Unless I missed someone, the Flames didn't have a single player in their lineup who played the full season with the Flames last season. Pretty impressive result considering the Nucks had some of their best players in the game.
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With how many winger the Flames have on theain roster they're going to have to make some moves either way IMO.
Coronato needs top 9 minutes I think. Honzek I believe you can start in the AHL just to let him keep gaining momentum but really they're going to have make room for him this season at some point before the ASG.
I don't much like the idea of signing Barrie simply due to the fact that as it stands even now, the Flames need to make some decision for Brzustewicz and Grushnikov.
It's going to be an up and down season so it's perfect for 1st year guys to ebb and flow on the big team.
Still lots and lots of runway left in this pre season to shake things out though. We're still early into this.
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The decision for Brzustewicz and Grushnikov is easy. Grushnikov has played only one season of AHL hockey, Brzustewicz zero. Let them start with the Wranglers and earn a call-up. We know the team is bound to ship out roster players during the season, so there will be openings later on.
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The decision for Brzustewicz and Grushnikov is easy. Grushnikov has played only one season of AHL hockey, Brzustewicz zero. Let them start with the Wranglers and earn a call-up. We know the team is bound to ship out roster players during the season, so there will be openings later on.
This exactly. The only young guy who "needs" a spot in the NHL to start the year is Pelletier and that's only because he needs to clear waivers.
Having some guys start in the A, even Coronato is not the end of the world.
The team will be making callups due to injury and trades throughout the season. Let the good young guys have prime time in the Wranglers line up and force their way on in November like Zary/Pospisil did.
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Based on how Pospisil has looked at center I actually think it would be best long term for this team to develop both him and Zary as centers this season.
They want to play center, the team needs young centers, and the entire point of the season should be development for these young guys (while remaining competitive).
After 4 games now I think these would be my lines:
Felt like the entire game we had zero issues gaining the zone, but then had a really hard time making anything happen after that. I think that speaks to the high effort low skill identity that was predicted this off season.
Hunt is a decent player. Involved in the game. I think his goal was off side.
It wasn't. I froze it (as did someone else in this thread) and it was close but good. I am actually amazed at how often the linesmen get those bang-bang plays right (it looked offside to me too, live)
I don’t want Zary or Pospisil on the fourth line. Even if they’re playing centre
IMO, this (fan) fear of young players playing on the 4th line is way overdone. Is it ideal? Of course not. But is half a season, or one season, playing 4th line so they can focus on a particular development need, going to dampen their offensive growth prospects? Highly doubtful, IMO.
Do you want to see a 19 year old like Honzek on the 4th line, getting 4 minutes a game? Absolutely not. But would it be detrimental to Zary to play 12 minutes a night, focusing on playing C, getting better matchups than he would get if he were centering the 2nd or 3rd line? I just don't see the problem. If it is for a reason (as opposed to the old-school, right-of-passage mentality), then it is developmentally positive, not negative.
Just put him on the 2nd PP unit, and he is going to get more offensive touches than he would playing full time 2nd line minutes, 5 on 5.
If you think a player with a high draft pedigree isn’t going to pan out, better to trade him sooner rather than later, before their value declines any more. The Senators were smart to trade Curtis Lazar when they did and get a 2nd for him. I don’t know if that’s the case with Pelletier today, but it’s often good asset management.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fotze
If this day gets you riled up, you obviously aren't numb to the disappointment yet to be a real fan.
Based on how Pospisil has looked at center I actually think it would be best long term for this team to develop both him and Zary as centers this season.
They want to play center, the team needs young centers, and the entire point of the season should be development for these young guys (while remaining competitive).
After 4 games now I think these would be my lines:
Really I think there is only spot for one of Rooney/Hunt but overall like the look of that lineup.
I couldn't agree with the bolded more.
And while the "pump and dump" strategy sounds appealing, I'm kind of turned to the dark side and embraced the tank. I would never expect anyone in the organization to admit it, but what this organization badly needs is a couple of premium draft picks. Not the extra second or third rounder you can get at the deadline.
It's a bit of a fine line but I'm all about embracing the young guys this year. You don't want to create a culture of losing but a year or two of bottoming out doesn't have to be permanent.
You want the right mix of vets to be mentors and help with culture, which IMO the Flames still have in abundance.
