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View Full Version : Preseason QC Flames vs Peoria Rivermen. pics and thoughts.


PIMking
10-02-2008, 10:00 PM
Well QC pretty much dominated the game from start to stop. Marek Scwartz the goalie kept Peoria in the game and won it for them in a shootout.

The good.

Hugo is an absolute stud. He has very good vision on the ice and has a good shot. the bad about Hugo. Well this isnt the QMJHL and you cant take a stupid hooking penalty because you didnt want to move your feet. He also had the hit of the night but the only problem it was on teammate Adam Cracknell.

J.D. Watt

I dont have a clue this guy is an absolute agitator. Kinda like Prust but he actually can hit people.

Okay shot but has a great drive and is going a 100% the whole time. Also had a fight (draw)

Kris Chucko

That guy was a hitting machine. Hit everything in sight but not the net. played very well looked like a man amongst boys.

Leland Irving

He has great positioning and will be a good goalie this year. I think keets better worry about splitting more time with this guy. the only goal he gave up in regulation was because the PTO players broke down infront of him.

Adam Cracknell

Agian NHL shot but skates like hes a little light on he feet.

Dan *** Ryder!

This guy is back. He made some retarted ( good) moves in the game Missed the net a couple of times but they were just barley off the corner.

Skated hard but didnt back check as fast as I would like for a centreman.

any questions about other players just ask.

http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg232/PIMking/preseason%20game/?mediafilter=images

Reggie Dunlop
10-02-2008, 10:07 PM
Big time thanks for the info. Not a lot of info online about the game (being preseason and all).

I know there'll be at least one Hugo Carpentier fan who will be happy to hear your opinion!

Drunk Skunk
10-02-2008, 10:30 PM
To be honest, I was a little disappointed with Carpentier tonight. He played on the third line, and I thought that was fitting. He looked out of place at times, and timid at other times. Hopefully that will change on Saturday against the Chops.

Vandermeer was the player that stood out to me tonight. I knew he was more than a goon coming in, but I never expected him to be a first line defenseman. He was all over the ice tonight, even quarterbacking the dismal power play. He's also a master of the "slap pass." Oh, I couldn't forget one thing - he is a master of the cheap shot. He speared a Riv' t'wixt the nethers while the ref wasn't looking.

I was also really impressed with camp invitee Mike Hamilton. He had a very solid game, and I hope he's kept around for a longer look. He played most of the game with Ryder.

Ryder had a very solid game - and a pretty sweet shootout goal. He was more physical then what I remember last year.

Kris Chucko is a completely different player this season. Tonight he was hitting everything in sight. He had two or three highlight reel hits, including a hit where he absolutely pasted a Rivermen forward against the corner of the bench.

Dan Spang and Brad Cole both looked very good as well. They were paired together on D, and I thought that they complimented each other well. Cole looks a lot more ... involved, I'd say, this season. He is always in the play, and he seems quite a bit more aware as well.

I thought Cracknell had a great game. Very solid up front. There's no way, based on the three days of camp and tonight's game, that he should be going down to Vegas.


A couple video highlights -

Dan Ryder's slick shootout goal (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufsoY7BFDRg)
JD Watt Vs. Robin Richards (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncBg5KnVMn0)

dobbles
10-02-2008, 10:32 PM
i thought chucko played well. looked much better than last year.

i really thought watt looked good out there as well.

though what i saw of carpentier just looked average. i'll chock that one up to not seeing the same things. could have just not been watching him when he was making good plays.

i had worried tremblay would be a liability, but thought he looked good. though he seemed to think he had a couple hits lined up and whiffed.

i did think ryder looked good but seemed to glide at times.

edit: DS, i agree totally about vandermeer and the spang cole pairing.

Drunk Skunk
10-02-2008, 10:34 PM
Tremblay called out Robin Richards three or four times. Each time they were on the ice together, The Hammer pointed at Richards and then pointed at center ice. Richards was having none of it ... can't say that I blame him though.

