Flames Development Camp July 10th - 16th

[Caged Great]

The amusing thing with Penner is that he was by far the worst of the skaters in the first two days. Looked like an ECHLer trying to be an NHLer (a couple levels behind basically).

[Red John]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

This being my first opportunity to view Kanzig, it really confirms my belief that the poster "Red John" (IIRC) had a serious axe to grind when giving us his personal scouting report on big Keegan in the initial thread upon his drafting by he Flames.

Basically calling him a big, dumb, useless pylon goon that had no business ever being drafted at all, never mind in the third round. It's obviously early, but it sure seems like that sentiment was waaaaaay off.

Would be very happy to be wrong about Kanzig.

Maybe it's the way he's being used in Victoria...that's a mediocre team and no dman gets much support there.

But you got to see him once, as compared to a 2-season sample size so its a bit early to be drawing conclusions.

He was one of the worst players in the WHL. Maybe he'll take a step forward...guys his size are often late bloomers.

Will take another look at him in Penticton.

[Savvy27]

Red Team

Forwards:

Klimchuk - quiet game from him, as his line had very little offensive zone time. Scored a very nice goal in the shootout, so it was nice to see him show off that skill. I thought I would notice him more on the forecheck after watching some highlight videos on him. Just one viewing but I was a little disappointed.

Knight - "competent" is a word I would use to describe his game in both zones. He wasn't dominant in any area, though seemed to do well on faceoffs, but he gets to the right place and he either wins battles or ties them up until more players get there. I like what I've seen from him. Good skater with solid puck skills and gets to the right places on the ice.

Harrison - similar to Klimchuk in that it is more difficult to notice wingers when the line doesn't have the puck all that often. He's a physical guy who finished some checks (Conroy mentioned this), but I can't comment on his puck skills.

Van Brabrant - I think he was the second best invite after Penner. He is a good skater who plays an upbeat game. Who knows if he will get an opportunity but I wouldn't be surprised if Hartley liked him as he isn't the type of player who pulls up on the rush, rather he chips and chases and competes on the boards. Good showing, I thought.

Monahan - He is a guy that I think is held back only by his body not yet fully grown. The way he anticipates plays and makes himself available for short quick breakout passes, along with his vision when he's got the puck is very exciting. He made one long pass to Gaudreau in the first that sent JG in that I thought was really impressive. Unfortunately, I was looking away when he scored.

Gaudreau - Best player on the red team. He is so quick and intelligent that he doesn't need a lot of room to make plays. Interesting that he's not great at shootouts, but it reminds me of Heatley and Naslund who both were experts at scoring within the context of the game moreso than an artificial setting.

Ferland - Looks a lot better than last year, but he's got a long ways to go if he's going to play in the NHL. He's very strong and his speed is better, but he wasn't very effective today. I didn't see him establishing a net front presence better than the other bigger players or consistently finishing checks.

Horak - you can see the talent level is better this year because Horak doesn't look way ahead of most guys like he did last year. He fit in with the play of Knight and Monahan for the most part. He's a clever player who does the little things better than most. Perhaps a little disappointing that he wasn't creating more good chances.

Hankowski - got more involved as the game went on. Easy to see he has improved his skating to the point where he doesn't stand out one way or the other. He's another guy who makes the little plays to get the puck out and to take sticks. Thought he was one of the better guys at getting to the net and making things tough on goalies.

Carroll - this was the least effective line and I can't remember Carroll doing much other than getting the puck deep a couple of times. Can't comment much further than that I didn't notice him much.

DeBlouw - Very disappointing in my opinion. Last year he was much more noticeable and creative (was one of the pleasant surprises of camp), whereas this year he looked like he is afraid to make mistakes. Felt bad that the one time he got it and really got on his horse, his winger went offside on him and ended the play.

Padakin - kept things pretty simple, but you can see he is a very strong skater with good hands. Didn't make much of an impression on me today.

Defense

Culkin - best of the red D today. Skated the puck out of corner battles a couple of times and made smart breakout passes. Didn't notice him as much of a physical presence, but he looks like a smart defenseman.

Martin - probably the most physical red D (gave a bit of an elbow to Agostino early for a penalty as well). I thought he struggled a little bit making crisp passes and playing with the puck on the offensive blueline. I sort of doubt he'll work his way into the mix at the NHL level, but he doesn't look bad out there.

