Some interesting things I took from that Ward interview:
- Regarding player development, Ward said at this level players should be afforded another player along side of them that can help their development (sounds like a Howse/Horak situation?).
- In order to be a team with substance, there has to be goal scoring at the AHL level (the Heat were in the bottom third of league in goal scoring).
- There were some players that "played a lot of games" for the Heat that told Ward they'd like to have "some more finish around me".
- Wants to make sure they're solid up the middle again (i.e., Ben Walter).
Great interview by him.
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Well, the good news for Flames fans is that Irving isn't questioning his future like he did last offseason. He said, "I love Abbotsford, love Calgary, and obviously this is where I want to be," according to this article by Dan Kinvig.
This is what I like to hear. Obviously last season he felt like he wasn't going to go anywhere on the depth chart with the then recent signing of Karlsson, so he was thinking of playing in Europe.
Now, he wants to play for the Calgary Flames. This is very good news. Let's hope he works his butt off to become Kipper's backup, because frankly, I don't think the team or the fans have very much confidence in CT as they do in Irving.
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I would have to counter-bet you and say that less than a quarter of the people CP are casual fans of the Heat and even fewer regularly follow the Heat.
But having the team in Calgary would almost force an interest on the population, which would probably get people going to the games.
Here, most people don't even know what AHL means. Like Ryan Walter said, people actually say, "When do the Heat play the Vancouver Giants?". And as soon as they hear it's Calgary Flames affiliated, that's it - they're not supporting anything like that.
Wow that Winsport facility is pretty nice and yeah I think the Heat would do at least just as well in Calgary as they are in Abbotsford. YOu'd think the Flames would save some money on travel in call ups and Calgary is also a little closer to all the other AHL cities.
It makes no sense for any team other than the Canucks to be in Abbotsford. They'd breakeven for sure if Abbotsford were the Canucks farm team. Chicago doesn't make much sense for them. They are as hated out there as the Flames are hated in Abbotsford. Yet, the Wolves still tend to draw better than the Heat, guess that answers the "better hockey fans" question.
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Calgary Flames, PLEASE GO TO THE NET! AND SHOOT THE PUCK! GENERATING OFFENSE IS NOT DIFFICULT! SKATE HARD, SHOOT HARD, CRASH THE NET HARD!
I'm not sure Calgary would be a viable place for the farm team. The schedule conflicts would be difficult to figure out. That would be 3(WHL, NHL, AHL) different leagues trying to get ice availability.
I think the organization is going to have to be a little more patient in Abbotsford. I think they've done a better job marketing the team within the community since Ryan Walter took over the president's job. I was talking to a local marlies fan that was at the last playoff game and he said he was surprised at how good the hockey was and he would have come to more games if he had known before. And the construction on the trans canada highway doesn't help getting people to come in from the lower mainland.
__________________ GO FLAMES GO!!!!
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Well, the good news for Flames fans is that Irving isn't questioning his future like he did last offseason. He said, "I love Abbotsford, love Calgary, and obviously this is where I want to be," according to this article by Dan Kinvig.
This is what I like to hear. Obviously last season he felt like he wasn't going to go anywhere on the depth chart with the then recent signing of Karlsson, so he was thinking of playing in Europe.
Now, he wants to play for the Calgary Flames. This is very good news. Let's hope he works his butt off to become Kipper's backup, because frankly, I don't think the team or the fans have very much confidence in CT as they do in Irving.
I hope they re-sign free agents such as Taylor, Desbiens to give the team some continuity so they can become fan favourites over the years.
I hope they re-sign free agents such as Taylor, Desbiens to give the team some continuity so they can become fan favourites over the years.
I agree. Probably the second biggest complaint I hear from season ticket holders and regular Heat attendees is that they have to get used to new players every year (the first complaint obviously being the attendance).
If you think about it, the inaugural season consisted of a core of:
Jaffray
Van Der Gulik
Cunning
Stuart
Murray
Sutter
Baldwin
The second season was drastically different with:
Keith
Rheault
Brodie
Nemisz
Laing
Stone
Cunning
This season was quite different yet again:
Kolanos
Walter
Wilson
Nemisz
Sylvester
Rheault
Connelly
Byron
Piskula
Laing
Continuity is definitely needed in this market to help it grow.
Last edited by Pierre "Monster" McGuire; 05-20-2012 at 03:32 PM.
I thought I'd add the year end interviews with assistant coaches Luke Strand and Cail MacLean and goaltending coach Jordan Sigalet. Nothing too spectacular, but I thought they'd deserve their moment in the spotlight for their hard work too
Lots of praise for Troy Ward and the Flames organization in general.
Didn't know that Strand had worked with Ward in Houston before and that MacLean had played for Ward at some point.
