When I started reading this thread (this morning) I had serious flashbacks to the threads when Knight and Morrison signed. I began to have a lot of 'gotta be the expectation police here' kind of reactions to what I was reading
It is a huge jump from the NCAA directly to the NHL. HUGE! Very few do it. Just the elite. And the elite rarely go undrafted. Plus he has had just one exceptional season. The rest were okay.
However as I read on I have mellowed. What's that tag someone has? "If we can't overvalue our 4th liners then the terrorists have won" Something like that anyways. Makes me laugh everytime I see it.
It is an excellent signing of a solid prospect and I look forward to seeing what we got.
Plus the Oiler fan bitterness is so sweet I won't need any dessert tonight.
Put me in the camp that doesn't feel he has been assigned #15. I think the agency provided that jersey to promote themselves in the release and as 15 is his preferred number it was the obvious way to go. The fact that it is an older version of the uniform is clear evidence of this.
Still very happy about this for most of the reasons written beforehand. Just think the 'Always Earned' part of the motto needs more respect.
Last edited by N26; 06-28-2017 at 07:25 AM.
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So what's the deal with Jim Matheson? Either his sources were clearly wrong or he was going out of his way to not name the Flames as a team in the running for his services.
Exciting morning. Not used to that much press. It's about having good teammates, got to play with good players this past season. Over the past five years, has worked hard to get better and make the NHL. Feels he made the right decision and really make an educated decision on where to sign. Was never drafted, but hockey has remained his number one focus regardless. Education Background was in Finance and that's where he likely would have ended up if things didn't work out. Getting his foot in the door by receiving dev camp invites is what kept him feeling like there might be a chance to make it. It's a business and the goal is to make the NHL, not make his hometown team. Pretty cool to be a finalist for the Hobey Baker award. Factors for choosing Calgary were based in Canada, opportunity, team is trending in the right direction. Brad, Conny and Gully sold him on the team. Was really impressed with them. Had a great experience at Dev camp last year and that was probably the biggest factor in him choosing the Flames. Skilled forward that competes hard, knows he needs to earn anything he gets. A lot of guys up front would be exciting to play with, but specifically mentioned Gaudreau and how fun it would be to play with him. Will be at dev camp next week. Bit of uncertainty on where he goes from there.
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It's about having good teammates, got to play with good players this past season.
Over the past five years, has worked hard to get better and make the NHL.
Feels he made the right decision and really make an educated decision on where to sign.
Was never drafted, but hockey has remained his number one focus regardless.
Education Background was in Finance and that's where he likely would have ended up if things didn't work out.
Getting his foot in the door by receiving dev camp invites is what kept him feeling like there might be a chance to make it.
It's a business and the goal is to make the NHL, not make his hometown team.
Pretty cool to be a finalist for the Hobey Baker award.
Factors for choosing Calgary were based in Canada, opportunity, team is trending in the right direction.
Brad, Conny and Gully sold him on the team. Was really impressed with them.
Had a great experience at Dev camp last year and that was probably the biggest factor in him choosing the Flames.
Skilled forward that competes hard, knows he needs to earn anything he gets.
A lot of guys up front would be exciting to play with, but specifically mentioned Gaudreau and how fun it would be to play with him.
Will be at dev camp next week. Bit of uncertainty on where he goes from there.
I took the liberty to reformat a little.
Love that the invite was a key factor. It wasn't just about watching his most recent, successful season, but seeing something in the player before he broke out. Great scouting!
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So what's the deal with Jim Matheson? Either his sources were clearly wrong or he was going out of his way to not name the Flames as a team in the running for his services.
Most likely scenario: He had no sources and was wishfully and delusionally thinking.
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Slightly annoyed with Cjay92 this morning. The host bashed Foo for not choosing his hometown and then went on to say that Edmonton was clearly the better team with the better future.
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Exciting morning. Not used to that much press. It's about having good teammates, got to play with good players this past season. Over the past five years, has worked hard to get better and make the NHL. Feels he made the right decision and really make an educated decision on where to sign. Was never drafted, but hockey has remained his number one focus regardless. Education Background was in Finance and that's where he likely would have ended up if things didn't work out. Getting his foot in the door by receiving dev camp invites is what kept him feeling like there might be a chance to make it. It's a business and the goal is to make the NHL, not make his hometown team. Pretty cool to be a finalist for the Hobey Baker award. Factors for choosing Calgary were based in Canada, opportunity, team is trending in the right direction. Brad, Conny and Gully sold him on the team. Was really impressed with them. Had a great experience at Dev camp last year and that was probably the biggest factor in him choosing the Flames. Skilled forward that competes hard, knows he needs to earn anything he gets. A lot of guys up front would be exciting to play with, but specifically mentioned Gaudreau and how fun it would be to play with him. Will be at dev camp next week. Bit of uncertainty on where he goes from there.
I wondered if meeting a bunch of potential future teammates was a big factor. He was stuck on a mini team with a few other undrafted invitees (but his goalie was Parsons which should have made an impression). He would have met Janko, Andersson, Gillies, Kylington, Rittich and Dube, all of whom have a better than even chance of being a Flame. Not to mention Tkachuk, who he would have noticed in camp and then watched make the team off the bat.
This is one of those signings where you'd love to know the thoughts at the Saddledome. Someone tweeted there were high fives around the dome when the news came in.
Is that standard? Do all signings yield that reaction?
My guess is no, but to what extent is this bigger? Does Treliving see this kid making the team? Or does he just like the addition of an upper tiered prospect on the heels of the Hamonic trade?
Time will tell.
I don't get too jacked about college free agents generally, but I do get that if you sign 6 of them over three years you might get one player that can play in your top 9 and have an above average impact.
I remember Gaudreau (different case, drafted) coming out of college and obsessing over his NHLe and wondering if it would translate (it has). Then he goes to the Worlds and it seemed pretty obvious he wasn't going to the AHL.
I see him Jankowski, Shinkaruk, maybe Poirier, Klimchuk, Mangiapane all battling to force a decision. Don't see more than one of them doing it.
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Slightly annoyed with Cjay92 this morning. The host bashed Foo for not choosing his hometown and then went on to say that Edmonton was clearly the better team with the better future.
people still listen to Cjay?
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This is one of those signings where you'd love to know the thoughts at the Saddledome. Someone tweeted there were high fives around the dome when the news came in.
Is that standard? Do all signings yield that reaction?
We beat Edmonton - it always feels good when you do that at anything be it at baby races, funding announcements, or absence of bruises on legs.
