In a perfect world i think you would love to have both the NHL and AHL clubs stable and playing well however i think at the end of the day i dont think it really matters to the Flames. I dont think Burke would give a second thought about the impact a few callups would make to the Heat in the Big Picture.
Normally I like your takes but I disagree with this one.
One of the best things for our prospects' development as a group will be playing meaningful playoff hockey. That isn't going to happen in the NHL this year. If we keep a tight core and increase our chances of going into the second or third round, I think that is very important for development.
I think Burke will take guys a few weeks at a time to see what he has, but I do think he is mindful of not decimating the Heat.
Another thought is that by decimating the Heat he really ticks off another of our top prospects in the organization - Troy Ward.
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In a perfect world i think you would love to have both the NHL and AHL clubs stable and playing well however i think at the end of the day i dont think it really matters to the Flames. I dont think Burke would give a second thought about the impact a few callups would make to the Heat in the Big Picture.
If they need immediate impact, they go to Reinhart, Granlund, Street, or Jones.
With Smith they took the Heat's best defender (other than Wotherspoon, but he is a defensive dman). With Hanowski they took the #7 forward on the team
If he didn't care, then he must of picked Ben's name out of a hat. He's not going to replace McGrattan's toughness. Just watch 2 his fights this season... He looks like Bouwmeester. He only started fighting when he stopped getting minutes, it's not his go to.
I think if Burke is going to disregard an entire professional hockey club that he's currently solely responsible for managing, then we made a terrible mistake when we picked him as president of hockey ops.
If he didn't care, then he must of picked Ben's name out of a hat. He's not going to replace McGrattan's toughness. Just watch 2 his fights this season... He looks like Bouwmeester. He only started fighting when he stopped getting minutes, it's not his go to.
I think if Burke is going to disregard an entire professional hockey club that he's currently solely responsible for managing, then we made a terrible mistake when we picked him as president of hockey ops.
It's probably going to need to be if he wants to play in the NHL. Well not his first asset but it's going to need to be a large part and we all know what Burke likes.
It's probably going to need to be if he wants to play in the NHL. Well not his first asset but it's going to need to be a large part and we all know what Burke likes.
The day the organization turned over you could see the shift in the players mentality. They like it here, no one wants off this ride. In Abbotsford anyway, they've been a more physical group since.
Normally I like your takes but I disagree with this one.
One of the best things for our prospects' development as a group will be playing meaningful playoff hockey. That isn't going to happen in the NHL this year. If we keep a tight core and increase our chances of going into the second or third round, I think that is very important for development.
I think Burke will take guys a few weeks at a time to see what he has, but I do think he is mindful of not decimating the Heat.
Another thought is that by decimating the Heat he really ticks off another of our top prospects in the organization - Troy Ward.
I agree that the best thing for our prospects would be to have them in a winning environment and at times i have concerns with what negative impact being in a losing environment might have for some of our younger players. Just look at our neighbors 3 hours north. I just don't think Burke necessarily puts too much emphasis on whether bringing these guys up for a look hurts any momentum the team may have on the farm. At the end of the day i think he is probably looking long term and making decisions on whether certain players are going to fit into the plans or are cut loose entirely.
Even with the Leafs he had guys up like Crabb, Kotska, Rosehill, and Brown spend significant time up to fill 3rd and 4th line roles while skilled younger guys like Kadri went on more a slow development curve. I could see the Flames doing the same with guys like Street, Hanowski, Ferland, and Jones to see what they are in the next year or two while guys like Baertschi, Granlund, Knight and Gaudreau are given more of a traditional gradual development curve to earn spots in the top 6 with the big club.
Flames need a big winger for the bottom six, and get a chance to see if playing pro hockey for a year has helped Hanowski progress a bit.
Real interesting thing is how they open a roster spot for him. One of McGrattan or Ramo are likely headed to IR, or Stempniak could be declared non-roster for a period of time.
While I think there might be others more deserving of the call up, I am really hoping Hanowski gets a game or two to see whether his skating has improved. In his first go-round, I had serious concerns he could ever be an NHLer with his skating (while recognising that he was thrown into the deep end after college, perhaps not a fair indication of his talents).
Hanowski is a character guy on a team needing some character. His skating issues are overblown. I said it before and I'll say it again, he's a perfect bottom six player that will do whatever it takes to win. A future third line of Hanowski-Knight-Agostino would be tough to play against and be good in all three zones.
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While I think there might be others more deserving of the call up, I am really hoping Hanowski gets a game or two to see whether his skating has improved. In his first go-round, I had serious concerns he could ever be an NHLer with his skating (while recognising that he was thrown into the deep end after college, perhaps not a fair indication of his talents).
Hanowski has talked about how those games really opened up his eyes to what it takes to being a pro hockey player and stepped up his off-season training as a result.
Hanowski is a character guy on a team needing some character. His skating issues are overblown. I said it before and I'll say it again, he's a perfect bottom six player that will do whatever it takes to win. A future third line of Hanowski-Knight-Agostino would be tough to play against and be good in all three zones.
I think Burke really understand the importance of building very effective 3rd and 4th lines. At the real estate conference he spoke about the Ducks Stanley Cup and said "everyone thinks we won because of Niedermeyer, Pronger, Getzlaf, etc. But, we really won because of 3 guys: Brad May, Sammy Pahlsson, and Travis Moen". Maybe Hanowski will play one of those roles some day.
I like Ben, I really really hope he gets a game, he has good hustle from the few games I've seen of him in the AHL lately. I think someone mentioned it but the details aren't clear to me.
I guess that would depend on how blown they are? I mean in the Flames games he was in last year it looked pretty poor. I mean he got where he needed to go and could keep up with the play but it looked like he had to put in a ton of effort to do it.
I guess that would depend on how blown they are? I mean in the Flames games he was in last year it looked pretty poor. I mean he got where he needed to go and could keep up with the play but it looked like he had to put in a ton of effort to do it.
I think people's perception of his skating were mostly due to his awkward skating style. He wasn't the fastest player on the ice, but he was never behind the play. As far as it taking a ton of effort to get there, I think that had more to do with jumping straight from NCAA to the NHL. He spent a lot of time on conditioning in the off-season, and came to camp in the fall significantly slimmer (I think he said he lost around 20 lbs, but don't hold me to that).
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Calgary Flames @NHLFlames
The #Flames have assigned Ben Hanowski to the #AHLHeat.
hopefully they put him on the plane last night, the Heat desperately need him in the lineup. Last night they had 2 defensemen playing as wingers on the 4th line and 2 ECHL call-ups playing as wingers on the 3rd line.
hopefully they put him on the plane last night, the Heat desperately need him in the lineup. Last night they had 2 defensemen playing as wingers on the 4th line and 2 ECHL call-ups playing as wingers on the 3rd line.
