Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - [News] Flames name Geoff Ward and Ryan Huska as assistant coaches

Calgary4LIfe · 05-31-2018, 07:36 PM

From reading and listening to all that I could today, they are saying everything that I wanted to hear.

1) Fast transition - need to play fast.
2) Active D

3) Fixing the PP
4) Need to make a goalie move

I was getting ready for just one or two off this list, but it completely satisfies what I was looking for to a T.

My bold prediction - Brodie and Bennett respond very favorably under this new coaching regime.

If they end up instituting what they say they will, this Flames team will actually be a really fun group to watch again. I am also thinking that they are not going to be 'moving the needle' too much from Gulutzan. Gulutzan got this team to play a strong puck-possession game, but the above 4 points killed this team (IMO), plus his lack of in-game adjustments. Flames just need to continue with the bulk of that system, but make it much more dynamic, and with a stronger PP to back it up.

I felt like screaming over and over in Gulutzan's face last season that this team needs the defence to play aggressively since they can actually skate well as a group and have offensive dimensions to their game. I felt like screaming at him because I saw them play a style that was more beneficial to an old, aging team being kept together for one last kick at the can with their slow transitions. I hated how passive they were defensively - little change from Hartley's system, other than not blocking shots.

It sounds like the Flames are going to play a heck of a lot more interesting this season, and I bet they see a tonne more success. I see some people questioning the speed of this team, but I think people just got used to seeing a slow system being deployed. This team can skate with the best of them. They may not have a Grabner or something, but as a unit, this team can skate very well, and with the defence helping the transition, they can be absolutely lethal on the transition. It was Gulutzan's downfall for not seeing the strengths of this team.

Hartley was very good at getting this team motivated and playing better than the sum of their parts, shelf life be damned. Gulutzan was not - this team was always disjointed and seemed to always fall short of expectations. Hopefully this staff gets this team to play to expectations - heck, if they get them to exceed expectations, that could translate into a long cup run.

Feeling a lot more positive now than 1 month ago, that's for sure. Everything I was looking for in terms of changes was spoken to today. Make it happen.

05-31-2018, 07:36 PM	#423
Calgary4LIfe Franchise Player Join Date: Jun 2010 Exp:	From reading and listening to all that I could today, they are saying everything that I wanted to hear. 1) Fast transition - need to play fast. 2) Active D 3) Fixing the PP 4) Need to make a goalie move I was getting ready for just one or two off this list, but it completely satisfies what I was looking for to a T. My bold prediction - Brodie and Bennett respond very favorably under this new coaching regime. If they end up instituting what they say they will, this Flames team will actually be a really fun group to watch again. I am also thinking that they are not going to be 'moving the needle' too much from Gulutzan. Gulutzan got this team to play a strong puck-possession game, but the above 4 points killed this team (IMO), plus his lack of in-game adjustments. Flames just need to continue with the bulk of that system, but make it much more dynamic, and with a stronger PP to back it up. I felt like screaming over and over in Gulutzan's face last season that this team needs the defence to play aggressively since they can actually skate well as a group and have offensive dimensions to their game. I felt like screaming at him because I saw them play a style that was more beneficial to an old, aging team being kept together for one last kick at the can with their slow transitions. I hated how passive they were defensively - little change from Hartley's system, other than not blocking shots. It sounds like the Flames are going to play a heck of a lot more interesting this season, and I bet they see a tonne more success. I see some people questioning the speed of this team, but I think people just got used to seeing a slow system being deployed. This team can skate with the best of them. They may not have a Grabner or something, but as a unit, this team can skate very well, and with the defence helping the transition, they can be absolutely lethal on the transition. It was Gulutzan's downfall for not seeing the strengths of this team. Hartley was very good at getting this team motivated and playing better than the sum of their parts, shelf life be damned. Gulutzan was not - this team was always disjointed and seemed to always fall short of expectations. Hopefully this staff gets this team to play to expectations - heck, if they get them to exceed expectations, that could translate into a long cup run. Feeling a lot more positive now than 1 month ago, that's for sure. Everything I was looking for in terms of changes was spoken to today. Make it happen.