Prediction 14/15: Who makes the jump?

[ricardodw]

I voted wrong.


In my mind Gaudreau has already made the jump.

I picked Wolf and Knight and Sieloff and expect them to get 20 NHL games this year....

But Gaudreau will be getting to play as many games as he is healthy.


Knight is the strongest physically of the top AHL guys last year and Raymond, Hudler and Gaudreau are all the small skilled guy the Flames will be able to manage.....

When Knight came up to the NHL he was smart enough to follow the lesson that Byron learned over the years.... If you aren't going to score 20-30 goals in the NHL you had be ready to bump into some players on the other team.

Granlund and Rienhart played like they figured they had enough skill to play in the NHL.

If one Raymond/Hudler/Gaudreau gets injured then look to Granlund to get some games in.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

I voted wrong.


In my mind Gaudreau has already made the jump.

I picked Wolf and Knight and Sieloff and expect them to get 20 NHL games this year....

But Gaudreau will be getting to play as many games as he is healthy.

Do you want me to delete a Wolf vote, and add a Gaudreau vote?

[flambers]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

In my mind Gaudreau has already made the jump.

.

With the Flames its really hard to tell...

Gaudreau will be interesting to watch, its the defensive side of his game that could be an issue...

If I had to bet, the Flames will have him start the season in the AHL and recall him part way through

[The Fonz]

Does Wolf have to clear waivers if he's sent down?

If all of McGrattan, Bouma, and Bollig are healthy, my thinking is that Wolf will be in Addy. Once there's an injury to 1 of those 3, Wolf comes up.

[ah123]

I think it will Granlund, Reinhart and Wotherspoon. I would have put Gaudreau in place of Granlund, but I think the Flames will want him to learn what it means to be a pro and surviving the grind that is the professional game. He might need to re-think his "I don't eat salad" approach

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by Drury18

I think Baertschi's situation is unique as it's not just his play against him but his work ethic and attitude. Like I said, there is a bit of a pattern emerging which the Flames do need to keep an eye on in case he does turn into a lost cause and we are unable to move him for something beneficial for us.

You can take a "lesser" player like Hanowski for example who was told his skating was poor last season and so he stayed in Calgary and worked hard and made it his mission to improve it and drop weight to make an effort. While he might not be the same skill level as Baertschi, he's putting in a ton of effort to try to improve himself. If coaches criticize or bench him, he takes it personally enough to signal he needs to change things, but not to the point it crushes his spirit.

Baertschi, he took the criticism from the previous season and didn't seem to change anything or anything very noticeable. No extra work in Calgary with the Flames staff, was pretty adamant he was sticking to his game and just didn't seem to show that "I'm a sponge, give me all the info you can to make me better" attitude that a number of the other prospects have. When benched, he still doesn't seem to say "I need to change something" he still sticks with his game. He's stubborn and unfortunately he hasn't shown enough that he's good enough to be that stubborn. He needs to change that to have a better chance of success.

I still think most of this is because he's young and acting like any other 21/22 year old, however I recall at 22 this excuse starting to wear out and my employers/professors didn't care I was young. I could see the Flames starting to get to that point after this season.

See this is all very interesting because I see him often painted with this brush now. One of the big things we learned about him when the Flames drafted him is that he LOVES playing hockey and works his tail off to improve his skills, staying after practice often. There was all the talk that in junior he would sometimes stay so late after practice that they had to kick him out of the arena. I went to development camp his first year here and he was on the ice for a long time after the other players.

I just don't see him as being one of those malcontents. He has had confidence issues but I don't think it is necessarily an inability to be coached or a character flaw but more a natural progression that some players at his age go through.

Look at Backlund. I always had a belief that he would turn into a player but it was starting to look an awful lot like he just couldn't get his confidence to the point where he could be an effective NHLer. Then bam, he turned the corner last season.

It took Backlund just over 6 years from when he was drafted to begin ascending to his potential.

It has been just over 3 years since Baertschi was drafted.

Sven will get there.

[Monahan23]

I think Sena Acolatse should be included. Not my pick but very possible.

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by flambers

With the Flames its really hard to tell...

Gaudreau will be interesting to watch, its the defensive side of his game that could be an issue...

