Practice Notes Sept 25, 2025 - Laing returned to junior

[Trojan97]

Backlund and 3 on 3 doesn't jive. Pospisil should be out there 10/10 over him

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by Ba'alzamon

I'm like 99.97% certain Solovyov will clear waivers. He did last year, and he doesn't seem to have improved at all to me. Poirier will probably clear too. Kuznetsov is the only one to worry about IMO.

I was thinking about this earlier: probably 13 F 8 D like last year. Right now I think up front Kerins stays up, Honzek and Kirkland go down. Maybe Morton stays up too, but I'm not sure who he replaces in that first group unless there's an injury.

On D I think Kuznetsov replaces Miromanov.

I want Kuznetsov to stay up on the team. With all of the talk about going out and trading for a LD with top 4 potential, it would sure be silly to not see what our former 2nd round draft pick that we've fully developed in the system can do to fill that role "for free".

I would also keep Solovyov up, just because I think he and Pachal could make an good 3rd pair and potentially be as good or better than Bean or Mironmanov.

Bahl-Weegar
Kuznetsov/Hanley-Andersson
Solovyov-Pachal/Parekh

That may be unfair to Bean and Miromanov, but I like this direction when I think about which of these players I would like to see more of to determine if they have a higher ceiling and who I think should be on the 2026-27 roster.

8 D is definitely the way to go until the Andersson trade goes through

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Trojan97

Backlund and 3 on 3 doesn't jive. Pospisil should be out there 10/10 over him

Disagree.

You need at least one guy to defend the other team's top guys that are thrown out there. Backlund may not be able to finish, but he always pushes the play to the other end of the ice and helps others to produce.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by FBI

Mikkelson was sure complimenting Bean a lot in the stream but I wasn't seeing it. I was seeing clunky turnovers and slow decision making.

She knows who's his daddy.

[Calgary4LIfe]

My takes on the defence - with the caveat that it is still too early to make absolutely definitive statements as players are ramping up and probably don't really have their timings back yet:


Miromanov: He is 28 years old. He is mostly an offensive-minded defencemen, but there are better options coming up. I think if he was to make it, he would need to be strong enough defensively to anchor a pairing in order to bring up a younger defencemen to play with him, otherwise you would have to stick him up with Weegar (which did look fairly good from when the Flames first acquired him until the end of that season - but then all of last season he wasn't really good). I don't really see much upside right now. I have a very difficult time penciling him into my lineup.


Bean: I have no strong feelings either way. He is 27, so I think his upside is limited. However, I do think he is 100% fine as a bottom-pairing defencemen, and think he is effective in that role.



Hanley: 34 years old vet, who for the first time in his career was a legitimate top 4 defencmeen. On one hand, we have seen Weegar make Miromanov a legitimate top 4 defencemen as well, so I would urge a big of caution here. On the other hand, Wolf needs some stability in front of him in order to continue developing the right way, and if he doesn't get it, it will probably result in him developing bad habits in his game (forced to cheat since he doesn't trust the D in front of him - see Devan Dubynk as an example). Is Hanley a legitimately good enough defender to risk a waiver claim on a younger kid who may be almost as good now, but with more upside? That's the question for me.


Pachal - I think he stays as the 3rd pairing defensive anchor - this season. I do think that unless he himself takes a step forward, that he will get displaced by the end of this season, or next.


That's my thoughts on the 'vets' (or at least, the older D).


As for the younger D (and once again, caveat for being early in the preseason still):


Solovyov - I will admit a bias here for him. I like his size and physicality. However, I believe that this is needed. I also think that just because he passed through waivers last year, that it doesn't make him a guarantee to pass through waivers this time around. He went down and he did really well. He also almost doubled his point totals from the previous season. He took a BIG step forward last year in the AHL. Does this mean that 31 teams are all getting ready to put a claim in if he gets demoted? Of course not, but I do believe that the risk of him getting claimed this year is higher than last year. As for his upside, he may end up topping out as a #4. I think he is underrated as a puck mover, I think he has a really good first step and does a reasonable job at maintaining his gaps, and I think he is strong enough to win puck battles. I think he would be 'fine' on the bottom pairing this year, and if given more reps at the NHL level, I think he can still further develop.


