for bringing Kolanos to the Heat and he (Kolanos) certainly is a force to be reckoned with in the AHL but I don't think it is going to happen in the NHL. I was hoping it would turn out better but I am wondering if Ward's talent evaluation was correct on that one.
At any rate the shelves are full right now so there is no excuse for the Heat to not make the playoffs and have some success.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by thymebalm

I like that players will have the pressure to perform with so many bodies around. It says only players with signed contracts from the dub can go to the AHL, does that mean that Leach is signed in at least some respect?

I'm almost sure they'll sign Leach and Reinhart to ATOs.

[devo22]

Official: Reinhart assigned to Abbotsford, Leach signed to an ATO.

http://www.abbotsfordheat.com/ViewAr...B_OEM_ID=23800

[getbak]

Punjabi Night in Abbotsford is on Wednesday April 4th, where the Heat are excited to present the inaugural Vaisakhi Celebrations in Abbotsford. Enjoy Punjabi music, Bhangra, live performances and more.

They have much better theme nights in Abbotsford than the Flames have.

[Robbob]

How many games are left in the regular season for the Heat?

[devo22]

six.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by devo22

six.

Thanks,

I should have just clicked on the link to their website. Having done that I see their last game on the 15th is against the Marlies. I wonder what the chances are that CBC picks that afternoon game up...CBC still shows the odd AHL game right?

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by Robbob

Thanks,

I should have just clicked on the link to their website. Having done that I see their last game on the 15th is against the Marlies. I wonder what the chances are that CBC picks that afternoon game up...CBC still shows the odd AHL game right?

No chance. Unfortunately the CBC didn't re-up their contract with the AHL for this season, so no games on TV

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

The Abbotsford Heat are proud to announce that Carter Bancks has been named the team's winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the community of Abbotsford during the 2011-12 season.

Way to go Bancks.

http://www.abbotsfordheat.com/ViewAr...CLID=205407989

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Also:

"@RyanPinder: G - Brandon Glover has signed an ATO with the @AbbotsfordHeat as Leland Irving awaits the birth of his first child."

He'll just be a backup for a bit. Congrats to Irving! Way to have a baby at the exact wrong time!

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Very interesting article/interview from Dan Kinving with Troy Ward:

Ward says:

"As a team, we don't have problems in our systems right now, and that's a credit to the guys on the ice and the guys who do the teaching (assistant coaches Luke Strand and Cail MacLean).

"The problems that we're having are fundamental issues. We have some guys who can't execute the fundamentals. They know where they need to be as a group and how it relates to each other, but it's just the fact that we've got guys who have gotten here based on some physical or some skill things, but they haven't gotten here based on fundamentals.

"We have guys out here who have big contracts who aren't where they think they should be because their fundamentals are poor. It's not that they're not good guys, and they have a little bit of skill and size. They just break down the system because their fundamentals can't handle it."

Anyone wanna take a stab at who and what he's implying here?

I'm trying to think about who's on the team based on their "skill and size" and not their fundamentals and a few names that pop into my head are Kolanos (skilled), Breen (size), and Connelly (skilled). Maybe to a lesser extent Aliu (size) and Sylvester (skilled).

With the second quote I bolded, the guys on big contracts who aren't where THEY think they should be is an interesting one. I would almost put money on one of those guys being Kolanos. I guess we're talking about players who have a "big head" and think they're too good for the AHL? Just thinking aloud here.

Anyone have any input?

EDIT - Sorry, couldn't find the article on the internet yet. I typed the quote directly from today's Abbotsford News newspaper though. As soon as it shows up on the internet I'll post the link.

[sworkhard]

Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

Very interesting article/interview from Dan Kinving with Troy Ward:

Ward says:


Anyone wanna take a stab at who and what he's implying here?

I'm trying to think about who's on the team based on their "skill and size" and not their fundamentals and a few names that pop into my head are Kolanos (skilled), Breen (size), and Connelly (skilled). Maybe to a lesser extent Aliu (size) and Sylvester (skilled).

With the second quote I bolded, the guys on big contracts who aren't where THEY think they should be is an interesting one. I would almost put money on one of those guys being Kolanos. I guess we're talking about players who have a "big head" and think they're too good for the AHL? Just thinking aloud here.

Anyone have any input?

Please post a link to the article. I'm not seeing it on his twitter feed and a Google search just brings this up. Thanks.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by sworkhard

Please post a link to the article. I'm not seeing it on his twitter feed and a Google search just brings this up. Thanks.

Sorry forgot to mention, I couldn't find it on the internet yet. It's in today's local Abbotsford News newspaper though. I just typed it exactly as it shows in the newspaper.