Hack&Lube
10-02-2008, 11:50 PM
What was the crowd like?

Drunk Skunk
10-02-2008, 11:53 PM
It was pretty full in the little Quad City Sports Center, I'd say upwards of 500. Not bad for a Thursday night pre-season game in a dumpy little rink.

MrMastodonFarm
10-03-2008, 08:23 AM
Again thanks guys, great info.

PIMking
10-03-2008, 09:06 AM
http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg232/PIMking/?action=view&current=powerplaygoal.flv

Power play goal.

SparkyOne
10-03-2008, 09:14 AM
A fun game to watch, even if it was preseason.

I was impressed with Chucko--a different player than the guy who left here 6 months ago. And Ryder was impressive, as was Hamilton. I'm gonna love Vandermeer....his experience shows.

Cole seemed to be all over the ice and Spang wasn't far behind. Carpentier had a couple of good moments, but by and large I didn't notice him out there much. Palin was kinda the same way....some good plays but other times he disappeared.

For some reason, I keep noticing Justin Bowers from time to time. At some point, this kid could be good.

As for Irving in goal...with more playing time and a chance to get comfortable, he could be stellar. (Do they have shootouts in juniors?)

With Germyn, Peters, and Vandy scratched....and with Sutter, Pelech and Greentree on their way, wondering who will still be here and what we'll see tomorrow night against Iowa. I kinda like that we get to see the guys being evaluated....and it doesn't show our hand for regular season.

I heard a couple of comments last night about no offense. But that's not what this is about....and I think our biggest scorers were sitting in the stands.

Drunk Skunk
10-03-2008, 09:19 AM
A fun game to watch, even if it was preseason.

I was impressed with Chucko--a different player than the guy who left here 6 months ago. And Ryder was impressive, as was Hamilton. I'm gonna love Vandermeer....his experience shows.

Cole seemed to be all over the ice and Spang wasn't far behind. Carpentier had a couple of good moments, but by and large I didn't notice him out there much. Palin was kinda the same way....some good plays but other times he disappeared.

For some reason, I keep noticing Justin Bowers from time to time. At some point, this kid could be good.

As for Irving in goal...with more playing time and a chance to get comfortable, he could be stellar. (Do they have shootouts in juniors?)

With Germyn, Peters, and Vandy scratched....and with Sutter, Pelech and Greentree on their way, wondering who will still be here and what we'll see tomorrow night against Iowa. I kinda like that we get to see the guys being evaluated....and it doesn't show our hand for regular season.

I heard a couple of comments last night about no offense. But that's not what this is about....and I think our biggest scorers were sitting in the stands.
Considering the players that will basically make up the first and second lines were in Calgary or sitting in the stands, I thought our offense was just fine last night.

dobbles
10-03-2008, 09:21 AM
sparky - something else i personally think always needs addressed regarding offense. so many fans still think any time a guy has the puck at the point he needs to instantly shoot. i don't know if that was a superb strategy in the old uhl or not, but these fans need to realize that random shots out there are just going to get blocked. these guys have tremendous vision and they know when they have a lane to shoot at. yet fans get all pissed because they aren't firing at every chance. instead they keep moving the puck looking for a hole and an opportunity. so personally, i feel that frustrate the average fan even though it probably shouldn't.

just my 2 cents as an add on to what you stated.

MrMastodonFarm
10-03-2008, 09:24 AM
Depending on how Ryder does, I don't think offense is going to be a problem for QC this season.

Ryder and Greentree can be offensive players in the AHL, and I think Chucko steps up to a top 6 role as well.

dobbles
10-03-2008, 09:28 AM
last night made me feel a lot better about the team.

but what worries me is that we are looking at ryder and greentree to replace scoring that was lost in kolanos and stevenson... yet even if they are able to do that, we still were 3rd to last in goals scored last year. so i do think significant offense needs to come from other places. now if chucko can be that better player all year, thats a huge step, but we managed to lose 7 of our top 10 scorers from last year.