Kuznetsov: I am not sure he passes through waivers either. Big, mobile, great defender and can move the puck well. His production has remained fairly flat (19pts - 13pts - 21pts) since joining the Wranglers, but at least there is some offensive ability there. He has a good first pass too, so he is able to transition well IMO. I can see a team who may be looking to find some size and defensive ability to shore-up their D with him, even if they are looking looking at a 6/7 defencemen.


Poirier intrigues me - I think defensively he has become very good - had some really strong moments last night, but had some poor moments as well. He is really good at transitioning the puck. He was the Wranglers' top defensive scoring leader last season.(and in his rookie year, he had more points than Brzuestewicz had in his rookie year, and he did it in less games). I think people have forgotten the upside in Poirier. Parekh has of course overshadowed him. I think Brzustewicz has as well, and with Mews also in the pipeline, perhaps people just feel that Poirier is redundant now? I would really like to see him in another 2-3 preseason games. I think he could be a very effective defencemen at the NHL level, and more than what he is at the AHL level, because the NHL is so much more structured. He still probably has the best hands out of all of Calgary's D - Parekh included - in terms of puck-handling. Bold claim, I know. Whether that translates at the NHL level or not, I don't know, which is why I think he should get more of a look. Risk of waiver claim is mild IMO, but maybe other teams noticed him. He was the leader in points from defencemen, but he had a REALLY slow start to his season, as he was getting back from a long injury in which a really bad cut held him out for all but 22 games the previous season. It took a while for him to get going again, but once he did, he was very good for the Wranglers. I wonder how many other teams took note of his play in the 2nd half of last season?



I think there is a better than 50% chance that all 3 young D pass through waivers if needed, but all three probably have more upside left than Hanely and Miromanov, and perhaps more than Bean as well. You just cant start 4 rookie D, however (or even 3).

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Kuznetsov: I am not sure he passes through waivers either. Big, mobile, great defender and can move the puck well. His production has remained fairly flat (19pts - 13pts - 21pts) since joining the Wranglers, but at least there is some offensive ability there. He has a good first pass too, so he is able to transition well IMO. I can see a team who may be looking to find some size and defensive ability to shore-up their D with him, even if they are looking looking at a 6/7 defencemen.

I just wanted to add to this. For all of the people who have been arguing how bad Andersson was last season because of his -38 stat, you should be equally excited about Kuznetsov with his Wrangler leading +21 (next best on the team was a +8).

Even if he wasn't on the scoresheet, apparently good things were happening when he was on the ice.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Disagree.

You need at least one guy to defend the other team's top guys that are thrown out there. Backlund may not be able to finish, but he always pushes the play to the other end of the ice and helps others to produce.

3 on 3 is a different game though. It's 100% about possession and finishing, less about pushing the play to the other end. Kadri, Frost and Zary would be the three "Centres" I would have out there.

[FBI]

I am guessing Backlund 3 on 3 has been quite the minus over the years. Good defensive skills but nothing on the offense and not enough speed.

[Trojan97]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Disagree.

You need at least one guy to defend the other team's top guys that are thrown out there. Backlund may not be able to finish, but he always pushes the play to the other end of the ice and helps others to produce.

Not sure how accurate naturalstatrick is as I don't use those sites often but it shows me he saw ice in 14 OTs last season and was on the ice for 1gf/4ga while going 4/10 at the dot while taking almost exclusively d-zone faceoffs. Those numbers + his age is not a guy I think deserves a regular rotation. If you're going to have a guy out there who can't score 3 on 3, he better be winning draws in your own end. Going back 3 years now in OT his FO% is well below 50%

We are going to be the lesser skilled team in most OTs. We have one of the fastest players in the NHL who can fly around and force turnovers/jump on loose pucks to go the other way. He's also a much larger part of your future, lets see what he can do.

