Quote:
Originally Posted by New Era
I wouldn't use that team as a model to for anything, let alone projecting future Flames. The Flames development system was in a mess back then. I would think the Flames are more likely to following the Red Wings or the Coyotes model, given the comments and connections in the system. The Coyotes still managed to promote players like Boedker, Ekman-Larsson, Stone, Rieder, etc. The Flames system has come a long way, and with the management philosophy of "over cooking" the prospects, we can likely expect to see some of our prospects take a little more time than the fans desire, and experience some more statistical ups and downs as they work on the weaknesses their coaches identify.
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I wouldn't call being Calder Cup champions a mess and yeah things have changed. I think we're getting a higher calibre of players in all leagues these days which means there is smaller difference between the NHL and the AHL. What this does is make skilled players stay longer in the minors to fix their weaknesses and isn't the black mark it once was. I think we still have the role players as the biggest number of players coming out of the AHL though, such as Ferland and Bouma. Future stars don't often spend much time there.