[GT] Flames vs. Squids

[dino7c]

not a great game but some major over reactions in here

They threw a bunch of random young guys together and had them play a fairly veteran lineup on the road. Carried the play the entire third.

Christ Shane Wright didn't even look as good as some of the Flames rookies

[Redrum]

Might be the year Mackey gets on the team. I think he's been good enough for a while, and he's a good 2-way player to replace whoever goes down.

[The Cobra]

Exhibition games generally mean nothing.

Repeat.

[Wastedyouth]

I see some forum posters are in preseason form as well.

It's disappointing. I thought we had drafted better for new posters on this board but apparently our prospect pool is as bad as everyone says.

Sad.

[flambers]

I watched the entire game, lots of positives.

I thought of course Vladar played really well....

Ruzicka looked comfortable on the wing. with his size its hard to imagine this guy not making the team

Milano is a shooter, give him a couple more games and he likely scores. Had a couple decent shots on the PP.

Phillips, has moments... however his lack of size is noticeable. I don't think he will make the team. As he has to play a top nine role. Clearly can't be a checker.

Mackey, I thought he played well. Defense is going to be the most difficult decision

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Redrum

Might be the year Mackey gets on the team. I think he's been good enough for a while, and he's a good 2-way player to replace whoever goes down.

I have been pulling for Mackey for a long time. But at 26, I just don't really see him making up ground on many of these guys in order to make the team. He's sitting around 9 or 10 on the depth chart.

[Flamesfan05]

There is no opening on the defense. Just a bench/extra D spot

Stone, Valimaki, Meloche and Mackey are fighting for that one spot

It should be Stone on merit but with the AHL team in Calgary, they may just hide him there and keep Valimaki. That is if they think it’s worth keeping him for his cap space anymore. Meloche is a wildcard. Mackey would be a surprise option

[flambers]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

There is no opening on the defense. Just a bench/extra D spot

Stone, Valimaki, Meloche and Mackey are fighting for that one spot

It should be Stone on merit but with the AHL team in Calgary, they may just hide him there and keep Valimaki. That is if they think it’s worth keeping him for his cap space anymore. Meloche is a wildcard. Mackey would be a surprise option

Sure there is, Kylington is not yet in the camp.

I would think there is 1 or 2 spots available.

Once Kylington arrives, he will need to get up to speed quickly

[Flamesfan05]

Originally Posted by flambers

Sure there is, Kylington is not yet in the camp.

I would think there is 1 or 2 spots available.

Once Kylington arrives, he will need to get up to speed quickly

I assume Kylington is fine. I said one bench spot available for the 4 of them long term.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by blankall

And this is what happens when a largely AHL team plays a largely NHL team. It's the reason why the AHL is filled with ultra talented guys who would skate circles around the average person, yet cannot get a sniff of regular NHL play.

The legit NHL players will always stifle the AHL players, and its the ability to break through that stifling that defines whether a player is capable of NHL play.

I think this is a hyperbolic take.

Yes, the average level of play in the NHL is much higher.

However, the average NHL 3rd or 4th liner in this age is not miles ahead of the average AHL 1st liner.

I think a player such as Dillon Dube is a prime example of this. Here's a near-20 goal scorer with a some high-end speed and a well-rounded skills package, but was he head and shoulders above anyone else last night? No.

Now, put Dube on a line with Jonathan Huberdeau, a bonafide NHL star, and there's a good chance they would thrive together.

The NHL has a lot of great talent, full of savvy and plenty of tools.

But it also has a lot of complementary players filling out the rosters of even the best teams. Especially at the "third forward on a line" and "third pair D" spots.

All it takes is one star type talent to turn a weak line into a suffocating line, all-else equal. And most playoff teams have four such players, some even six spread across three lines. At that point it comes down to chemistry, opportunity, and fit. A guy like Dube is simultaneously a proven NHLer (inconsistencies and all - that's normal!) and yet not someone who can separate from the "pack" so decisively - precisely because the pack is better than the credit it is given. Often times the key for these individuals is adjusting to the pace of play and for that patience is needed. Even a guy like Andrew Mangiapane needed over half a season (!) to really get his footing at NHL pace, and most would argue he is trending towards a star player right now.

