Jokerit signs Leland Irving

[sureLoss]

http://www.jokerit.com/uutiset/?nid=2496

[Nehkara]

I wish him all the best! I hope his career works out for him, he always seemed like a really nice guy.

[Wolven]

Good. I hope he finds success there and is able to work his way back to North American hockey. I had really high expectations for Irving and the fact that he fell flat on his face when he finally got his chance in the NHL was frustrating to watch.

Hopefully with a bit more seasoning and a few more years of maturity he can try to break into the NHL as a late bloomer since he is "only" 25.

[Trailer Fire]

Good luck to him. Glad to see he is moving on.

[Nammer403]

Good luck to Irving

[Young-Sneezy]

I'm really surprised he didn't make it in the NHL.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Another Flames prospect who's NHL chances were ruined from poor development.

The Sutter era has a lot of these types of casualties.

[miraisoup]

Too bad, I really liked Irving.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

Another Flames prospect who's NHL chances were ruined from poor development.

The Sutter era has a lot of these types of casualties.

Really?

I totally agree that the Flames previously had a combination of poor drafting and developing but I don't know if I'd point to Irving as an example here. He was giving a plethora of chances and seemed to choke when his big time came. He had a massive opportunity this past season and squandered it.

[Vulcan]

Great news. It's good he's going to the goalie hotbed in Finland where he may be able to improve his game. I thought he was coming along really well until last season. A poor start in Abbotsford maybe coming from the NHL lockout causing poor preparation by him led to losing his AHL spot and he never recovered. Unfortunately for him, pro hockey is results orientated and his prospect status time had run out with the Flames.

[moon]

He got a terrible rep here from many fans when he was much better than other goalies (ie Taylor) but still never showed enough to warrant a NHL deal.

Hope for the best for him in Finland and that he can get back to the NHL at some point soon.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Really?

I totally agree that the Flames previously had a combination of poor drafting and developing but I don't know if I'd point to Irving as an example here. He was giving a plethora of chances and seemed to choke when his big time came. He had a massive opportunity this past season and squandered it.

He didn't choke, he played really well and took the backup job away when he was first called up. The next year, yeah he shat the bed.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

Another Flames prospect who's NHL chances were ruined from poor development.

The Sutter era has a lot of these types of casualties.

This is not bad development this is bad drafting

[RedMileDJ]

I really hope he can find some success and make a good name for himself.

I wish him all the best.

[dobbles]

I believe he was the last connection to the Quad Cities era that was still in the organization.

Sad to see him out of North American hockey. I still root for all the guys we got to watch while they were in the QC.

[neo45]

Never take a goalie in the first round

[saillias]

Originally Posted by neo45

Never take a goalie in the first round

Doesn't really matter with Sutter calling the shots. Better to just never let a Darryl pick in the first round.

[Pontine]

I figured he was done with the flames.

Best of luck Leland.

[LouCypher]

I really liked Irving, wanted him to do well thought he had some potential to take over but somethings seemed to be missing in his game. Best of luck to him!

[Puppet Guy]

if the NHL didn't work out, it'd still be a pretty good flipside to play hockey for a living and experience a different culture.