Last edited by devo22; 05-24-2012 at 05:04 PM.
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Here's some interesting information about Mitch Wahl. Feaster addresses his future and explains why he had the crappy season:
Sounds like Wahl had a bit of a work ethic problem. I'm assuming from what Feaster said in this interview, Wahl, along with several coaches and managers, believed that Wahl was too good for the ECHL (that's pretty evident from the numbers he put up). So he went to Hamilton and couldn't/wouldn't do what the Hamilton and Abbotsford coaches wanted him to do, so he went back down to the ECHL.
The good news is that a full season with Ward could do Wahl wonders. Another reclamation project for Ward, essentially. I'm glad Feaster is willing to give Wahl a second chance with the Heat. The guy was drafted in the second round for a reason. He's got a ton of playmaking ability and looked great in the 2010 training camp.
Here's to some luck for Wahl.
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I think a lot of Wahl's problem could be due to his concussion. He doesn't seem to go into the dirty areas and he can be better than ECHL guy due to skill, but to be good at the AHL level you HAVE to be able to grind games out sometimes.
I think a lot of Wahl's problem could be due to his concussion. He doesn't seem to go into the dirty areas and he can be better than ECHL guy due to skill, but to be good at the AHL level you HAVE to be able to grind games out sometimes.
Yeah that and I guess he wasn't able to train much because of the concussion. He gained a lot of weight while he was off. We'll see if he comes back in shape for next season and if he doesn't impress, he could be let go (not re-signed) and that would be a shame.
Some guys are never the same after a concussion, just look at Daniel Tkaczuk.
Barring injuries, the Heat are going to be stacked this year. So it's not a huge loss. I liked how he played, but I'm looking forward to a younger team next season.
Wondering what the Heat lines will look like next year? perhaps Pierre or others could comment...have only read reports my guess would be something like the following:
(assume Bouma is with Flames)
(Patterson and Cameron in ECHL)
(Elson back to WHL)
Doesn't really seem to be any obvious 4th line/ checking line....will they add more of this type of player? (a la Desbiens / PLL), if so what happens to the rest of the guys??
Wondering what the Heat lines will look like next year? perhaps Pierre or others could comment...have only read reports my guess would be something like the following:
(assume Bouma is with Flames)
(Patterson and Cameron in ECHL)
(Elson back to WHL)
Doesn't really seem to be any obvious 4th line/ checking line....will they add more of this type of player? (a la Desbiens / PLL), if so what happens to the rest of the guys??
You're pretty close I'd say.
Unlike the Flames, barring trades, the Heat are going to be very deep at centre.
Reinhart will be a top 2 line centre guaranteed. Ward loves that kid. Right now, Walter, Reinhart, Street, Horak, Wahl, and Byron could all be top 2 centremen with the Heat.
The Heat also have alot of fire power on the wings as well.
I honestly couldn't even begin to guess what the lines would be because besides Eddy, Bancks, Ferland (maybe), Aliu, and Laing (if he comes back), you could slot any of the Heat forwards in the top 6 and have pretty good lines.
I feel bad for Ward because no matter how he draws up his lines, there will be some guys who feel they're getting the short end of the stick.
If we look at it the way Ward usually does his lines, he pairs two players who have great chemistry together. So, paired together would be Howse/Horak, Byron/Sylvester, Walter/Kolanos. Nemisz has chemistry with everyone and anyone you put him with. Don't know about Street or Eddy yet. Bancks will fit in anywhere in the bottom 6. Wahl needs to simply focus on sticking with the Heat nevermind getting playing time. Aliu will be likely a 3rd liner. Ferland will probably start in the bottom 6 looking to put up some points and move up the depth chart.
I'm still a little concerned about the goaltending situation. Signing Taylor to an SPC (like Sylvester) should be priority #1 for Feaster. Especially if Irving makes backup and Karlsson goes back to Europe.
It'll sure be interesting to see what changes are made to the Heat this season because as it stands, they are mighty might deep at the forward position.
Ya they obviously need to figure out the Goalie situation ASAP.
As for the D...are they in any danger of losing Wilson or Carson?? With both on 1 way contracts do they have to clear waivers at start of season once they are sent down?
Is Connelly still an option?
And of those 14 fwds I listed, 13 are flames property outright...could be a big difference from last year when the team had so many fwds with AHL-only contracts (Rheault, Laing, Jessiman, Estoclet, etc)....do you think they'll add more?
My concern is that we have just too many bodies at forward....last yr both the flames and heat had an abberant amount of injuries so most everyone got a shot....if those inj normalize this yr, many fwds will find themselves riding the pine or in the ECHL....makes me wonder why they bothered to sign the likes of Comeau and even Stempniak
