From what I've read from Drury and others, this is well deserved and not really a surprise ... apparently had a great season in Addy. Very happy that the Flames have rewarded him with a contract!
For those who don't frequent into The Back Burner that often, this is what Drury18 had to say about how Hathaway did this year. Should really read the rest of it for the rest of our players in Adirondack if you haven't already.
Spoiler!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drury18
Hathaway started the year on an AHL contract and finished the season with a strong potential to get an NHL contract in the offseason. Actually, he almost started the season with an NHL contract after coming into camp the fittest prospect and being one of the Flames final cuts, while still on the AHL contract. It seems like his experience at Flames camp was a carrot for him to have a great season with the AHL Flames He went into places other players wouldn't touch, he dropped and blocked shots that no one wanted to touch and he made his name as a shot blocking special teams expert. Since the start of the season, he has had or shared the lead for team PPG. He's tied for the lead in Rookie AHL shorthanded goals and points. And this weekend, he cracked the Top 20 for AHL Rookie points with his 19G and 15A and is 4th on the team in shooting percentage. Oh, and he's done it all only missing 1 game this season because he was extremely banged up at the end of a 3 in 3 weekend. If the Flames don't offer Hathaway a contract soon, some other NHL team will. He could easily be next year's Josh Jooris.
The Following User Says Thank You to Anduril For This Useful Post:
This team has a tonne of depth organizationally. I really like Hathaway, and glad the Flames signed him. Prospects are going to have to raise their compete in order to get to the Flames. There will be a few prospects (probably starting this off-season) that the Flames are going to be letting go/trading that will make a few of us upset (everyone has their favorites). Just a good sign that your organization is getting stronger.
Flames are going to be a very nasty team to play against in the bottom 6. Hathaway, Bouma, Carrol, Smith, Ferland, Harrison, Van Brabant, etc.,. Lots of options there down the road. The Flames in the near future are really going to start looking like the late 80's Flames - loads of high-end skill, but loads of jam and nastiness too.
Not a surprising signing. At the Fan Forum last week, Conroy really praised Hathaway's performance this season.
He said they expected him to be like Bouma, but they've been pleasantly surprised by his offensive performance this season. So, I guess he really is like Bouma.
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Flames sign Garnet Hathaway to an ELC
