Quote:
Originally Posted by gvitaly
Everything is not as simple, Hartley wants the forwards to earn both their spot in the line-up and their minutes on a nightly basis. I personally love the competition for ice time so far.
It is only game 2 and Hartley is experimenting with different options. Bollig for example had a pretty good(and quiet) game against Edmonton. He got so little ice-time(~3 min less than any other forward) because his role is more defined on the team(for now). It seems that Hartley knows exactly what he brings to the table, and he is happy to leave him in that role.
With the rest of the lineup Hartley is experimenting, and trying to create chemistry. It is exactly why he commented about trying Raymond at RW, and now he knows for sure that he is a LW.
As for McGrattan, players in his role are rarely guaranteed a spot in the lineup. Last season he just made it very easy to leave him in the lineup. Finally to answer your question - He will draw into the line-up when he either outperforms 2 of the 14 forwards in practice, the team needs a boost because of losing a few games, or there is a heavy-weight in the lineup for the other team.
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If it came to hockey talent there would be at least 6 forwards with better hockey skills that the Flames have in the AHL.
As far as adding a spark he has done that by beating on somebodies Heavy-weight. He hasn't had a lot of shifts where he has initiated contact, crashed the crease or been a general pain in the butt that the opposition has to react to.
As far as the other teams Bollig and Engelland both fight in the Heavy weight division... not as successfully as McGrattan but able to battle guys like Lucic to a draw.
If the Oilers choose to dress Gazdic this years version of the Flames does not have to dress McGrattan for their 2 minute side show.