Hunt and Morton up; Kerins Down

[Calgary4LIfe]

For all we know, the plan is to cycle through a bunch of prospects for now, while Hunt sits in the press-box in case of injury.


I will also argue that you need to throw someone like Hunt a bone every now and then, as finding good vets to help develop the young prospects is easier when as an organization you reward them with some NHL exposure. As long as they are not staying up and getting 10+ games, I don't see an issue with it.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

To try to get things back on topic a bit, I still don't really get sending down Kerins now.

I think you could have easily kept him these next three games, then if you wanted to maintain waiver flexibility and have a different look for the longer and tougher road trip you send him down on the 22nd after the Dallas game.

I get not wanting him in the press box long term but I think you could have had him and Morton up for the next 3 games, and then flip one of them out for Hunt if you wanted a different body for the longer road trip.

Sending him down after 2 games is not really fair to the player IMO.

That he was swapped out for other guys after 2 games screams "there, we did it. We called him up", instead of actually using it to see how Kerins can give them a different look up front and giving it enough time to see whether it can go somewhere.

I think those top lines were working better than they were prior.

Morton is made for a totally different role than Kerins. So you're reverting back to square one in the top six and now probably pushing Zary out of his natural position in favor of Morton. And cool, let's see where that goes. But it just feels like they're taking a step forward and a step back.

No progression towards anything. Just dabbling, dabbling, dabbling. Or myself and others in the same camp are just being impatient and more permanent changes/graduations are coming. I hope so.

[Mightyfire89]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I just think you have to look at the team as a whole.

Gridin and Parekh make the team as 19 year olds
Honzek is the first call up and sticks in a high utilization role
They start scratching veterans to bring Kuznetsov up and then move him into the top four.

Maybe he just doesn't love Kerins play? To assume anti youth or anti prospect just doesn't fit with the body of work.

Having said that I hope the NHL market heats up enough that they can start making more moves like the Kirkland/Kerins/Morton move. Free up some spots.

Guessing we see Kerins again before Xmas.

To the bolded, I think it’s possible the braintrust of the organization don’t see an NHLer in Kerins. Quad A guy maybe in their minds. Perhaps he hasn’t worked as hard on his skating and/or in the gym as they expect?

I like Kerins and think he should have got more of a chance but he might just be what he is and will never be a full time NHL player.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

That he was swapped out for other guys after 2 games screams "there, we did it. We called him up", instead of actually using it to see how Kerins can give them a different look up front and giving it enough time to see whether it can go somewhere.

I think those top lines were working better than they were prior.

Morton is made for a totally different role than Kerins. So you're reverting back to square one in the top six and now probably pushing Zary out of his natural position in favor of Morton. And cool, let's see where that goes. But it just feels like they're taking a step forward and a step back.

No progression towards anything. Just dabbling, dabbling, dabbling. Or myself and others in the same camp are just being impatient and more permanent changes/graduations are coming. I hope so.

This is how I feel too.

Feels a bit like a "see we did it, now get off our case about calling up Kerins now"

Not actually anything that was a real opportunity, especially considering he performed quite well in the call up.

[Rhett44]

Originally Posted by Mightyfire89

To the bolded, I think it’s possible the braintrust of the organization don’t see an NHLer in Kerins. Quad A guy maybe in their minds. Perhaps he hasn’t worked as hard on his skating and/or in the gym as they expect?

I like Kerins and think he should have got more of a chance but he might just be what he is and will never be a full time NHL player.

Maybe he will never be an NHLer. But you will never know if you never give him the chance.

And what better year to give young players a chance than now? You should be able to get a lot of young players experience.

I'll be honest, I'm not attending the games to watch the vets. I want to see Wolf, Zayne, Honzek etc and that group should also include a bunch of others.

[Mightyfire89]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

Maybe he will never be an NHLer. But you will never know if you never give him the chance.

And what better year to give young players a chance than now? You should be able to get a lot of young players experience.

I'll be honest, I'm not attending the games to watch the vets. I want to see Wolf, Zayne, Honzek etc and that group should also include a bunch of others.

Like I said, I don’t think he got a fair chance.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

For all we know, the plan is to cycle through a bunch of prospects for now, while Hunt sits in the press-box in case of injury.


I will also argue that you need to throw someone like Hunt a bone every now and then, as finding good vets to help develop the young prospects is easier when as an organization you reward them with some NHL exposure. As long as they are not staying up and getting 10+ games, I don't see an issue with it.

If they call up a guy like Hunt, who's been a good soldier, to eat popcorn and make a few extra bucks at the same time as a reward, I don't see an issue at all. If he starts playing on the top line full time I'll change my tune, but until then it's a non-issue.

I think Kerins is still able to join the team again at some point this season so no reason getting too upset at that. His fancy stats do look nice, but the eye test to me is that he's just......ok. He'll get another look once the Flames start selling vets off this season, if not sooner. Definitely interested to see how Morton does.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

If they call up a guy like Hunt, who's been a good soldier, to eat popcorn and make a few extra bucks at the same time as a reward, I don't see an issue at all. If he starts playing on the top line full time I'll change my tune, but until then it's a non-issue.

