Where can I place my bet now on Markstrom winning the Vezina? LoL
Still super excited about this.
Best case scenario, this team gets turned around.
Worst case scenario, the chaff gets separated from the wheat.
I can't wait until the Flames start forechecking like demons again. Dube, Lindholm, Mangiapane, Backlund - they are all excellent forecheckers already. Sutter will fix Nordstrom's forecheck from going to the wrong areas, and I bet a guy like Nordstrom is going to vastly improve. Bennett is usually a fairly good forechecker too.
This team isn't so vastly 'un-Sutter'. Sutter teams work hard. That's the big thing. If they don't out-skill you, they will out-work you. I am actually rather excited to see Gaudreau and Monahan work in Darryl's system. I think they will have solid seasons.
One thing that I definitely remember - Darryl is great at teaching defencemen to be good defencemen. I often feel like I am sitting on a tack watching this team season over season in how they shoot themselves in the foot by turning over pucks and not playing well in their zone or in the neutral zone. It won't get fixed overnight, but it will get fixed.
I don't know how a guy like Kylington will do here, but he doesn't shy away from making a physical play (tonight's hit wasn't his first impressive hit in Calgary). I am hopeful Darryl can get the yips out of his game. Valimaki is going to grow into a very competent 2-way defencemen being coached by Darryl.
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