Quote:
Originally Posted by timbit
BTW...how the hell does that happen? Abbotsford is the freaking development team. They are there for one reason only..to develop players for the Calgary Flames. Up until a week ago the only young goalie prospect that the Flames had a vested interest in was Irving.
If he was struggling...find a way to help him solve his problems. That is their job down there as opposed to letting him rot, at the expense of winning.
So ass backwards.
Just maybe that is the biggest reason why he is not the more polished and confident player he should be.
In saying that..I would still give him more opportunities to start while Kipper is out. Let's see if he can develop further and continue to get some wins.
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Blame Ward for that not the Flames in general. He seems to be quick to bury players that struggle. It sure looks on the surface that player developement in Abbotsford may be taking a back seat to icing a competitive AHL team. Maybe that's the Flames commitment to giving the fans a reason to show up but you tend to wonder if Ward is more interested in getting a shot in the NHL to which I can't fault him on a personal level. He sure loves to ride the career AHL players that the Flames have picked up over the years and the stifling defensive play may result in winning games but the team's offensive prospects have all seen their numbers plummet from junion wich happens but it seems to be happening to all of the forwards.
As for putting Irving behind two career AHLers that's a head scratcher for me as I'm not clear how the Flames benefitted at all by this. In fact this probably has hurt Irving's confidence and developement and some of the nervous play may be a byproduct of not being shown any patience in Abbotsford.
To me it's pretty clear the Flames need to make a decision this offseason on how they want to handle their developemental team. If the pressure of the Canucks wanting that market for their team is so great that they are putting too much emphasis on icing a competitive team maybe it's time to cut bait and find a new city for the team. Maybe they need to evaluate how Ward is handling their young players and look for a coach that is more concerned with professional developement than his personal agenda. Either way something has to give because what's happening in Abbotsford is not good from a Flames point of view unless as guys like Kolanos and Street aren't the answer to any of the Flames questions.