I think Kerins is still able to join the team again at some point this season so no reason getting too upset at that. His fancy stats do look nice, but the eye test to me is that he's just......ok. He'll get another look once the Flames start selling vets off this season, if not sooner. Definitely interested to see how Morton does.

Exactly how I feel about the situation.


I also think that simply rotating through a bunch of prospects IS beneficial to their development and getting a feel for how big the next step really is. People are upset about "Kerins not getting a real opportunity" - maybe this wasn't about opportunity, but more about rewarding a prospect that has been playing well, as well as giving him another taste of the NHL as part of his development.


None of us know the perfect way to develop a prospect, and every prospect is different. Let's just see what happens before we get our pitchforks and torches and overreact.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

This is how I feel too.

Feels a bit like a "see we did it, now get off our case about calling up Kerins now"

Not actually anything that was a real opportunity, especially considering he performed quite well in the call up.

That's a reach no? We can debate if he got enough games (I would have also liked to see him get a couple more) but within the 2 games he got, he was playing with good players and received a good amount of ice-time. 8th amongst forwards against Winnipeg and 5th most against San Jose. So within the games he did get, he got a good look. Unlike say when Philips was called up under Sutter and he got very little ice time.

He may not have gotten enough games, but within the games, it was a real opportunity.

[CsInMyBlood]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Conroy does not decide who is in the Flames lineup, that is Huska. Huska also gets a say on who he wants called up.

You honestly don't think Conroy, Huska and the rest of the staff have daily meetings on what the lineup is going to be?

You're acting like Huska runs the Flames organization. Simply not true.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

There is a chance too that the Flames really liked what they saw from Kerins. But they also want to see a bunch of other young guys this season. Maybe they thought 'yep, he looks good, we'll bring him up again later. Let's see who else can be part of the future here'.

Not everything has to be negative instantly.

[saillias]

Some fans seem to think the Hunt thing is favoritism but it is the opposite. He is the forward version of Michael Stone. He is not valued by the org, his development or getting playing time is not important or a factor, it's not risky to lose him on waivers. That's why he gets called up to be 13th forward.

Morton deserved a call up as well. I thought he or Kerins should have won the 4th C spot over Kirkland in preseason and they're both getting a shot.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

There is a chance too that the Flames really liked what they saw from Kerins. But they also want to see a bunch of other young guys this season. Maybe they thought 'yep, he looks good, we'll bring him up again later. Let's see who else can be part of the future here'.

Not everything has to be negative instantly.

That's what I'm hoping their thought and intention with the swap is too.

An intentional cycle of call ups to give every one that's performing a look, and then decide from there.

It was a good showing from Kerins though, he fit right in where he was slotted. Not a guy in over his skis. Could very easily have put up a couple of points.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

There is a chance too that the Flames really liked what they saw from Kerins. But they also want to see a bunch of other young guys this season. Maybe they thought 'yep, he looks good, we'll bring him up again later. Let's see who else can be part of the future here'.

Not everything has to be negative instantly.

It could also be a case of having a look at him, and asking him to work on X, Y,and Z in the AHL for a couple of weeks. Then getting another prospect up so they could give him more feedback as well and potentially accelerate his development.

They're not sending Kerins down without a long conversation on why, and how he can get the next opportunity. We're just not privy to it.

It still seems like a bit of a strange move. Hopefully one that doesn't have any long term negative impact.

[stamps]

Happy Morton coming up... maybe he can carve out a Derek Ryan type career.

[Jay Random]

At this point, Morton is a little behind the pace to have a Dryden Hunt type career. We shall see where he goes from here.

[stamps]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

At this point, Morton is a little behind the pace to have a Dryden Hunt type career. We shall see where he goes from here.

Derek Ryan played his first NHL game at 29 and played his last at 38.

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

For all we know, the plan is to cycle through a bunch of prospects for now, while Hunt sits in the press-box in case of injury.


I will also argue that you need to throw someone like Hunt a bone every now and then, as finding good vets to help develop the young prospects is easier when as an organization you reward them with some NHL exposure. As long as they are not staying up and getting 10+ games, I don't see an issue with it.

If possible I think thet should be doing a rotation and get players like Kerins, Gridin, Morton, Brzustewicz ect in to see how they do.

Since both teams are in Calgary it should be logistically fairly easy to do.

[flame4life]

OMG ... the overreactions on this site make me laugh. We want to be bad, so we bring up some bad players, and we are doing it wrong. Kerins should be in the AHL and dominating right now. No sense being on the titanic. And although Kerins has been noticeable while he was up here, I think anyone of us could be noticeable on this bad team. I would rather he develop and continue to do well in the AHL right now. If we were on the brink or close to being somewhat competitive, maybe it is a different story, but right now, go back to where you are at least winning a game every now and then.

[Andrew]

I trust flames development . Guys that play in organization stay. Guys that leave dont play recently. They seem to know what it takes