Joni Frickin Ortio

[strombad]

Seems a liiiittle premature to be raving about a goaltender who has almost identical stats to Ramo (during a stretch where the Flames have played some really great hockey).

He's been good, but he needs to go back down to the Heat and finish up what he started. Plenty of room for him to challenge for a backup or starter spot next year.

[Scoutski]

Have to agree that I think going back to the A for the rest of the season feels like the best idea. Flames aren't pushing for a playoff spot or anything and the Heat have the potential to make some noise which is largely in part due to Ortio.

I'm sure players love the idea of competing for a championship and it should be a lot of fun as players who will play together on the Flames continue to bond in a winning environment.

I expect to see a tandem of Ramo and Ortio next year in the bigs.

[Vulcan]

Ortio can stay with the Flames and go down for the AHL playoffs.

[Enoch Root]

Ortio has been great, no question. The progression he has made this year is a tremendous boost to the rebuild.

There was a lot of talk last summer about trading for a goalie. I argued that it made more sense to see what we've got with the current goalies, instead of trading assets for another one. Both Ramo and Ortio have been better than expected and at this point, it makes sense to continue to run with them and see if one can become a legitimate #1.

However, let's also keep in mind that it is an extremely small sample size. Also, Ortio is 22. No need to rush things.

My preference would be to continue to run with Ramo this year and let Ortio get starts with Abby. The Heat deserve to have the organization commit to their playoff run, and that definitely includes Ortio.

The goaltending situation has probably gone a lot better this season than many of us expected. Let's let it continue to play out and develop. No need to get ahead of ourselves.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Ortio has been great, no question. The progression he has made this year is a tremendous boost to the rebuild.

There was a lot of talk last summer about trading for a goalie. I argued that it made more sense to see what we've got with the current goalies, instead of trading assets for another one. Both Ramo and Ortio have been better than expected and at this point, it makes sense to continue to run with them and see if one can become a legitimate #1.

However, let's also keep in mind that it is an extremely small sample size. Also, Ortio is 22. No need to rush things.

My preference would be to continue to run with Ramo this year and let Ortio get starts with Abby. The Heat deserve to have the organization commit to their playoff run, and that definitely includes Ortio.

The goaltending situation has probably gone a lot better this season than many of us expected. Let's let it continue to play out and develop. No need to get ahead of ourselves.

Yeah, kind of funny going into the season, it was all about the Co-BGNINHL (Best Goaltender Not In NHL) in Ramo vs Berra.... but Ortio has probably been the best.

[strombad]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

Yeah, kind of funny going into the season, it was all about the Co-BGNINHL (Best Goaltender Not In NHL) in Ramo vs Berra.... but Ortio has probably been the best.

Not that I dislike Ortio, but I really don't understand how he's been the best? At best, he's been as good as Ramo.

Better than Berra? Sure. But Ramo thus far is still the better goaltender. Ramo had a rocky start with very little support, but his games improved over the course of the season. Ortio has had the luxury of starting off on a team that is doing fairly well.

Maybe there's something I'm missing? Outside of the fact that he plays a similar style to Kipper, I've yet to seen anything remarkable.

[bluloc]

Has been playing well but he still has a long way to go to be a full time NHL starter.

[868904]

Originally Posted by Scoutski

Are you suggesting the teams in front of McElhinney and Irving were worse? I get that the Flames have done reasonably well lately especially considering their shots against totals, but even though those older teams didn't live up to the hype, they were better than the current team.

This Flames team is much better defensively than the Keenan and Brent Sutter era teams. Most of the forwards (other than say the high priced vets) have bought into back checking. Previous teams have had the big names and the nicer roster, but this Flames team plays like a team and I agree with the poster who said that Ortio has it better than McE and Irving.

