2013/14 General Heat Discussion Thread

[thymebalm]

It's so interesting. There are a lot of prospects that are getting cut this year that are really competing with the NHLers. It seems like this could be an awesome season for the heat. I really like where they are at.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Something has to give with the number of d men in Abbotsford. Heat website lists 13 dmen including the new additions of Wotherspoon, Billins, and Ramage.

Shouldn't be too hard to get down to a manageable eight d-men.

The guys bolded I imagine will go down (up?) to Alaska:

Art Bidlevskii
Brady Lamb
Chad Billins
Dean Arsene
Drew MacKenzie
James Martin
John Ramage
Kane Lafranchise
Mark Cundari
Mark Pawlowski
Tyler Wotherspoon
Zach Davies
Zach McKelvie

[dissentowner]

The Heat are going to be awesome this year.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

The Heat are going to be awesome this year.

Especially without that bum Kolanos sucking the collective energy out of the team every time he steps on the ice.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

Especially without that bum Kolanos sucking the collective energy out of the team every time he steps on the ice.

That sucks. I was one of his biggest fans, I really wanted him to succeed and earn a spot in Calgary. Had so much talent, and could never put it together after his injury. His footspeed didn't help him, either.

[sureLoss]

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

Shouldn't be too hard to get down to a manageable eight d-men.

The guys bolded I imagine will go down (up?) to Alaska:

Art Bidlevskii
Brady Lamb
Chad Billins
Dean Arsene
Drew MacKenzie
James Martin
John Ramage
Kane Lafranchise
Mark Cundari
Mark Pawlowski
Tyler Wotherspoon
Zach Davies
Zach McKelvie

Plus it looks like Breen (although injured) and Sieloff might be additions soon.

[Enoch Root]

Cundari - Wotherspoon
Breen - Ramage
Sieloff - Billins

That is a pretty solid D core. 5 of the 6 will likely see some games in the NHL this year.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Cundari - Wotherspoon
Breen - Ramage
Sieloff - Billins

That is a pretty solid D core. 5 of the 6 will likely see some games in the NHL this year.

Yep, that's a deadly defence if they all play up to par. I'm loving what I'm seeing.

On forward let's go with:

Granlund - Street - Byron
Ferland - Knight - Nemisz
Elson - Reinhart - Hanowski
Bancks- Jooris - B. Jones

Olson
Begin (injured)

[Wastedyouth]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

The Heat are going to be awesome this year.

Doubtful. They were getting their heads beat in in puck possession last year on a regular basis with AHL all stars on the team.

Just because there are some ok prospects down there this year doesn't make them a much better team. In fact I think they look worse than last year.

[flambers]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

Doubtful. They were getting their heads beat in in puck possession last year on a regular basis with AHL all stars on the team.

Just because there are some ok prospects down there this year doesn't make them a much better team. In fact I think they look worse than last year.

Big difference is the Heat are obtaining some really quality Dman.... This should help the team.

[bubbsy]

i don't know if the heat will be better this year, as there is apparently a lot of youth on the team that will be adjusting to the pro-game.

however, now that there are actual flames prospects worth following down there, i'm sure they'll be followed more closely than last year.

[Enoch Root]

The Heat are a better team on defense for sure.

We'll have to wait and see on forward, but they definitely have more talent and more speed. How long it takes for the youngsters to start to play well is the question.

Goaltending is definitely a question mark. They had solid tending last year and again, we are just going to have to wait to see how the new guys play. I have a feeling though that a big guy with good quickness like Berra is going to eat up the AHL.

Definitely some question marks, but this team is way more talented, deeper and faster than last year.

My guess would be a slow start but a really strong team in the second half.

[Cheese]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

The Heat are a better team on defense for sure.

We'll have to wait and see on forward, but they definitely have more talent and more speed. How long it takes for the youngsters to start to play well is the question.

Goaltending is definitely a question mark. They had solid tending last year and again, we are just going to have to wait to see how the new guys play. I have a feeling though that a big guy with good quickness like Berra is going to eat up the AHL.

Definitely some question marks, but this team is way more talented, deeper and faster than last year.

My guess would be a slow start but a really strong team in the second half.

dependent on call-ups/NHL injuries and so forth.

[Bandwagon In Flames]

Originally Posted by Cheese

dependent on call-ups/NHL injuries and so forth.

I was just going to say this. If there are a significant amount of callups due to injuries, we could have a pretty bare AHL team mid season, especially on defence.

I see a strong start due to the many players on the cusp of making the NHL that really want to show that they're above the AHL.

[Wastedyouth]

I hope Reinhart starts off like he finished last season. He was vey good playing 18ish minutes a night in all roles. Much the same as when he was on the Ice and he was their only decent player.

The kid is a little ####head on the ice when he is rolling and a pleasure to watch.

Tspoon should be good as well. I like Cundari as well, hopefully he doesn't take the demotion hard and can overcome his size issues and be a decent NHLer, I just like this kid for some reason.

Also hopefully Granlund rips it up.

It will be a rough season for the team as a whole though. Young teams of this caliber usually struggle mightily in the A.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Ward's cuts will be coming down Sunday.

[kehatch]

I really want to see some honest to goodness prospects lighting it up. It was fine when guys like Taylor, Kolanos, and Walter were the star players. But we all knew they weren't coming up.

Here is hoping Ward doesn't have Jooris etc as the stars of the Heat this season.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by kehatch

Here is hoping Ward doesn't have Jooris etc as the stars of the Heat this season.

What's wrong with Jooris?

He's basically in the same situation as Knight, 1990 birth year, went the NCAA route, and signed an NHL ELC this summer. Actually, he impressed management so much at the prospects camp that they convinced him to leave College a year early and sign with the Flames.

At this point, there's no reason to think he doesn't have an NHL upside.

[kehatch]

Nothing against Jooris but he doesn't have the upside of many of our other prospects.

Ward often shows a preference to his lunch pail players and veterans. I am hoping guys like Granlund don't fail to get the ice time because they aren't Ward's type of player. That's all I am saying.