Flames 2014 Summer Development Camp July 4 - July 9

[sa226]

Eff it all, I want Johnny to make the team and lead the Flames on their march to the playoffs. All the while winning the Calder and the Art Ross.

Damn you all and your tempered expectations.

[Caged Great]

Just saw Wolf in street clothes. He is huge. Built like grats

[StrykerSteve]

Originally Posted by sa226

Eff it all, I want Johnny to make the team and lead the Flames on their march to the playoffs. All the while winning the Calder and the Art Ross.

Damn you all and your tempered expectations.

Not the hero we deserve, but the one that we need.

[Caged Great]

Kanzig is working on skating backwards going to get the corner and working his was back to in front of the net. The goalies are out as well McDonald and Huggins

[Savvy27]

Note: today's practice was incredibly draining for the D. There were several drills with equal numbers of forwards and defensemen participating, which wore on the D because there were 5 fewer of them.

Wolf - another decent showing. There was a lot of passing in the first half of the ice time and he had that pro player way of never seeming to miss a pass. I don't think he'll be a goal scorer, although my perception may change when the scrimmage happens and he's battling for rebounds. He's definitely a battler. Had one rush where he was knocked over and from his stomach he stripped the puck off a D trying to clear it and got a pretty good backhand shot off.

Sieloff - he's enjoyable to watch. He reminds me a bit of Corey Perry, where he walks the line between going too far and being competitive. Sieloff looked very good in a full ice 1on1 drill. He was passing well too. For a guy who missed so much time, he looks like his hands have improved. Very vocal with his D partner. Ran over a goalie one time because he was going to the net so hard.

Agostino - another very impressive showing. He was hitting corners today and showing off his hand-eye coordination. His hands were looking good and he was making moves at full speed. He was basically a guy who D shouldn't give any time or space to, because he was able to make something of it. He's also a very attentive looking player and he stayed on after the first part to discuss the forecheck with Gelinas. I'm feeling more and more inclined to expect that he'll become a NHL player. He is a player who gets in first to the puck all the time. Much like Glencross was when he first came to Calgary, Agostino has such great balance that even when D are trying to put him into the boards, he's so solid that he's given himself an angle to escape the check with the puck.

Gaudreau - his offensive ability is unmatched. His backchecking was very impressive today as well. He broke up several plays in a 2 on 2 drill designed to give the offensive players enough time to get a shot off because his skating is so superb. In the drill the offensive players get a 2 on 0 shot, then they are expected to skate all the way to the crease and stop, then they chase 2 new players going the other direction... Gaudreau was getting to the net and catching guys who were near the blueline by the time he was changing direction. We discuss Gaudreau a lot and mention how he has to be an elite skater to survive in the NHL... I'd say that he has that speed and quickness. Amazing player.

Kulak - I won't elaborate too much on D today because I think they were all exhausted. He looked good generally.

Bennett - he looked very stressed out to me. Wasn't scoring in any of the drills and while he is a good skater, I think that the level out here must be a pretty big step up from junior because he's not one of the faster players (he keeps up but I didn't notice anybody getting beat by his speed). After a disappointing day yesterday, I was encouraged when they had more game situation type exercises. He finds holes and his hands are so good that he's able to keep the puck away from defenders for that extra second to get a shot off or find a teammate. A better day today and I'm anxious to see him in the scrimmage because I expect that he will start to shine. On a positive note, I think that he has a pretty great release on his shot. He shot over the net on what seemed like the majority of his shots, but he gets those shots off in traffic and under pressure.

Smith - again, his skating is good enough that his size is a huge advantage. When he gets a bit of room to cut in, most of the D are not able to contain him. His hands are quicker than I noticed yesterday. He was struggling a bit in the full ice passing drills to do things at high speed. He looked much better in the 1 on 1 drill where he started with full control. I'm pretty intrigued by this player. Hopefully he can stick in an offensive role this upcoming season and get used to making plays.

Hickey - barely noticed him today. He was competent but not memorable in any way.

Valcourt - he does a lot of things just as well as the draft picks, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he takes too long to make plays. He scored on a couple of shots that I noticed he had a lot of time and space. It'll be interesting to see how the game goes for him.

Roy - showed off some more of his impressive offensive skills. He took a few really good shots and found small holes to beat the goalie. His passing is good too. Accurate and hard passes. I thought he looked a bit odd in the full ice 1 on 1 drill... almost like he is working on eliminating crossovers from his backwards skating and he's thinking about it. I'm probably reading too much into that... he just looked a bit uncomfortable.

