Mark Giordano

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by Claeren

Giordano and Phaneuf are good friends?! Outside of hockey? Where is that info sourced from?


EDIT: Oh, I see in todays paper, they were roomies for one season and sometimes played ping-pong together. They clearly were meant to be an allstar defensive duo, you don't play ping pong with just anyone! lol



Claeren.

Giordano roomed with Phaneuf during his first stint with the team before leaving for a season in Russia.

"Playing different things at home, going from pool to ping-pong, you always have that competitive nature with him," Giordano said.

"He's a pretty good ping-pong player, I'll have to admit. We went back and forth pretty good, but I'd give Dion maybe a little bit of an edge."

Phaneuf remembers the close competitions.

"We definitely used to battle," said Phaneuf, who was paired with Giordano on the ice at the Saddledome yesterday during the first training camp session.

"I remember we were playing ping-pong almost every day a couple of years ago. We've got a very good friendship off the ice."

Sounds like they are pretty good friends to me... unless Dion is lying but I don't see much reason for that.

I also don't mean to say that it will, without question, make them an AMAZING defensive duo... just thought it would be easier playing with someone who is your friend.

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

I'm with Tranny on this one re: Giordano. It's like the other thread with some people posting absolutely insane offensive numbers for the Flames team as a whole... but then there, I think it was Nehkara again and I'm the type of guy who looks at the Flames with the glass half-full, vs. Nehkara looking at the Flames with the glass over-flowing (just kidding man).

Seriously though, best case scenario for Giordano I think, is that he finds some good chemistry with Phaneuf in the pre-season, rides it out and sticks with Dion to start the year. I will agree that he does have some offensive skill, but even in that respect, some people around here describe him as if he were some sort of Scott Neidermayer Lite... his defensive short-comings will be there and depending on the coaching staff's patience and their other options, I think we'll see him bounce around between the 1st pairing with Phaneuf (but taken off the ice when the situation calls for it) and the 3rd pairing with whoever when they've decided he's making too many mistakes or it's apparent the opposition is firing everything his way.

It's all fair. I try to temper my optimism this time of year but it never seems to work. Oh well. Just call me the eternal optimist.

I should mention though that in the other thread where I projected 304 (I think) goals when you added up my individual player projections, I also mentioned that that would not happen because I projected it assuming all players play 82 games which is impossible. I said that you should decrease my total goal projection by about 15 to 20% which would bring us into the range of 240-255 goals for which is only mildly optimistic.

[Claeren]

I was joking.


Trust me, I will be as happy as anyone if somehow Giordano emerges as the super-partner (and BFF) Phaneuf has always wanted.

I am not holding my breath but it is certainly well within the realm of possibility.




Claeren.

[CsInMyBlood]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

He played on the top pairing with Danny Markov. (Yes chris lindberg is actually accurate on this. I don't know where he gets off thinking Brett Palin is going to be a darkhorse challenging for a spot though, that seems odd to me.)

Yeah, that's what I'm asking. I can't find too much on Moscow Dynamo, certainly no icetime stats. I'm wondering how anybody knows what kind of ice he got, and if he played special teams. Where did you guys get your info?

When I look for his stats I see he played 50 games, with 4 goals, 9 assists. Nice to see in 9 playoff games he had 1 goal, and 6 assists, good for 4th in points for his team. Looks like he showed up for the big games.

Markov played 29 games with 4 assists. So if they were the top pairing who was Giordano paired with for those other 21 games?

Interesting to me are the PIM's he put up. 89 minutes in 50 games, and then 35 minutes in 9 playoff games. Mr. Bean develop a mean streak?

I like Giordano, I know he was a little panicky in our zone on occasion, but what 22 year old rookie isn't? I'm glad he is back especially if it means I don't have to see Anders in a Flames jersey anymore.

There will be defensive gaffs I'm sure, but I can understand them coming from a 24 year old second year D man more then from a 10 year vet who continually makes "rookie" mistakes.

