Quote:
Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald
I agree with your picks for the Flames, although I thought Klapka was the best and most consistent Flame by a good margin. Nikolaev was opportunistic which is something you don't say about a Flames player very often. Coronato was in the mix a lot which is what we should expect for a player challenging for a roster spot. On the other side of the ice I thought Bourgault and Petrov were standouts for the Oilers and Bourgault being the most dangerous player on the ice all game.
This was more of a game but neither team was very good. Both teams struggled to make and take passes and generate many quality scoring opportunities. In typical Oiler fashion the PP was their bread and butter where what skill they had could use the extra space to their advantage. The Flames size advantage allowed them to have a territorial edge which just didn't materialize into scoring opportunities. There was a definite lack of talent on the ice for both teams, which you would expect for two of the lower rated development organizations in the league. Any game where the Flames beat the Oilers is fun though.
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I think fan expectations are way out of whack for this tournament - every year.
Four of the top 6, and 9 of the Flames' top 14 prospects (as voted by CP) weren't there, and I would guess it's a similar situation for the Oilers. The majority of the players in this tournament are fillers. And the most talented players are very young (because the best ones make the NHL at a young age).
On top of that, it is September, and most of these guys have never played with each other before.