Lewis - less physical in the game than he was in the practice that I saw. He joined the rush a few times and his skating is solid. I think he needs to do more to get in the mix for a contract.

Leonard - can't remember him... but he is a D so that may be a positive.

Gilmour - good skater, but like a lot of D on the red team spent a lot of time in his own zone. Struggled against the better black forwards.

Roy - he was inconsistently good. Some shifts, I thought we might have found a steal and then others he looked more like an invite. He definitely has some stick skills and his size looks pretty good out there. I'm very curious to see how he develops.

Goalies:

Berra - He generally looked very good, but the second Penner goal probably should not have been scored. He has a pretty decent glove as he caught a few shots in traffic. He made a great save on Elson going post-to-post (doesn't take him long as he is gigantic).

Hoffman - Fit in with other goalies on the day. He made the saves that he needed to. Looks pretty good, but I don't think he's forcing his way onto the team or anything.

Gillies - The goal he let in was a pinpoint shot on a 2 on 1, so no worries there. He's a really solid looking goalie. There weren't a lot of great chances against him, so he wasn't forced to make a bunch of athletic saves.

[BlackWallStreet]

Hey so how can I go watch the next scrimmage on Monday? Do I need a ticket?

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by getbak

I don't know how tall Hallett is, but at least Johnny's now eye-to-eye with her without skates on.



Also...

Bet she still has to say, hey, my eyes are up here :bag

[Canada 02]

Gaudreau - Best player on the red team. He is so quick and intelligent that he doesn't need a lot of room to make plays. Interesting that he's not great at shootouts, but it reminds me of Heatley and Naslund who both were experts at scoring within the context of the game moreso than an artificial setting.

is there a history with this opinion, or is this based on one shot today?

[djsFlames]

I'm definitely going on monday. That game was just too much fun to watch, as a lot of players really turned up the intensity later in the game probably to try and make a statement to the coaches, so that made for some more exciting than expected hockey.

Anybody know if they're going to switch up the teams for the next scrimmage? The list that the Flames put out said that the groups would be subject to change. I'm curious to see how the likes of Sven and Monahan (potential flames pairing) would look skating on same line, as well as other combinations.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by BlackWallStreet

Hey so how can I go watch the next scrimmage on Monday? Do I need a ticket?

No

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Red John

Would be very happy to be wrong about Kanzig.

Maybe it's the way he's being used in Victoria...that's a mediocre team and no dman gets much support there.

But you got to see him once, as compared to a 2-season sample size so its a bit early to be drawing conclusions.

He was one of the worst players in the WHL. Maybe he'll take a step forward...guys his size are often late bloomers.

Will take another look at him in Penticton.

I think you pretty much don't know what you're talking about if you call him one of the worst players in the WHL last year.

He was ranked as a 3rd round pick by most scouts.

[Red John]

Originally Posted by Azure

I think you pretty much don't know what you're talking about if you call him one of the worst players in the WHL last year.

He was ranked as a 3rd round pick by most scouts.

Central scouting had him 112th in North American skaters - probably slots him around 180-200th overall if not worse.

Who do you consider "most scouts"? Waiting to see your evidence.

[Savvy27]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

is there a history with this opinion, or is this based on one shot today?

Two shots today and I used 'not great' instead of bad purposely, but the point is well taken. To expand, I didn't think he made the goalie move much on either opportunity.

[StrykerSteve]

Jankowski and Agostino had some good chemistry out there.

Martin was most physical on the ice, by a wide margin.

Gaudreau is terrific in tight spaces.

Baertschi slowly took the game over, but it's a testament to how deep the pool is now that he no longer stands out as the only guy to keep your eye on.

Despite letting in a few, Berra looked good.

Gillies oozes confidence.

Monahan and Knight are solid, two-way Centers.

Jankowski had a great day on faceoffs.

Hanowski was trying to agitate one of the guys on the other team, but I couldn't catch who it was. Might have been Agostino? Regardless, it was quite entertaining.

Sieloff made a few blunders defensively, but quickly recovered with some great extra efforts.

Kanzig is HUGE. And surprisingly mobile. Was probably impressed the most by him, perhaps because my expectations were so low, but he played a very good game. He had one end to end rush on which he almost scored. He was also very vocal out there.

