Was at the game in Edmonton tonight. I’ll give a few of my thoughts. Mcdavid was pretty bad most of the night. Could tell he turned it on a few shifts, but overall definitely a quiet night from him. Definitely a vet Oiler team that wasn’t fully engaged. Still always nice to leave them with a flames win.
Cooley- first time seeing him. Not overly familiar with him. Big guy. Moves side to side pretty damn well. Maybe a handful of 10 bell saves. Come away impressed for sure.
Coronato- looked really good today. Neutral zone was really solid. Created turnovers. Finished a few and almost had a third. To me his skating and speed looks improved. Don’t know where he fits on the team, but he’s forcing his way on it right now. Needs to keep it up though. IIRC he had a good preseason last year too then struggled once the season got going.
Honzek- best flames forward from my eyes. Created turnovers. Was strong on the forecheck. Had 2 assists for sure (maybe got credit for a 3rd?). Solid game. Looked confident. Great to see after a sub par Penticton tournament. Would be nice to see him have a big year with the Wranglers.
Andersson- had the goal, but man rough night from him I thought. Had one turnover in the 2nd that a peewee player wouldn’t make. Woof. Dont want to read to much into it with him being a vet and first game for him, but yeah didn’t love his game. Hope he has a much better season this year as I thought he wasn’t great overall last year.
First line - thought they were ok. Little chemistry with Mantha and Hubredeau. Pospisil seemed fine on the middle. Haven’t looked at the stats, but I have to assume he wasn’t great in the dot. Seemed like he was losing most of the faceoffs.
Rooney, Duehr - think these guys are gonna be passed by some of the kids.
Hunter B - wanted to see a big more of the offence, but thought he was steady. Seemed fine defensively and a few strong breakouts.
It’s early I know, but I’m getting excited for the season. Really loved seeing the kids play well. Still think it’ll be a long year, but have a feeling this team will be exciting at the least.
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That is my feeling on Honzek too, if he meets his potential he'll be one of those quiet point producers who will still end up with 2 or 3 points on many nights where you barely notice him. I can see why the Flames had Rantanen as a comparable.
All the tools (hands, skating, smarts, size) are there, just needs to grow his confidence.
Loved how pumped Coronato looked about Honzek's pass to him after his second goal.
If he keeps building on his frame as well… that will really play into his game at the NHL level. He’s already using his size to protect the puck and lean into players at a very slender weight… once he is playing at >210 lbs., he’ll be very tough to get off the puck.
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So many players are looking so good right now it must be tough to evaluate. Conroy might be hoping for some close games the rest of the way cause it’s hard to find guys that don’t look good right now when the flames have out scored their opponents 18-5 in the span of 24 hours. Especially tough for the defencemen choices because I think virtually everyone has looked really good. Including Barrie in his first game of his PTO.
Haven’t watched the game in Edmonton but it sounds like Honzek and Coronato looked great. Awesome to hear. Love the potential in both those players.
The flames dominated the game in Edmonton. Not surprising given the competition. However, even the oilers top prospect (Savoie) was invisible. Nash’s was far more noticeable than any prospect on the oilers team and he wasn’t playing many big minutes… but you definitely noticed him in a good way every time he was on the ice. Super quick hands and played on his edges all night… made lots of confident plays with the puck.
Even in the highlight package the Oiler guy said "just a preseason game" like half a dozen times. Whatever helps you cry yourself to sleep. He probably thought they had a chance to win tonight, haha! God the Oilers are dumb!