[Iggyscoresgoals]

People are expecting way to much from Gio. I think 20 pts is a good number for him.

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by Iggyscoresgoals

People are expecting way to much from Gio. I think 20 pts is a good number for him.

That is a good number for him, definitely. That would make a successful season. I only think he may move above that if he gets lots of ice time and/or time on the PP.

[Iggyscoresgoals]

He will get 2nd unit PP time. Cammy plays the point, and knowing the love of putting fowards on the points even if they suck, I think we will be a 4 forward 1 D, 1st PP unit.

For some reason even whe nwe have capable defenceman to play the point, we send out fowards, and its not till we get burned a few times do they pull them off.

[moon]

Originally Posted by Nehkara

Hey Transplant, I know you aren't trying to "pick on me".

I just looked at his stats 2 years ago, thought long and hard about whether I really believe his stats will worsen from then... which I see no reason for.

He had 7g, 8a, and 15 points in 48 games. 9g, 11a and 20 points in 82 games should be WELL within range unless he drops off hugely. 10g, 20a, and 30p in 82 games is what we could possibly see if he plays lots of minutes and his game reacted well to his time in Russia.

I don't see any indication to suggest that his numbers will worsen, that's all.

One indication that his numbers might not be that high is the fact that any team in the NHL could have made an offer sheet on him knowing that Sutter did not want to give him a one-way deal but nobody wanted to.

Obviously, NHL teams have made mistakes in the past but it is unlikely that everyone would pass on a guy that can reasonably be expected to put up 30 points next season.

Giordano had a lot of things go right for him to get those points/goals that season and still with that production was not good enough to be a regular on the team.

The biggest obstacle for Gio getting to 30, 0r even 20 points, is that he cannot play consistent enough to get to 82 games.

I think that if Giordano is playing enough minutes to get that many points the Flames are going to be in big trouble as defensively and in terms of decision making Giordano is really weak.

I think it is funny that everyone thinks he is going to be better than Eriksson. Giordano is a poor mans Eriksson with more bonehead plays and less ability to play defense.

If CP can take off the homer glasses after 20 games of Gio people will be begging for Eriksson to come back.

Originally Posted by Nehkara

1. Skills. He possesses speed, agility, great passing, and a great shot. We need a defenseman who can move the puck and we may have got him for ~$900k.

This is likely semantics but if he had GREAT passing and GREAT shot he wouldn't have played in Russia last year and wouldn't have taken this long to get to the NHL.

He may be above average in those categories but has a long way to go to show that he is above average at the NHL level.

3. Since he is good friends with Dion, it is possible we may finally have someone who will work well with our young superstar.

I am not sure being friends makes you a better player and certainly hope we don't overlook the fact that their styles would likely make them horrible partners. Phaneuf needs someone who can back him up when he is rushing the puck, sneaking in on the point and creating offense. Giordano is just as likely to pinch in at the same time leaving 2 or 3 forwards free on a break.

4. Sutter obviously saw something in him to sign him to a 3-year, one-way deal... and I am not one to often question Sutter.

Sutter also saw something in him to not offer him a guaranteed spot after his 15 points in 48 games. Doesn't seem like me to be a guy that is going to be top 4 and get 30 points just one year later. Even if he played "top line minutes" in a second rate league like the RSL.

[OzSome]

Originally Posted by T@T

Well, I have a hard time believing a player that started out as a 4-5th and ended up a top pairing dman in the Russian elite league can't be good enough to be at least 5-6th on the Flames.

I'm personally going to stay positive about Mark, he is a great skater, he has great offensive instincts and a good accurate shot, If used properly he is 1000 times better than Anders "fricken" Eriksson.