If I had to bet, the Flames will have him start the season in the AHL and recall him part way through

The defensive side of Gaudreau's game is excellent, in large part due to his speed. (This is just from what I've seen when I've had a chance to watch him.)

He had one play on a drill development camp this year where he scored at one end and without even hesitating he turned and hit the afterburners and broke up the rush going the other way right as it got to the offensive blue line. It was very impressive and he did this stuff multiple times.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by flambers

With the Flames its really hard to tell...

Gaudreau will be interesting to watch, its the defensive side of his game that could be an issue...

If I had to bet, the Flames will have him start the season in the AHL and recall him part way through

Gaudreau's elite offensive talent always overshadows his defensive play. His back checking and relentless defense is what makes him a superb prospect. He isn't one dimensional by any means.

[Poe969]

pretty sure at this point you could ask: other than Johnny, who do you think will make it?

The kid just looks amazing, I guess anything could happen but I don't see any situation where he doesn't make the team.

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by Poe969

pretty sure at this point you could ask: other than Johnny, who do you think will make it?

The kid just looks amazing, I guess anything could happen but I don't see any situation where he doesn't make the team.

I agree.

Honestly the only reason I can foresee is that he has a bad training camp... but that kind of thing hasn't really happened with him. It would be one of the first times he has under performed.



Plus, every development camp he has been impressive.

EDIT: I actually just realized... he has only been less than 1.0 PPG once in any season or tournament and that's the 2010-11 Ivan Hlinka.


I will honestly be surprised if he doesn't force his way into the NHL with the Flames this season.

[edslunch]

I think they will send Gaudreau down early, before he forces his way onto the team. They know they have a star in the making if they handle him carefully. I think they are truly worried for his health if he goes straight to the NHL and will try to avoid drama by sending him down earlyish

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by edslunch

I think they will send Gaudreau down early, before he forces his way onto the team. They know they have a star in the making if they handle him carefully. I think they are truly worried for his health if he goes straight to the NHL and will try to avoid drama by sending him down earlyish

I've heard this argument but it doesn't pass the sniff test for me.

The AHL has men, these men are bigger than Gaudreau, and ... the kicker, these men stand more to gain in making a name for themselves by killing the little bugger than that of their NHL counterparts.

It's not like the AHL is flag football to the NHL's tackle.

I think it's all expectation management.

[To Be Quite Honest]

Bennett is going to put on 10lbs and surprise us with solid play on the 3rd line. By mid season he'll be up on 2nd line.

[ricardodw]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Do you want me to delete a Wolf vote, and add a Gaudreau vote?

yes please

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by To Be Quite Honest

Bennett is going to put on 10lbs and surprise us with solid play on the 3rd line. By mid season he'll be up on 2nd line.

I think it would be beneficial to his development to play in the OHL for at least another year.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

As good as Gaudreau is, I'm not worried about the physical element keeping him from making the team. It will ultimately come down to how well he learns system and can be responsible defensively. If he can't cover his assignments reliably then he will start in the AHL to learn that and show he can do it regularly (also could be an issue physically for him to check his man). It would be disingenuous to let him play without being proficient defensively when they harped on Baertschi's lack of 3 zone play as a reason for sending him down. Training camp will be very interesting for sure.

[djsFlames]

Yeah, no way Gaudreau isn't an NHLer, at least with this team. He's head and shoulders above just about everyone else in terms of skill, and with the loss of our top scorer and probably most skilled player on last year's squad (well maybe except Hudler), they'll need every bit of offence they can get to fill the void. And Raymond won't cut it. If they're worried about him getting hurt, better he's in Calgary where they can keep a close eye on him with the Flames staff there to help him continue bulking up. In Abbotsford he's just as fair game as here, and players may have more motivation to take a run at him at some point.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

yes please

Done

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I've heard this argument but it doesn't pass the sniff test for me.



The AHL has men, these men are bigger than Gaudreau, and ... the kicker, these men stand more to gain in making a name for themselves by killing the little bugger than that of their NHL counterparts.



It's not like the AHL is flag football to the NHL's tackle.



I think it's all expectation management.

Yes, but I still think he gets an extra half second decision making in the AHL, which Is an eternity for him.