Of course, taking that next step from "3rd forward" to "line-driver" or "third pair D" to "top four pair-carrying D" is difficult. Even a Blake Coleman type is a tier above a Dillon Dube when you get into it.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

I assume Kylington is fine. I said one bench spot available for the 4 of them long term.

Based on the way Steinburg and Vickers were talking yesterday it sounds like it could be a while before Kylington returns, and then having missed camp, he will be way behind the rest of the group.

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[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

I think this is a hyperbolic take.

Yes, the average level of play in the NHL is much higher.

However, the average NHL 3rd or 4th liner in this age is not miles ahead of the average AHL 1st liner.

I think a player such as Dillon Dube is a prime example of this. Here's a near-20 goal scorer with a some high-end speed and a well-rounded skills package, but was he head and shoulders above anyone else last night? No.

I actually thought he was, and this was playing in third gear in an exhibition game with kids who are laying it all out there to make the team.

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[TheIronMaiden]

Mackey, Pelletier, Ruzicka, Milano and Zary all played well. None of them played a flawless game, but they each brought stability to what was otherwise a chaotic team.



The 2nd priod was all special teams. Pelletier looked conmfy on the PK, but not the powerplay. however, I dont put much stock into preseason special teams.


Phillips is a high enegery player, and tough as nails, but damn if he did not take a few big hits in the first that totally negated him from the rush.


Milano and Eakans were the most comfortable players on the ice, but it must have been tough to turn that stability into anything with all that chaos happening.


It was a funny game because the Kraken were playing a really stable 75% effort game, and the baby Flames were playing a %100 effort but very sloppy game.



I wouod imagine everyone i mentioned gets another look, maybe including Valimaki. Otherwise the remaining roster should be cut.

[Toonage]

The Flames as a whole weren't good, but like dino7c points out, Shane Wright looked awful too. Really just a dud of a game outside of Vladar who looked sharp.

[Enoch Root]

Regarding Dube vs the AHLers - I disagree.

First of all, despite playing without intensity, he clearly looked better than the rest of them, who are fighting for jobs.

Second, Dube is currently the 8th or 9th best forward on the Flames - in other words, the bottom of the barrel for the top 9. In order to be an NHLer, you have to be better than Dube (or be able to fill a 4th line role).

None of those prospects have shown that yet. And it's not like they were playing the Stanley Cup champs, in mid-season form, last night.

I am not knocking the prospects here, I'm just saying, there is a pretty big jump in talent from the AHL to the NHL. The thing we have to remember in that regard, is that, not only is it only the best players that make it each year, but in the NHL, you can keep playing for the next 15 years or whatever, so there is little room to make the jump. At every other level, there is constant turnover so all the worthy candidates keep moving up. But in the NHL, there are almost no vacancies - you have to actually steal a job from someone else.

So yeah, it's a big jump.

[taxbuster]

I only saw the first period..but I thought the "kids" came out well, got saved on a bunch of miscues by Vladar (one dreadful giveaway right in the slot stands out). They didn't have a lot of success in the PP although moved the puck around decently. Could get a good central position though.

I'm sure the coaches loved the game, because it told them a lot.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Toonage

The Flames as a whole weren't good, but like dino7c points out, Shane Wright looked awful too. Really just a dud of a game outside of Vladar who looked sharp.

Seattle should have dominated and didn't. They were better, but I don't think the game was a ringing endorsement for them either.

[SuperMatt18]

It was the first or second pre-season game for pretty much everyone in that game as well - that shouldn't be forgotten.

Probably shouldn't be that surprised that there was some rust and that both teams were struggling to make crisp passes. Both teams actually looked sharper in the third, which probably shouldn't be a surprise as you get the legs back under you a bit.

[Canada 02]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1575173339257376768

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

I think this is a hyperbolic take.

Yes, the average level of play in the NHL is much higher.

However, the average NHL 3rd or 4th liner in this age is not miles ahead of the average AHL 1st liner.

So what? The Seattle team last night was not all 3rd- and 4th-liners, and the Calgary team was not all AHL 1st-liners. The disparity in talent was much greater.