[HighLifeMan]

Hugh Jessimen, Ryan Howse, Brian Connelly, Akim Aliu are the players I think of when such things are said.

Possibly Kolanos as well.

[flamesrule14]

A guy like Carson came to mind when I read the second bolded sentence. Does he not have a one way contract? So I guess he fits the big contract and he probably thinks he should be in the NHL. Hell I thought he'd be a 6/7 guy for the flames this season. Kolanos has always had a reputation for that kind of stuff so maybe he's one of the guys as well.

[Johnny Rotten]

Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

Very interesting article/interview from Dan Kinving with Troy Ward:

Ward says:


Anyone wanna take a stab at who and what he's implying here?

I'm trying to think about who's on the team based on their "skill and size" and not their fundamentals and a few names that pop into my head are Kolanos (skilled), Breen (size), and Connelly (skilled). Maybe to a lesser extent Aliu (size) and Sylvester (skilled).

With the second quote I bolded, the guys on big contracts who aren't where THEY think they should be is an interesting one. I would almost put money on one of those guys being Kolanos. I guess we're talking about players who have a "big head" and think they're too good for the AHL? Just thinking aloud here.

Anyone have any input?

EDIT - Sorry, couldn't find the article on the internet yet. I typed the quote directly from today's Abbotsford News newspaper though. As soon as it shows up on the internet I'll post the link.

The more I hear Ward speak, the more I appreciate his honesty. I'm not qualified to make an "intellectually honest" judgement, but if Brent isn't rehired, I think Ward could be a good replacement, especially with a younger team. But I wonder how the veterans would appreciate his honesty?

[Freeway]

I'm a big Dan Kinvig fan.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Went to the game tonight. It was just a fun game to watch. Taylor and Walter were absolutely right when they said it was "the most complete game the team has played at home".

The Heat shut out the Rochester Americans tonight with a 4-0 win. The goals were from Walter (Connelly & Piskula), Aliu (Walter & Piskula), Kolanos (unassisted), and Desbiens (Byron & Wilson).

The Good:
- Despite only getting one point, Byron was the best player on the ice tonight. He was flying everywhere and looked like Hot Sauce from And1. On a few occasions he dangled through about three players into the offensive zone to create a solid scoring chance. Not only that, but he battled hard along the boards. For a small guy, he would go into the boards at half speed and hit the guy before grabbing the puck. I suppose he's figured out how to make it in professional hockey - either you get hit first or I get hit first. Good on him. Tonight was the best I've seen of Byron.
- In general the Sylvester/Byron/Kolanos line was phenomenal.
- The Horak/Walter/Nemisz line was very good as well. Nemisz did the dirty work in the corners and in front of the net while Walter and Horak made the opposing team look lost and confused.
- Probably the second best line tonight was the Desbiens/Laing/Aliu line - namely, Aliu. He was absolutely destroying guys tonight. He was quick, he was making crisp passes to his teammates, and everytime he dumped and chased he was the first guy on the puck. Furthermore, he was playing the role of pest since PL3 was a healthy scratch.
- The Rheault/Bancks/Estoclet was alright as a whole. Rheault and Estoclet didn't get very much ice time tonight, whereas Bancks seemingly played about 30:00 tonight. I'm exaggerating of course, but it seemed like he was always on the ice. I think that's because the Heat had to kill 6 penalties tonight and Bancks is a key guy on the PK. If Byron was the best guy on the ice tonight, I'd have to say Bancks was a close second.
- On defense, Breen was a beast tonight. I have to say he had a chip on his shoulder all night. He was more physical than he usually is. I think being paired with Connelly for the game gave him an abnormally large sense of defensive responsibility. Connelly would often join the rush or lead the rush forcing Breen to play "stay at home defenseman". It was a very very good game from him tonight.
- Gotta give Piskula credit tonight as well. He was just about as good as Breen.
- Connelly and Wilson did what Connelly and Wilson normally do. They chipped in offensively and played solid games.
- While Taylor did get the shutout, it'd be naive not to give the defence total credit for that shutout. The D absolutely stifled any offense that Rochester may have had. They only allowed 17 shots on Taylor, most of which weren't scoring chances whatsoever.

The Bad:

Nothing. Well, maybe the attendance, which totalled at only 2105. I can honestly say though that not a single player on the Heat had a bad game.

EDIT - Also of note, Ben Walter has set the record for the Abbotsford Heat for the most points in a single season at 55. Krys Kolanos has tied the Heat record for most goals in a season at 25. Both records were previously held by Jason Jaffray.