[IgiTang]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

This being my first opportunity to view Kanzig, it really confirms my belief that the poster "Red John" (IIRC) had a serious axe to grind when giving us his personal scouting report on big Keegan in the initial thread upon his drafting by he Flames.

Basically calling him a big, dumb, useless pylon goon that had no business ever being drafted at all, never mind in the third round. It's obviously early, but it sure seems like that sentiment was waaaaaay off.

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Kanzig really looks like a solid d-man. He's slowish, but very smart. If he can get some additional quickness, he could be a steal.

So I wasnt out to lunch with my assesment of Kanzig. Glad hes showing well. The great thing is hes the 2nd youngest player at the camp and hes just gonna get better.

When he starts playing against men, hes gonna realize he wont take as many penalties for simply being strong. Also, as guys challenge him more, I see a meen streak developing.

[the2bears]

It's been said, but of course it's worth repeating: An appreciative thanks to everyone who has provided updates and commentary on the development camp. I have really enjoyed reading all the opinions. I am really getting excited about the Flames future, a lot more potential than in the past!

[Francis's Hairpiece]

Originally Posted by Red John

Central scouting had him 112th in North American skaters - probably slots him around 180-200th overall if not worse.

Who do you consider "most scouts"? Waiting to see your evidence.

Guys who actually judge a guys talent and know he isn't the worst player in the WHL?

[Sandman]

Hey guys-I was there today and I don't know how many of you were there, but i thought i'd give my two cents......
Knight: looks like an NHLer. Great faceoff man and knows the center position well-always in the right place in the defensive zone. Standout today.
Monohan:looked great. some of that hockey sense was on display today.
Horak:didn't do a whole lot.
Culkin: looked good-good skater, used his size when he needed to.
Lewis: i can't believe people aren't raving about him. He should've been more physical, but he did everything right-worked hard, skated hard,and played awesome at both ends.
Ferland:what a shot this kid has! make a few shaky plays, but looked good. did a little stick jousting with Seiloff in the 3rd behind the play and the two had quite the conversation. looked like they were gonna go.
Gilmour/Roy: pretty shaky pairing today. both made some bad plays. I like Roy's skating though.
VanBrabrant: didn't look like a great skater but was very noticable-physical, hard worker and can make plays.
Seiloff:love his game-relentless.
Poirier: awesome skating was on diplay today, but he tries to do too much by himself. looked like a CHL player....
Granlund: thought he stayed to the perimeter in the first two, but looked awesome in the third, obviously.
Elson: one of the best forwards as the game wore on. hard worker, beating guys one-on-one and going to the net.
Kanzig: very impressed with him today. Good skater-very deceptive because of a long, sorta bow-legged stride but he gets there quick. showed very good awareness too.
Jankowski: wanted more from him but he was still one of the better forwards. does look bigger out there, and still skates well of course.
Arnold/Agostino: shocked again that more people aren't talking about these two-both looked like future NHLers out there. I can't believe how far Arnold has come with his skating and he was making plays all over the ice. Agostino has made me a believer- I think the team was smart getting him in the Iggy trade.
Gaudreau: awesome of course. Didn't look like a 5'6" player- seemed taller.
Anyway, the above players stood out to me for better or worse.

[Red John]

Originally Posted by Francis's Hairpiece

Guys who actually judge a guys talent and know he isn't the worst player in the WHL?

Who in particular?

We don't have access to any teams list though we know the Flames were obviously pretty high on him.

The poster said "most scouts had him as a 3rd rounder." Even though one of the few publications of scouts opinions that fans have access to (Central Scouting) had him as a 7th rounder or worse.

To say "the Flames saw him as a 3rd rounder" is fair.

To say "most scouts had him as a 3rd rounder" when that isn't true, and provide zero evidence...prepare to be called out on that comment.

[Savvy27]

I agree that Kanzig was a pleasant surprise. The pick makes way more sense to me now.

[StrykerSteve]

Horak was doing a lot of good things away from the puck, watching him take the body on Sieloff was surprising.

Arnold had a few really good rushes with the puck, I'm surprised he didn't pot one.

VanBrabrant demolished Eddy with a massive bodycheck against the boards in the corner, right beneath me. Eddy jumped right back up, good on him.

Hanowski checked someone right over the boards and into the bench, not sure who it was, but it was fun to watch.

[Roof-Daddy]

I hope they sign Culkin this summer, and get him playing pro this fall.