When we picked him up, I heard the opinions range from "best goalie in the KHL" to "total NHL bust".
His KHL club is in the finals right now, his stats are top of the crop, and his toe save is the top highlight on the front page of the KHL website right now.
He's 26 years old. Kiprusoff's NMC is toast on July 1... though the temptation to move him will be high, what kind of value do you put on the impact a veteran Finn like Kipper could have sharing the net with a young Finn like Ramo?
Ramo says he intends to finish out his KHL deal, that's another season after this one. Will Kiprusoff be around then to work with Ramo?
Is Ramo, like so many other prospect exchanges, a mere formality with no NHL potential?
Change is coming for this organization. Another should mention on the goalie front is Danny Taylor. He's matched Irving in his ability to win all season, and at times shown more consistency than Leland. Should we sign Taylor and bring him into the goaltending prospect fold?
Lots of food for thought.
I'd love to be able to comment on Ramo. I just haven't been able to watch any of him unfortunately. If he can do what he's doing in the KHL, I'll be pleasantly surprised.
The goaltending situation is certainly an interesting one. If Ramo comes over to back up Kipper, what do you do with Irving? (and vice versa). Boy, is it going to be an interesting off-season.
Ideally I'd like to see Kipper stay next season with Irving backing him up full time (getting in about 20+ starts depending on performance). Then, in 2013/14, either trade Kipper or let him walk, bring Ramo over and HOPEFULLY have a St. Louis Blues-type situation where you've got two outstanding young-ish goaltenders. I understand that's unlikely, but it'd definitely be ideal to have Irving and Ramo split time.
In Abbotsford, next season, sign Taylor to a year-long PTO to be the starter (or even a 1-year, $550k contract if that's what's going to keep him in Abby). Have Ortio come over from Finland and back up Taylor. Perhaps give him 15 or so starts to see if Ortio can handle it. If he can, increase that number.
I 100% agree with you about Taylor thymebalm. Taylor's been an absolute gem and whoever it was in the Abbotsford organization that scouted and found him is a genius. I can honestly say, this season, Irving was technically the #1 goaltender on paper, but nobody I know of can argue that Taylor hasn't been #1b while Irving has been #1a. The best part is that he's only 25 years old. He's just reaching his prime.
I'd love to be able to comment on Ramo. I just haven't been able to watch any of him unfortunately. If he can do what he's doing in the KHL, I'll be pleasantly surprised.
The goaltending situation is certainly an interesting one. If Ramo comes over to back up Kipper, what do you do with Irving? (and vice versa). Boy, is it going to be an interesting off-season.
Ideally I'd like to see Kipper stay next season with Irving backing him up full time (getting in about 20+ starts depending on performance). Then, in 2013/14, either trade Kipper or let him walk, bring Ramo over and HOPEFULLY have a St. Louis Blues-type situation where you've got two outstanding young-ish goaltenders. I understand that's unlikely, but it'd definitely be ideal to have Irving and Ramo split time.
In Abbotsford, next season, sign Taylor to a year-long PTO to be the starter (or even a 1-year, $550k contract if that's what's going to keep him in Abby). Have Ortio come over from Finland and back up Taylor. Perhaps give him 15 or so starts to see if Ortio can handle it. If he can, increase that number.
I 100% agree with you about Taylor thymebalm. Taylor's been an absolute gem and whoever it was in the Abbotsford organization that scouted and found him is a genius. I can honestly say, this season, Irving was technically the #1 goaltender on paper, but nobody I know of can argue that Taylor hasn't been #1b while Irving has been #1a. The best part is that he's only 25 years old. He's just reaching his prime.
Was Taylor on a 2 way contract or just an AHL deal?
What do you think the odds of him getting a 2 way contract going forward are?
On the current Heat (and Utah) rosters, the following players are on 1-year AHL deals:
G Danny Taylor
RW Tyler Ruegsegger
RW Jon Rheault
RW Hugh Jessiman
LW C.J. Severyn
C Justin Dowling
C John Armstrong
Depending on what they do with Irving, Karlsson and Ortio, Taylor has certainly earned an NHL deal. I'm a fan of Dowling's, too. He put up point-a-game numbers in the ECHL, but hasn't been great at the AHL level as of yet. Rheault's also been very good this year.