Tilley
10-03-2008, 09:31 AM
To add to offensive optimism, I think Armstrong will be a bigger, stronger version of Van der Gulik. He's shown some ability in junior and will add to the depth on the third line in the QC.

Quick guess at the opening forward line-up:

Greentree-Lundmark-Germyn
Chucko-Peters/Ryder-Van der Gulik
Carpentier-Ryder/Peters-Armstrong
Vandermeer-Sutter-Watt/Cracknell

Good offensive ability spread over three lines. Cracknell isn't a fourth line player; he'll either be a top 9 or back in Vegas. If Chucko can handle top 6 responsibilities I can see a lot of other options (Carpentier, Ryder).

SparkyOne
10-03-2008, 09:46 AM
I agree with all of you!

I said last night, and will repeat here, that this year's team is going to be markedly better than what we saw last year. There's effort going into it from two fronts and, with Calgary getting better and some great young kids coming up, we're going to benefit.

I actually like that preseason games aren't about scoring. It gives me, as a fan, the chance to really look at the guys and see what they can do with the puck and to the opposition. I was surprisingly impressed with our D in general last night. It appears to have racheted up a few notches, and if the hitting continues.... I really didn't expect to see two scrums last night!

Now I can't wait to see who else we get from Calgary! They still have to get rid of 6, I do believe.....which means we're only going to get better.

Tilley
10-03-2008, 09:51 AM
what worries me is that we are looking at ryder and greentree to replace scoring that was lost in kolanos and stevenson...

Lundmark and Greentree are a better fit with the team than a floater like Kolanos and someone asked to do too much in Stevenson. Stevenson was good offensively, but I didn't think he played in all three zones. If Lundmark can consistently play at the level he has demonstrated in camp he'll make a lot of people forget about Stevenson.

Van der Gulik should break the 50 point plateau and if Chucko has any NHL aspirations he has to show more than last year. Losing Ramholt and Hambly won't be a big deal and Couture was a below average AHL player last year.

Take a deep breath dobbles, thing are going to be o.k. This is a better team in every aspect compared to last year.

dobbles
10-03-2008, 10:22 AM
i will not be taking any breaths until we win some games! :)

i hope i don't come off as too alarmist or that i think the team will be awful. just worry about our scoring thats all.

if anything, something that made me feel better looking at goal totals from last year is houston. they only scored 3 more goals, but because of their better goals against, they made the playoffs and were fine.

i would just hate to see us not have any offense and cause our record to suck and/or fans to not be excited to see games.

i did kinda forget about lundmark though. and i also agree that we will most likely have all around better players. i often harped on krissy kolanos for never playin D.

QCsec113
10-03-2008, 01:15 PM
Dobbles i hate to be pesimistic also but I have yet to see a thread where you arent worried about something!!j/k

dobbles
10-03-2008, 01:22 PM
lol. call me weird, but i find it hard to be excited when our team finished 27th in scoring last year and lost most of our leading scorers...

but its really just picking on the weakness of the team. we have good goaltending and good team defense. just offensively challenged!

Tilley
10-03-2008, 01:39 PM
The lil' Flames will never be a top scoring team in the AHL for two reasons:

A) The team follows the organizational philosophy of building from the net out. Unfortunately for the QC fans last year the goaltending and defense were very young and it cost the team games. The experience Pelech, Baldwin, Cole, and Keetley gained last year with serve them well this year.

B) Top-tier offensive prospects won't play for the QC anytime soon. Ryder is the only exception, but had he stuck around last year he may have been in line for a promotion this year. As it stands he will likely be in the AHL for a couple years. Backlund will be with the big club next year. Nemisz and Wahl are at least two years away. Depending on their development and the needs of the big team, they may find themselves in Calgary rather than the QC.