Downing - made a few more nice shots and his passing skills are relatively good out there. Made less of an impression on me than yesterday, but I like him as a player.

Harrison - scored one very nice goal right off the bar and in on a 3 on 2, but beyond that I barely noticed him (not exactly bad since most notable moments were mistakes).

Bailey - wow. His shot is fantastic. He got hot at one point in the practice and was sniping perfect shots that the goalies were doing their damnedest to stop but just couldn't. He's a pretty big kid too and a right-hand shot. His hands are good and he was one of the better guys on the 2 on 1's and 3 on 2's. If he keeps it up I wouldn't be surprised if he picked up a contract offer. He reminds me of Matt Frattin... good skater with a hell of a shot.

Dienes - I feel bad but I really can't comment too much on the D. They were in a tough spot today. If I make it to any more practices during the week I'll try to focus on these guys and give better impressions.

Leedahl - noticed him more today. Has pretty good hands and was competent in the passing drills.

Fram - he was new on this icetime and I watched him for a while and was impressed. Saw him contain some of the better forwards on the 1 on 1s.

The goalies Doug Carr and Corbin Boes had a pretty tough ice time, I thought. They were lit up by some of the better shooters.

For those interested in systems, the second part of the ice time had more of a focus on the forecheck and backcheck (presumably so that there is some cohesion in the game tomorrow). On the forecheck the first player (F1) is pressuring the puck carrier inside to outside trying to force a pass up the boards. F2 is cutting off the outlet up the boards by skating to the hashmarks right up against the boards on the puck side. F3 is skating to the net and I would imagine is responsible to put pressure on the other D if there is a D to D pass behind the net.

It is interesting that they are using a 1-2-2 (the forecheck is in three layers with the first player the deepest, the next two players at the hashmarks, the D at the blue line), because the Flames were playing a 2-1-2 last year so long as the first forechecker was able to make contact. I'm not sure if this is just for the sake of simplicity in a short camp or a change in tactics. The reason I note the difference is that in a 2-1-2 the second player typically goes to the net and the third player is responsible for cutting off the pass to the boards.

The only noteworthy thing about the backcheck is that the first forward back was playing deep regardless of their position. It's not that interesting though because they were stopping the play after they got in position, so there was no actual defensive zone rotation which would reveal a lot more.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

I think it's an easier decision to send a player down to the AHL vs. back to junior. Had Monahan been eligible for the AHL last season, I think we would have seen him start down in the farm rather than with the big club.

Monahan was 18 at the start of last season whereas Johnny will be 21 next month. I'm not sure he'll be all that sheltered in the AHL from thuggery. I'm he tires from too many games give him less minutes.

[edslunch]

I suspect Johnny will shine at camp but they will send him down unexpectedly early. They've decided, or will decide, that he should start in the AHL to ease him in and will want to avoid the drama of making him a late cut.

[Rick M.]

Maybe that's why they gave him the one NHL game at the end of the season?

[The Fonz]

I'd imagine Johnny starts in the AHL.

Granlund, Reinhart, and Baertschi are all knocking at the door. Byron has a 1-way deal, so he's obviously sticking as well.

We'll need to see a couple injuries before JG is on the Flames roster. Either that, or Treliving trades a LW or 2.

[Caged Great]

I will take some video and will upload after

[Caged Great]

15 min till the begins.

[Wastedyouth]

I'm willing to bet Gaudreau never plays a single game in the AHL.

[Caged Great]

Any cpers here?

[sempuki]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

I'm willing to bet Gaudreau never plays a single game in the AHL.

How much?

[Wastedyouth]

Not pubes

[Caged Great]

Only about 70 people here

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

I'm willing to bet Gaudreau never plays a single game in the AHL.

I think you're wrong but no way in hell do I bet against Gaudreau

[Caged Great]

If Gaudreau was 5-9 he would already be a star in the nhl. I don't think his size will hold him back, he just might need some time to adjust.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by sa226

Eff it all, I want Johnny to make the team and lead the Flames on their march to the playoffs. All the while winning the Calder and the Art Ross.

Damn you all and your tempered expectations.

This.

Life is too short. I want to see the best possible scenario this season and have Gaudreau and Monahan rip up the league for the delight of all us loyal fans who've waited to see this team show some potential again.

Gaudreau will be fine. The coaching staff will look out for him. They won't let him get eaten alive with minutes he can't handle. And I think we tend to forget just how elusive he is on the ice.

Go Johnny go!

[Caged Great]

Klimchuk is dominating McDonald allowing everything in