Was Taylor on a 2 way contract or just an AHL deal?
What do you think the odds of him getting a 2 way contract going forward are?
He's just on an AHL PTO right now. I think there'll have to be alot of dominoes that will have to fall into place before Taylor gets signed.
The first domino is Kipper. Does Feaster keep him or trade him? The second domino is Karlsson. Do they keep him as backup, bury him, send him Europe, trade him? The next domino is Irving. Will he be Kipper's backup or will he split starter duties with another goalie if Kipper leaves? Lastly, as sort of a wild card domino is what to do with Ortio. Do they let him improve his game in Finland or do they bring him back to the Heat?
Ideally, if there's no Irving in Abbotsford next season, I'd like Feaster to keep Taylor because not only does he have the trust of the players, but the fans as well. He's a workhorse as well.
Edit - Damn you Freeway. Beat me to it haha.
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I guess it's of interest that Ortio is with the Finnish national team as they prepare for the world championship. The other goalies at the moment are Vehanen and Kari Lehtonen. He shut out Norway a couple of nights ago.
Wouldn't expect him to make the WC team given that there are so many goalies that are more accomplished than him, but it's clear that the national team believes in Ortio's potential or they wouldn't carry him with them. He hasn't actually achieved anything, so they really must think that he'll grow into a good goaltender. It's kind of interesting.
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I guess it's of interest that Ortio is with the Finnish national team as they prepare for the world championship. The other goalies at the moment are Vehanen and Kari Lehtonen. He shut out Norway a couple of nights ago.
Wouldn't expect him to make the WC team given that there are so many goalies that are more accomplished than him, but it's clear that the national team believes in Ortio's potential or they wouldn't carry him with them. He hasn't actually achieved anything, so they really must think that he'll grow into a good goaltender. It's kind of interesting.
In 2-3 years the Flames goalie prospect pool could be one of the elite of the NHL if they all keep winning and developing.
Irving has had a solid AHL career and looked good in the NHL. Ramo has developed nicely since his NHL stint. Ortio has potential and just needs to play more and develop. Brossoit has come into his own this year in the WHL.
I was watching the 2nd period of the Knights-Rangers game (OHL) I didn't notice Radek Faksa at all. The most noticable player was probably Ryan Murphy (drafted by carolina 12th overall last year), he basically owned the whole 2nd period.
I was watching the 2nd period of the Knights-Rangers game (OHL) I didn't notice Radek Faksa at all. The most noticable player was probably Ryan Murray (drafted by carolina 12th overall last year), he basically owned the whole 2nd period.
Interesting to note that according to quotes last year at the draft the Flames had Murray ranked one spot ahead of Baertschi and both were ranked in our top 10.
I was watching the 2nd period of the Knights-Rangers game (OHL) I didn't notice Radek Faksa at all. The most noticable player was probably Ryan Murray (drafted by carolina 12th overall last year), he basically owned the whole 2nd period.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
Interesting to note that according to quotes last year at the draft the Flames had Murray ranked one spot ahead of Baertschi and both were ranked in our top 10.
Murphy not Murray. Also I'm glad we got Baertschi over Murphy
The Canadian Hockey League today announced that for the second straight week Laurent Brossoit of the Edmonton Oil Kings is the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week for the playoff week ending April 22 after posting a 2-0-0-0 record with a goals-against-average of 1.00 and save percentage of .975.
4 Calgary Flames prospects in the Top 21 ranking of WHL players (in the current playoffs) - would be 5 if we didn't trade Holland away.
Pretty darn good if you ask me. Although we have a ways to go in re-stocking our cupboards, this shows that they are not completely bare.
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The Canadian Hockey League today announced that for the second straight week Laurent Brossoit of the Edmonton Oil Kings is the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week for the playoff week ending April 22 after posting a 2-0-0-0 record with a goals-against-average of 1.00 and save percentage of .975.
