Quote:
Originally Posted by Flamefan1
Can't believe the negativity towards Ferly. How soon we forget. He almost single handily won the Flames 1st playoff round in a decade 3 years ago. Ferly may not have gotten off to a great start, but you can say the same thing about 10 other Flames. Give Ferly, Bennett,Kulak and Lazar a chance and I think they will do us proud. At least. All of these guys are young enough that with experience they will improve over the course of the season. We cannot say the same thing about Stajan, Glass and Versteeg. Brouwer actually likely can improve as his first year has not met expectations. I believe Brouwer may also pleasantly surprise us as the season progresses as long as he is kept on 4th line and PK.
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I really like Ferland and I think he has good skills. I watched at a development camp and was amazed at his shot (one hit the glass and it sounded like a rifle crack) as well as his nimble feet. I knew he was more than fourth line toughness but he has that too. In the AHL he was making great plays and passes before getting hurt.
I'm loathe to put ceilings on guys because maybe they need that blank slate to just let their ability shine. However Ferland on the top line has been hit and miss. I don't know if it's going against the opponents shut down defenders or if he just isn't asserting his game - deferring to others. I think he needs to be the guy who gets in hard and gets pucks back from the opponent, uses his shot but also trusts his own hockey IQ and makes his plays rather than just giving the puck to Gaudreau and trying to get open in the slot. Create himself. What do I know?
What I do know is last playoffs the team missed that game changing hitting that he showed against VAN. I thought with him on the first line he couldn't play that style against the Ducks but he also had a good run on Monahan's line and there wasn't anyone else to play there.
i think he will be an impactful player for this team and when he is on the top line I hope he figures out how to best complement the others and really assert himself.