Nobody is saying Giordano is not good enough to make the Flames. It's just the high expectations on Gio that people makes it kind of uneasy. Yes he was good enough to crack the lineup while he was here in Calgary a couple of years ago and he definitely made some progress after his year in Russia. He might be great in Russia but this is the NHL. Some good Russian defensemen had a hard time making adjustment to the NHL before. I personally wants to see Giordano become one of the Top 4 defenseman in our team but I won't be dissapointed if he plays well and become #5 or #6. I am sure he can help the Flames PP and hopefully him and Aucoin will play on the point for PP#2 line.

By the way, I have to agree with you on your comparisons with Eriksson but I think I will have to say 10,000 times better than Eriksson. It doesn't matter if Gio gets used properly or not, he is still better than that useless Eriksson.

[Phanuthier]

Its interesting to see who is in the 20-30 or more pts...

23. Tobias Enstrom. 1st season, 23 years old, 8th round draft pick in 2003. 38 pts.
25. Dennis Wideman, 4th season, 25 y/o, 8th round draft pick from 2002. (Gio won a contract with Calgary over Wideman). 36 pts
30. Craig Rivet, 35 pts
28. Adrian Aucoin, 35 pts
32. Tom Gilbert, 2nd season, 25 y/o, 4th round pick from 2004. 33 pts
40. Paul Ranger, 3rd season, 24 y/o, 6th round pikc from 2002. 31 pts

47. Daniel Girardi, 2nd NHL season. 24 y/o, 28 pts
52. James Wisniewski, 3rd NHL season (137 games total), 24 y/o, 26 pts.
65. Hal Gill, 24 pts
66. Steve Montador, 23 pts
75. Brett Clark, 21 pts

So I don't know why its so far reach for Gio to be in the 20-30 pts slot.

[Claeren]

IMO Giordano has a very good chance at 30+ points if he proves to be Phaneuf's long lost BFF and he will be lucky to hit 20 points if he is instead left as a #5-#7 guy.


For those saying that Phaneuf needs his BFF to be a solid defensive defenseman, or whatever, I think he just needs someone he can play well with - end of story.

He did not click with Sarich, Regehr or Warrener -- all defensive defenseman.

He played slightly better with offensive-defenseman Hamrlik and to a lesser extent Aucoin but in both cases there were still too many holes in their collective game for it to be considered a success. And then there was Vandermeer, a physical-niche-defenseman where it started strong and then faded fast.


Phaneuf is an enigma. The fact that finding his BFF-defenseman-partner is proving tricky is not really a surprise, if it was as simple as inserting obvious-player-A into obvious-slot-A we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Giordano has as good a chance as anyone but if it is not him we will move on to guessing who is next. Pardy, Pelech, Negrin, etc.




Claeren.

[Brad Marsh]

^^^

I think that's well said, Claeren.

I don't think anyone that's on here acknowledging the possibility that Giordano might step up into a top 4 role on this team is stretching reality that much.

There are 120 'top 4' D in this league. And going by Phanuthier's list, there were only about 75 or so who were above the 20 point mark. Giordano doesn't have far to go to be ranked among the top 120 D in the NHL or to score over 20 points, IMO. I'd liken this to the Langkow situation to some degree. There are 30 #1 centers in the NHL. Langkow is one of them. Too often we as fans want to see 4 top-2 guys in the lineup - but I don't think Giordano is really that far away from being the 4th best d-man on this hockey team.

It's likely that the shut-down duo of Regher and Sarich will see the opposition's top line night-in and night-out (and probably even some of the second line), regardless of who ends up playing with Phaneuf. This means that if Giordano does end up being paired with Phaneuf, he is most likely going to be defending against the opposition's second and third lines. Could a second line on a deep team take advantage of a young, somewhat unproven defender like Giordano? Sure, but perhaps no more so than if it were Warrener, or Aucoin, or Eriksson, or Vandermeer - all players with weaknesses in their defensive games at this point in their careers, and yet they are all potential options for that spot in the lineup.

