[News] The latest news on Ortio

[Dion]

Ortio has won five of his past six starts and now has a 9-8 record this season in Stockton, a surprisingly decent mark when you consider his other stats.

Thanks to a 36-save performance in Wednesday’s 2-1 overtime triumph against the Ontario Reign, he notched his 58th career victory for the Flames’ farm club, tying Dwayne Roloson for seventh in the history of Calgary’s oft-moved affiliate. Leland Irving is the all-time leader, with 93, and Ortio would prefer not to be in the AHL long enough to take a run at that title.

“His numbers aren’t where we’d like them to be, but we’ve made some adjustments in his game here in the last little bit — just some small things to work on — and we’ve seen a big change,” said Heat goaltending coach Scott Gouthro. “For him, it was a lot of, ‘Just stop thinking and just play.’ And then working on the little things like setting his feet before the shot and tracking pucks into his glove. Little details, but good habits that go a long way.”

“Joni is a bit different … He’d played professionally in Europe, but you look at those goalies that have come from the American League and come up to the NHL, there’s a big body of work usually, where they’ve had a year or two or three where they’ve played 50-plus games. He really hadn’t had that. What he did last year was excellent, but again, it’s a small snapshot.

“So today, do we look at him any different? Probably not. You’ve got a bigger body of work to look at. There’s been some inconsistency in his game this year. But again, we weren’t on this massive high and then all of a sudden this year, on a massive low. Like you said, maybe looking from the outside or from the media or from a fan’s perspective, you’re over-the-moon last year and now you’re thinking, ‘Geez, what happened to him?’

“Ours is more of a steady approach, saying, ‘You know what? Yeah, he had a real good stretch last year, but let’s keep it in perspective.’ And it’s the same this year. If he’s gone through some struggles, let’s keep that in perspective, as well.”

http://www.calgarysun.com/2016/01/31...tio-struggling

[1qqaaz]

I'm really happy that Ortio has turned his play around, but I feel like we should also give some credit to Kevin Poulin. He comes back fro injury, and the entire team suddenly improves.

He has some very impressive stats to boot:
-A 6-1-2 W/L record
-2.24 GAA
-92.5 save percentage

He's a pretty big improvement on 84.7% save Kent Simpson (who is playing great in the ECHL)

Hopefully they can all continue to play well.

[Itse]

Out of Thanks but thanks Dion.

Great to hear the organizations perspective, and of course great to hear that he's playing better again.

[Icon]

Glad to hear he's playing better. But I'm not sure he ever plays up with the big club until Hartley's gone... Really doesn't seem to be one of his guys.

[Strange Brew]

Love the update Dion. Thank you.

Ortio has always had good stretches so I'm not too excited about his current good play. I really don't think he is in the big club's long term plans.

[IamNotKenKing]

Originally Posted by Icon

Glad to hear he's playing better. But I'm not sure he ever plays up with the big club until Hartley's gone... Really doesn't seem to be one of his guys.

He will be on the big club when he proves he is good enough to be on the big club.

Admittedly, he did not get a long look this season, but even his last pre-season game, the 3-1 loss to the Jets, I thought he played quite poorly. He was absolutely brutal against the Habs. In my opinion, that was the worst game of any Flame 'tender this year.

The way I see it in a veteran vs. rookie/youngster role, the youngster has to outplay the veteran for a reasonable period of time, and by a reasonable amount, if it is close, the decision will go back to the larger body of work, and the veteran will usually win out. Joni hasn't done that yet.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by IamNotKenKing

He will be on the big club when he proves he is good enough to be on the big club.

Admittedly, he did not get a long look this season, but even his last pre-season game, the 3-1 loss to the Jets, I thought he played quite poorly. He was absolutely brutal against the Habs. In my opinion, that was the worst game of any Flame 'tender this year.

The way I see it in a veteran vs. rookie/youngster role, the youngster has to outplay the veteran for a reasonable period of time, and by a reasonable amount, if it is close, the decision will go back to the larger body of work, and the veteran will usually win out. Joni hasn't done that yet.

2 game sample size, one of which was preseason, is enough to "prove" that he's not good enough to compete with Hiller and Ramo?. I could pick out at least 10-15 games this season when Ramo or Hiller were not just bad, but god awful.

I feel like Ortio hasn't really gotten a chance.

That said, he should have gone back to the AHL with a bee in his bonnet and eager to prove himself. It seems the opposite has happened.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by heep223

2 game sample size, one of which was preseason, is enough to "prove" that he's not good enough to compete with Hiller and Ramo?. I could pick out at least 10-15 games this season when Ramo or Hiller were not just bad, but god awful.

I feel like Ortio hasn't really gotten a chance.

That said, he should have gone back to the AHL with a bee in his bonnet and eager to prove himself. It seems the opposite has happened.

Heep - you are right he has gotten limited game action in the NHL. But don't you feel young players have to prove themselves in practice or the AHL to really earn that chance? His AHL play has been inconsistent throughout his career although there have been some good stretches.

Interesting to see what happens if a goalie gets moved at the deadline. I am not sure Ortio is the goalie that gets the call.

[lazypucker]

With the Flames playing "relatively better" right now, I can see if one of Hiller or Ramo got traded at the deadline then bring Ortio up to give him a second audition to see if he can do the job

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by heep223

2 game sample size, one of which was preseason, is enough to "prove" that he's not good enough to compete with Hiller and Ramo?. I could pick out at least 10-15 games this season when Ramo or Hiller were not just bad, but god awful.

I feel like Ortio hasn't really gotten a chance.

That said, he should have gone back to the AHL with a bee in his bonnet and eager to prove himself. It seems the opposite has happened.

That's not the way the NHL and the world works. Ortio did get his chance this year, and he completely blew it. He was terrible in those 2 games. Because of that he didn't deserve another chance. You talk about Hiller and Ramo getting a slightly longer leash to work out their problems, that is because they are proven NHL goalies. That world and the NHL work like that. Veterans will always have a slightly longer leash.

Why did Ortio deserve another start after completely crapping those two games away? He didn't. So he didn't get one. A coach isn't going to keep playing a rookie goalie if he doesn't impress, that would be stupid and incompetent.

Blows my mind these people that think Ortio should just have kept getting played despite playing terrible. He got his shot, he completely blew it. I'm sure he had additional chances to impress in practice and failed to do so. He hasn't been very good this year overall and people wanted him handed NHL starts? He wasn't even very good in the AHL when he got sent down and people wanted him handed NHL starts? Always earned, never given. Ramo and Hiller have been earning their starts for years, Ortio's play this year hasn't earned him any more starts and for good reason.

[tvp2003]

Outside of Hudler's regression and the disappearance of Wideman's game, Ortio has been my third biggest disappointment this season. I was hoping he would be able to secure the backup spot, and maybe even push for 20 starts this year. Instead, he does nothing in the NHL, gets sent back to AHL, and then gets lit up.

Coming back from last year's injury might have something to do with it, but he's looked far from being NHL starter material. Hope he can string another 10-15 strong games together -- if we're still out of the playoff hunt he might get another opportunity with the big club at the end of the season.