[HighLifeMan]

Originally Posted by FBI

I am guessing Backlund 3 on 3 has been quite the minus over the years. Good defensive skills but nothing on the offense and not enough speed.

He was actually very good at it earlier in his career, but has struggled the last few years.

Last four years - 4 goals for, 8 against
Previous six years - 15 goals for, 4 against

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Yeah, okay, the age argument might be valid, especially with the speed of 3 on 3, but is Pospisil the answer? I have my doubts.

[FBI]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Yeah, okay, the age argument might be valid, especially with the speed of 3 on 3, but is Pospisil the answer? I have my doubts.

Nah not Pospisil but I liked a lot of the lines they were using in practice.. OT guys:
Zary, Coronato, Frost, Parekh, Andersson, Kadri, Huberdeau

I might even try Klapka a bit or Farabee if he's got some speed..

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by FBI

Nah not Pospisil but I liked a lot of the lines they were using in practice.. OT guys:
Zary, Coronato, Frost, Parekh, Andersson, Kadri, Huberdeau

I might even try Klapka a bit or Farabee if he's got some speed..

Klapka isn't really a possession guy.

[HighLifeMan]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Yeah, okay, the age argument might be valid, especially with the speed of 3 on 3, but is Pospisil the answer? I have my doubts.

Honestly to be fair to you.. almost every player we have has been dreadful in 3 on 3 the last few years with Backlund actually being.. not terrible.

Just the last three years

Sharangovich - 0 goals for, 5 against
Huberdeau - 2 goals for, 8 against (22 for, 8 against prior to being a Flame)
Kadri - 4 goals for, 9 against
Andersson - 6 goals for, 12 against
Backlund - 4 goals for, 5 against

Weegar - 3 goals for, 3 against
Zary - 1 goal for, 1 against
Coronato - 3 goals for, 1 against

[Flames1217]

Been saying it for years now but Kuzy is very much a Tanev lite.

Guy is exactly where he needs to be, isn't fancy, is physical and plays simple hockey. As a 5/6, you can't really ask for more.

Really feels like he is outbeating Solo for the job, wouldn't be shocked at all to see him starting on night one!

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by HighLifeMan

Honestly to be fair to you.. almost every player we have has been dreadful in 3 on 3 the last few years with Backlund actually being.. not terrible.

Just the last three years

Sharangovich - 0 goals for, 5 against
Huberdeau - 2 goals for, 8 against (22 for, 8 against prior to being a Flame)
Kadri - 4 goals for, 9 against
Andersson - 6 goals for, 12 against
Backlund - 4 goals for, 5 against

Weegar - 3 goals for, 3 against
Zary - 1 goal for, 1 against
Coronato - 3 goals for, 1 against

Huberdeau will live or die with whoever he plays with - his lack of speed and apparently stamina is a detriment but obviously he can pass the puck well. Kadri IMO doesn't have a great OT concept (he wilkl take an outside shot and give up possession too much).

You want puck hogs in OT.

[Sofa GM]

Originally Posted by shutout

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...025-preseason/

Pronman with two Flames that could be waiver targets.




Of note he also has Samuel Helenius, C, Los Angeles Kings on the list.
Helenius and Kerins are the only two centers on the list.

Kerins would get claimed for sure. That wouldn’t be a smart move by the Flames

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Huberdeau will live or die with whoever he plays with - his lack of speed and apparently stamina is a detriment but obviously he can pass the puck well. Kadri IMO doesn't have a great OT concept (he wilkl take an outside shot and give up possession too much).

You want puck hogs in OT.

Well put. I don't hate Kadri as much in OT because he IS a puck hog but yes, he makes decisions that result in mid scoring chances or sometimes he just turns it over too easily.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Sofa GM

Kerins would get claimed for sure. That wouldn’t be a smart move by the Flames

He might be claimed. But every year we hear this about countless players that "will get claimed for sure"
And then most don't.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

Hanley and Weegar were a top 5 possession Dman pairing last year for pairings that played more than half a season together.

Hanley isn't a problem. He's currently a solution. And one of the reasons the Flames even had a sniff at playoffs.

I believe in Joel Hanley.