Let me put it this way. We didn't really see much change among our defensive corps this offseason. It's really the same group of players the team ended last season with. The only exception to that is the addition of Giordano. And I would much rather see the Calgary Flames with Giordano in the lineup this year than without him. The Flames didn't have the cap room or assets to go out and get another top-2 guy to play in their top 4 - and given that, I think Giordano is a pretty reasonable alternative that might just work.

[Pauly]

Just got back from camp today and I gotta say, Gio looked really really good, equally at both ends of the rink

[Patrick]

Originally Posted by Brad Marsh

^^^

I think that's well said, Claeren.

I don't think anyone that's on here acknowledging the possibility that Giordano might step up into a top 4 role on this team is stretching reality that much.

There are 120 'top 4' D in this league. And going by Phanuthier's list, there were only about 75 or so who were above the 20 point mark. Giordano doesn't have far to go to be ranked among the top 120 D in the NHL or to score over 20 points, IMO. I'd liken this to the Langkow situation to some degree. There are 30 #1 centers in the NHL. Langkow is one of them. Too often we as fans want to see 4 top-2 guys in the lineup - but I don't think Giordano is really that far away from being the 4th best d-man on this hockey team.

It's likely that the shut-down duo of Regher and Sarich will see the opposition's top line night-in and night-out (and probably even some of the second line), regardless of who ends up playing with Phaneuf. This means that if Giordano does end up being paired with Phaneuf, he is most likely going to be defending against the opposition's second and third lines. Could a second line on a deep team take advantage of a young, somewhat unproven defender like Giordano? Sure, but perhaps no more so than if it were Warrener, or Aucoin, or Eriksson, or Vandermeer - all players with weaknesses in their defensive games at this point in their careers, and yet they are all potential options for that spot in the lineup.

Let me put it this way. We didn't really see much change among our defensive corps this offseason. It's really the same group of players the team ended last season with. The only exception to that is the addition of Giordano. And I would much rather see the Calgary Flames with Giordano in the lineup this year than without him. The Flames didn't have the cap room or assets to go out and get another top-2 guy to play in their top 4 - and given that, I think Giordano is a pretty reasonable alternative that might just work.

I agree that Regehr/Sarich sees other teams top lines. I agree about the no change among D this year HOWEVER I would also add that the addition of Vandermeer for a full season should be included as well. Its really Vandermeer and Giordano are additions thsi year compared to last year as I believe that a full season of Vandermeer adds something to our D that lacked for most of last season until his arrival.

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by Pauly

Just got back from camp today and I gotta say, Gio looked really really good, equally at both ends of the rink

Excellent.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by Pauly

Just got back from camp today and I gotta say, Gio looked really really good, equally at both ends of the rink

You can't read too much from watching practice. It hard to look bad when there is no threat of body contact.

[Pauly]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pauly
Just got back from camp today and I gotta say, Gio looked really really good, equally at both ends of the rink

You can't read too much from watching practice. It hard to look bad when there is no threat of body contact.

You obviously werent there watching Eriksson today. It IS very possible to look bad when there is no real threat of body contact

[Phanuthier]

^ nice

It hard to look bad when there is no threat of body contact... except if you are Anders Eriksson.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Claeren

IMO Giordano has a very good chance at 30+ points if he proves to be Phaneuf's long lost BFF

+1

He gets the time with Dion, especially on the PP, and he is good for 30pts on the season.

[Cactus Jack]

I don't get the hate for this guy some people have. He's a 3rd pairing guy making less than 900k. What else do you want from him? He's not a Norris candidate for the next Phaneuf but is refreshing to see the Flames finally acquire a young player that is mobile, fast, skilled, good at passing and can produce points. Aucoin can but is slow and can't match Giordano's mobile or skating game, or even his passing game for that matter. If Gio develops into a top 4 that's great but his bread and butter will be speed, skating, breakout passes, carrying the puck out of the zone and his snap shot on the point. I like him on the pp with Dion because he streak the puck up ice and fire a shot that isn't an inaccurate blast.

There's no reason he can't get 7 goals and 15 assists this year.
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LovelyWendie99