Actually I should add that this Flames team only started playing better defensively around December I think. For the first couple of months they were still a work in progress and the goalies' numbers suffered for that. I think Ramo and Berra's numbers both improved drastically after November. The total goals against also dropped too.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by 868904

This Flames team is much better defensively than the Keenan and Brent Sutter era teams. Most of the forwards (other than say the high priced vets) have bought into back checking. Previous teams have had the big names and the nicer roster, but this Flames team plays like a team and I agree with the poster who said that Ortio has it better than McE and Irving.

I think Ortio has played better than both, but you are right.... this team plays a much better 200 ft game then the team playing in front of McE/Irving. I bet McE/Irving played in front of this team right now, their careers would have been a lot more successful.

[moon]

Originally Posted by strombad

Not that I dislike Ortio, but I really don't understand how he's been the best? At best, he's been as good as Ramo.

Better than Berra? Sure. But Ramo thus far is still the better goaltender. Ramo had a rocky start with very little support, but his games improved over the course of the season. Ortio has had the luxury of starting off on a team that is doing fairly well.

Maybe there's something I'm missing? Outside of the fact that he plays a similar style to Kipper, I've yet to seen anything remarkable.

I would say at best him and Ramo have been equal, I think Ortio a little more impressive. When you consider 1 is 22 and the other is 27 easy to see why people are more excited about young kid.


Much like with Berra what I like from Ortio in comparison to Ramo is the lack of bad goals and over playing shooters. I find Ramo and Berra both put themselves way out of position too much and Ortio seems much better position ally to make saves and make the game easier for him and the defensemem.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Their numbers are close. I am not sure Ramo was the "starter", but I am not a fan of players losing their "job" due to injury.

Me neither but Ortio has played well, really well and I like his rebound control more than ramo

[Henry Fool]

Originally Posted by devo22

while I've also been very happy with Ortio's play, you also have to give credit to the team in front of him. The Flames' average of shots against per game is 28.4 this season - with Ortio in net, they have only given up 23.3 shots per game.

It feels that with Ortio there are fewer secondary chances. He doesn't look particularly big or explosive but so far he has been in better control than the other goalies. Small sample size but he seems to absorb more and kill more plays without letting attacks go on.

Wouldn't surprise me if the team felt more comfortable with him in net.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Points to Ortio just for the impressive pompadour alone.

[sketchyt]

One of the main things I've noticed that separates the AHL/NHL level is the ability for the goaltender to consistently, aggressively and smartly challenge shots instead of sitting in/near the blue. McElhinney, Irving, Berra, Taylor, etc... were never able to get over that amongst many other things.

I see Ortio is out of position a lot (heck, I even saw several defensive zone faceoffs where he was off before the puck was dropped) but many of those plays never resulted in a shot or real scoring chance so he's been lucky there.

I think he needs lots of time in the AHL to establish better habits. If he stays in the NHL, it's going to become a snipe show up high and that's where goaltenders seem to get into trouble in their development (exhibit A: Steve Mason) as they adjust inappropriately and start cheating. This is nit-picking, but that second goal against the Ducks last night is a good example of that... screen or no screen from that distance.

As many others stated, he's sound fundamentally in contrast to a guy like Berra. Surprisingly good rebound control especially up high on hard shots, seems calm (even before the game... not jittery, probably the only real comparable to Kipper) and competent puck handler already. Much better overall than what I thought I saw in development camp. I thought he would get eaten alive with this call-up.

[Goaltender]

I think the best bet is to keep Ortio up and have him split time with Ramo, go with the hot hand like we did with Berra/Ramo all year. Assuming (and hopefully) the Heat make playoffs, send him down for the run.

[Singularity]

Ortio was also born in the same city as Kipper xD

[TheDebaser]

My favorite thing about Ortio so far is his ability to catch pucks. He can really settle down the play.

[vilzeh]

Originally Posted by Singularity

Ortio was also born in the same city as Kipper xD

Same youth team, same goaltending coach, etc.

[dino7c]

Ortio also has 3 times times the regulation NHL wins as Berra even though he has only played 3 games

[codynw]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Ortio also has 3 times times the regulation NHL wins as Berra even though he has only played 3 games

He's played 6.