The first year in Omaha the team struggled to score like the QC team last year. The next season Boyd, Van der Gulik, Taratukhin, and Chucko join the team to provide depth and skill to the line up. I think you'll see a similar trend with the additions of Lundmark, Greentree, Armstrong, Carpentier, Watt, and Cracknell.

Hack&Lube
10-03-2008, 04:32 PM
last night made me feel a lot better about the team.

but what worries me is that we are looking at ryder and greentree to replace scoring that was lost in kolanos and stevenson... yet even if they are able to do that, we still were 3rd to last in goals scored last year. so i do think significant offense needs to come from other places. now if chucko can be that better player all year, thats a huge step, but we managed to lose 7 of our top 10 scorers from last year.

You'll get Lundmark too. This guy has all the talent and skills, he just can't seem to make himself visible in the NHL. He's good at scoring in the AHL but he's hardworking and honest unlike Kolanos.

Flames Draft Watcher
10-03-2008, 04:54 PM
To add to offensive optimism, I think Armstrong will be a bigger, stronger version of Van der Gulik. He's shown some ability in junior and will add to the depth on the third line in the QC.

Quick guess at the opening forward line-up:

Greentree-Lundmark-Germyn
Chucko-Peters/Ryder-Van der Gulik
Carpentier-Ryder/Peters-Armstrong
Vandermeer-Sutter-Watt/Cracknell

Good offensive ability spread over three lines. Cracknell isn't a fourth line player; he'll either be a top 9 or back in Vegas. If Chucko can handle top 6 responsibilities I can see a lot of other options (Carpentier, Ryder).

Lundmark has played some wing in the Calgary camp and may play at wing in the AHL as well. Perhaps Armstrong will play at centre instead of Lundmark?

JiriHrdina
10-03-2008, 11:29 PM
Great insight guys. Thanks.

Phanuthier
10-04-2008, 01:37 AM
Big time thanks for the info. Not a lot of info online about the game (being preseason and all).

I know there'll be at least one Hugo Carpentier fan who will be happy to hear your opinion!
Make that 2

I think Carpentier and Armstrong will both be huge additions along with Ryder. With Lundmark, Greentree and Germayn, I don't think QC should be too far off. I do sort of wonder where Chucko will fit, any day now, he can start to take off. Hopefully. :whistle:

SparkyOne
10-06-2008, 09:24 AM
last night made me feel a lot better about the team.

but what worries me is that we are looking at ryder and greentree to replace scoring that was lost in kolanos and stevenson... yet even if they are able to do that, we still were 3rd to last in goals scored last year. so i do think significant offense needs to come from other places. now if chucko can be that better player all year, thats a huge step, but we managed to lose 7 of our top 10 scorers from last year.

There will be more than just Ryder and Greentree in the end....and hopefully anyone we get will be more consistent than Kolanos was last season. He was fun to watch, but we should have been able to count on his goal scoring. Some nights, he just didn't show up or, if he did, decided to play lazy.

dobbles
10-06-2008, 09:35 AM
There will be more than just Ryder and Greentree in the end....and hopefully anyone we get will be more consistent than Kolanos was last season. He was fun to watch, but we should have been able to count on his goal scoring. Some nights, he just didn't show up or, if he did, decided to play lazy.

yeah, i was definitely leadin the kolanos hate train! couldn't stand the guy, but he put up lots of goals which are tough to replace.

i also agree that we will have several players that will hopefully add to the offensive side.

but in case i haven't said it clearly anywhere else, i have really been impressed by the team in the two preseason games! apparently i come off as really negative and depressing, so let me say again that i am really excited. i am even excited to see more of kris chucko! (pimking will be happy as he won't have to hear me yell "c'mon s-ucko" all year long!)

i have seen a lot of good effort and grit from the team so far. and if the iowa games are any indication, the guys are willing to stand up for themselves. i think its great having tremblay there to take care of any heavyweight type guys, but i was happy to see several guys still standing up for themselves and not taking any s**t!

certainly tough to get a total evaluation because of the rosters being so in flux for us and our opponents, but i have been impressed.