It is interesting, but the question asked of Ward was just specifically about when all of the cuts are being made. The more important issue of who will make the cuts wasn't discussed so we don't really know what level of control he has of that.
Watch it again, he says he won't be as involved in the decisions as Jay and John.
- Steinberg asked about meritocracy when it came to guys earning spots with the Heat. Weisbrod responded that roster decision would be based on merit but then also commented that the Heat are a development team so there may be some instances where an established minor league player may have to give way to a player with NHL potential.
-Maher asked about the Jiri Hudler injury situation. They're not able to interact (can't even call them) with the players or treat them. They're trying to find about the situation but not much they can do.
- Talked about Backlund. Said it was a good call for Backlund to sign with Vasteras and keep playing. Said he showed a lot of promise two years ago and 'came back down to earth' last season. He talked about raising the talent level in Abbotsford and Calgary and it's up to Backlund to compete and be ready if/when the season starts.
-Said to some degree it was good for Baertschi to start in the AHL. The slightly lower level of skill and less structure will help Sven with the transition to the NHL. At the same time, if there was an NHL season, he would likely be in the NHL.
-Talked about guys who had played in the NHL last year (Brodie, Bouma, Horak, Byron) and said that their attitude has been fantastic. There's no big time mentality (I was slightly concerned this may be the case with Brodie, but according to PMM, he's been phenomenal, so that's good to hear). They're excited to use their experience in the NHL and be leaders on the Heat.
-Steinberg asked about Leland Irving's situation and the limits to his PTO. They didn't want to risk losing him on waivers so they signed him to a PTO. He can play 25 games and then is eligible to sign another one allowing him to play an additional 25 games.
Nothing earth-shattering here, but not much else to talk about.
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Watch it again, he says he won't be as involved in the decisions as Jay and John.
Meh, I'll save time and just take your word for it. #YOLO I assumed the Flames coaching and management would be having some degree of control over player decisions given that it's probably happens to some degree every year with with most AHL affiliates and it would be natural if they'd want to be a bit more involved since they're there now. It was an interesting point in the interview regardless but I just didn't think I heard them discuss how player decisions were being made there.
i love me some troy ward, one of the lockout silver linings for me is that the flames stabilized their ahl situation, and brought this guy in. During the flames hiring process this offseason i had some concerns about his personal involvement with players. But the more i hear him speak the more i think that players respect for him would never waiver. 2 years from now i think we'll be reaping the benefits of his impact big time, particularly when it comes to pushing mid to late round flames draft picks.
My guess is Taylor and Howse stay down until the lockout is done. Taylor due to space. Howse to get his act in gear and give him some play time at a level where hopefully he can have success.
My guess is Taylor and Howse stay down until the lockout is done. Taylor due to space. Howse to get his act in gear and give him some play time at a level where hopefully he can have success.
I don't consider myself much of an armchair prognosticator for the Heat but this looks reasonable at this point in time. I don't think your take can be wrong because at this point in time all that anyone can give is their best estimate. Based on what Troy Ward said today's intersquad game could weigh heavily into cuts and there will be more cuts further down the road based on what happens on the ice in later sessions. Also, nobody knows where the injury inventory will stand when the season opens.
One guy that stuck out as different than PMM's reports was this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire
Drew MacKenzie is going to make the Heat. Mark my words. He'll be one of the final 8 d-men picked. He's so solid defensively and is a really good puck mover. He's probably been the most impressive invitee so far. I know I said Mouillierat was the most impressive, but I change my mind haha.
Even if he doesn't quite make the team it sounds like they might like to keep him in the ECHL for when the lockout over.
^^ Also as a footnote on McKenzie having just finished his college career and being 23 it sounds like he might fit into the category Weisbrod said where they might make a few exceptions to their meritocracy in order to groom NHL talent. He may just need to be close to as good as someone like Callahan to displace them rather than looking clearly better.
^^ Also as a footnote on McKenzie having just finished his college career and being 23 it sounds like he might fit into the category Weisbrod said where they might make a few exceptions to their meritocracy in order to groom NHL talent. He may just need to be close to as good as someone like Callahan to displace them rather than looking clearly better.
Is McKenzie the kid that missed a year (or more) of hockey to serve in the military? if he is, he might have an inside track anyways as Weisbrod loved him in the Bs organization
Is McKenzie the kid that missed a year (or more) of hockey to serve in the military? if he is, he might have an inside track anyways as Weisbrod loved him in the Bs organization
Max took a Chris Breen slapshot right off the ankle. He left the game right away. I don't expect him to come back tonight. He was hurt pretty bad. I think Ward and Weisbrod went downstairs to check on him.
Alright I can finally fill you guys in, but I've got to do it quick haha.
Team White won tonight 3-2.
The goals came from Sylvester who beat Irving short side (Irving wasn't expecting a shot whatsoever), Horak (from Ruegsegger's beautiful pass), Kolanos (from Sylvester and Mouillierat), Ferland on a breakaway goal (Eddy made a great pass to get him at full speed, Laing also assisted), Fritsch also scored on the power play on a point shot (which turned out to be the game winner).
It was a fun game to watch. Lots and lots of intensity.
Some of the lines I saw tonight were (not in order and not team specific because I'm lazy):
Baertschi-Street-Estoclet and Brodie-Horak
Kolanos-Sylvester-Mouillierat and Walter-Urban
Ruegsegger-Olsen-Cameron and Breen-Fritsch
Didn't catch the PK units, but one of them was Olsen-Bouma and Brodie-Callahan. Piskula-MacKenzie was one of the defensive pairings one time.
Some notable things tonight:
- Brust and Irving started. They came out half way through the game and Taylor played the other half for Team White, while Rollheiser and Evin each played a quarter of the game.
- Lamb absolutely levelled an opposing player only seconds into the game. It pretty much set the tone for the rest of the game.
- It was Sven's birthday today.
- Reinhart did not come back after leaving the game early in the second.
- After Reinhart left, Kolanos and Sylvester had rotating centres for the rest of the game.
- Danny Taylor made a ridiculous desperation glove save on a breakaway against Olsen. Olsen would've had a goal if he had lifted the puck on his shot.
- McKelvie was an a-hole tonight. McKelvie and Ferland, McKelvie and Walter, McKelvie and Estoclet, McKelvie and Aliu. Finally, McKelvie and Patterson fought after McKelvie delivered a series of punches to the face of Patterson. Patterson finally had enough of getting his face rocked so they fought. McKelvie got one good punch in to knock Patterson's helmet off and they both fell to the ice. I love this guy.
- Horak got pissed off after a whistle and punched Martin in the mouth. Martin didn't retaliate, he just smiled.
- The 3 Stars were: 3. Brodie, 2. Kolanos, 1. Sylvester.
- There were easily over 500 people there tonight. They only had three sections open in the arena.
- The Flames brass all sat together in a suite, while Weisbrod sat by himself and Ward sat by himself.
Sorry for the quick, messy notes, but I had something important to finish up before I wrote this out.
Cuts tomorrow. Can't wait to see what the team will look like.
Last edited by Pierre "Monster" McGuire; 10-06-2012 at 01:15 AM.
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I assumed the Flames coaching and management would be having some degree of control over player decisions given that it's probably happens to some degree every year with with most AHL affiliates and it would be natural if they'd want to be a bit more involved since they're there now. It was an interesting point in the interview regardless but I just didn't think I heard them discuss how player decisions were being made there.
