Quote:
Originally Posted by trackercowe
Yeah I don't see what's the major malfunction here. Who really cares what the opening day roster looks like? Give Sven, Jooris, Ortio, and the rest some serious playing time in the AHL, and after a couple months if they deserve a spot in the NHL surely they'll get brought up (as injury replacements or call ups). The same thing happened last season, and yet many of our younger players still spent a good chunk of time with the Flames.
Monahan 75 games
Colborne 80 games
Bouma 78 games
Byron 47 games
Baertschi 26 games
Wotherspoon 14 games
Granlund 7 games (before his injury)
Agostino 8 games
Reinhart 8 games
Breen 9 games
Ortio 9 games
Hanowski 11 games
Knight 7 games
Van Brabant 6 games
That's a good chunk of games for players under the age of 25 who could have been in the AHL or other leagues at the time. We just need to be patient and let things run their course for a few months to see what happens to the likes of Setoguchi, Wideman, Jones, and Glencross. Even if the Flames don't run into injury issues again opportunities will open up for many of these guys more time this season with the Flames.
Just look what happened with Backlund, he wasn't a full timer until only a couple seasons ago (still a year older than Baertschi at the time), and in the long run I believe it was beneficial for Backlund's game. I fully expect Baertschi to be up with the Flames come Christmas if he can play well and remain healthy in Adirondack. He needs to try and remain in a positive mindset and Treliving and Burke need to assure him he's part of our long-term plans. It's not like he's the only top pick from 2011 that's been sent back to the AHL for the start of this season.
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Your numbers also tell a different story. Monohan, Colborne, Bouma, Baertschi (initially) and Byron (eventually) all got extensive playing time because there were spots open on the roster. The rest got temporary time due to injury or the
one veteran moved (Stempniak). Cammi and Westgarth were let go after the season but 3 new vets were brought in so there is no net room created. Big difference between this year and last in terms of opportunity. Last year 4 new players played more than half the season without needing to punt a vet and all 4 succeeded. Why not take your chances trying the same again????