[News] 12 players (including Kylington) assigned to Stockton, Andersson to Barrie

[Reggie Dunlop]

I'm starting to like Wilson's chances of earning a contract. Teams around the league are releasing their PTOs.

[cannon7]

Wilson still needs a contract, if he can be signed I think he and Kulak make the opening day roster. If not, then Wotherspoon is next in line. Nakladal will stick around as long as he's stil injured, but will be assigned to Stockton when ready -- even if just for a conditioning stint.

There's more uncertainties amongst the forwards in my mind.

[Flash Walken]

Nakladal might still be up due to injury as well.

[dammage79]

Kylington and Anderson did extremely well. It is awesome that Kylington is in Stockton and the best move IMO. If he slips at any point he can still go to Brandon later on. Still though, a much better defensive shown than I expected. Certainly not as bad as scouting was reporting.

Anderson is a stud D man. He keeps the conditioning trainh up and I feel like we have a Niklas Kronwall 2.0. Exciting stuff.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

So pumped for Kulak. He's earned it.

I disagree with sending Kylington to the AHL. He's just not very good in his own zone yet and is going to get manhandled in the AHL. His skating isn't going to save him every time. He really should be in Brandon.

[Five-hole]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Surprised Kylington was sent down so soon. Expected him to have an outside shot to stick with the team through the start of the season with the injury to Brodie.

Watch his play at the offensive blue line on the Nucks' first goal last night. That's not an NHL play. Not saying guys can't make a mistake but that was very poor judgment.

[Jables16]

Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

So pumped for Kulak. He's earned it.

I disagree with sending Kylington to the AHL. He's just not very good in his own zone yet and is going to get manhandled in the AHL. His skating isn't going to save him every time. He really should be in Brandon.

He can still be sent to junior from the AHL can he not? I say give him a shot in the AHL, it's a tougher league with some pretty stiff competition which I think is what he needs. On a strong Brandon team in the WHL he would be able to rely on his skating and skill to get himself out of trouble rather than learning the positioning and decision-making he would need to make the NHL.

Of course if he's getting dominated in the AHL there's no point keeping him there but why not give it a shot?

[Vulcan]

Our ECHL team is also an option for Kylington. Junior sounds good but Roy didn't progress in Brandon so I'm not convinced that would be the best place for him.

[N-E-B]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Our ECHL team is also an option for Kylington. Junior sounds good but Roy didn't progress in Brandon so I'm not convinced that would be the best place for him.

I think that has more to do with Roy and not the Brandon Wheat Kings. They'll likely be the best team in the WHL this year.

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

I think that has more to do with Roy and not the Brandon Wheat Kings. They'll likely be the best team in the WHL this year.

Eh, it's not like Brandon has a history of developing NHL defensemen. In fact the last regular NHL defenseman drafted from the Wheat Kings was Wade Redden in 1995, I went back as far as '85 and Redden was the only NHL regular defenseman I could see. Provorov & Pulock have a good chance but when they have had 1 regular NHL defenseman in 30 years, it's not a good track record. Even a joke of a WHL organization like the Lethbridge Hurricanes has developed 3 regular NHL defensemen during that time.

[Da_Chief]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

Eh, it's not like Brandon has a history of developing NHL defensemen. In fact the last regular NHL defenseman drafted from the Wheat Kings was Wade Redden in 1995, I went back as far as '85 and Redden was the only NHL regular defenseman I could see. Provorov & Pulock have a good chance but when they have had 1 regular NHL defenseman in 30 years, it's not a good track record. Even a joke of a WHL organization like the Lethbridge Hurricanes has developed 3 regular NHL defensemen during that time.

And the Oilers won 5 Stanley Cups in the 80s. It's not like its the same people running the Wheat Kings for the last 30 years.

I'd still like him to be in Stockton.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by JJ1532

GOALTENDERS
1 - Jonas Hiller
31 - Karri Ramo
37 - Joni Ortio

DEFENCEMEN
4 - Kris Russell
5 - Mark Giordano
6 - Dennis Wideman
7 - TJ Brodie
15 - Ladislav Smid
26 - Tyler Wotherspoon
27 - Dougie Hamilton
29 - Deryk Engelland
33 - Jakub Nakladal
44 - Ryan Wilson(PTO)
61 - Brett Kulak

FORWARDS
8 - Joe Colborne
11 - Mikael Backlund
13 - Johnny Gaudreau
16 - Josh Jooris
17 - Lance Bouma
18 - Matt Stajan
19 - David Jones
21 - Mason Raymond
22 - Drew Shore
23 - Sean Monahan
24 - Jiri Hudler
32 - Paul Byron
52 - Brandon Bollig
60 - Markus Granlund
64 - Garnet Hathaway
67 - Micheal Frolik
79 - Micheal Ferland
93 - Sam Bennett

Fixed that Kylington/Kulak thing. (And reorganized the list.)

As for Kylington/Andersson, not that surprised. Good as they were, those guys clearly need to ripen some. Good for Kulak and Spoon.

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by Da_Chief

And the Oilers won 5 Stanley Cups in the 80s. It's not like its the same people running the Wheat Kings for the last 30 years.

I'd still like him to be in Stockton.

Kelly McCrimmon the owner/GM and Head Coach has been with the team for 27 years.

So yeah it pretty much is the same person running the Wheat Kings for the last 30 years.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I still don't think it is a given Kylington ends up in Stockton the rest of the year.

Morisson, Kulak, Culkin (when healthy), Nakladal, Kanzig, Wotherspoon and Sieloff are all the legitimate prospects. Kanzig is probably the only one that I can see starting on the 3rd pairing while getting his feet we to the pro game, but would probably also really benefit from having top 4 minutes throughout the year.

On top of this, you still have Dustin Stevenson and Aaron Johnson (did he sign an AHL contract? I think he did, but not 100% sure now) that will be using those minutes too and will be helping to shoulder the load.

That's 10 spots already - 11 counting Kylington. It is also assuming a healthy Flames roster which with Smid as the 7th defencemen, or a signed Wilson (who I think ends up getting signed).

By far, Stockton would be the very best landing spot for Kylington right now. Unfortunately, the Flames have an embarrassing amount of good young defencemen. What was universally seen as an organizational weakness one year ago, now is a huge area of strength after a trade, a draft and some FA signings.

Who is the odd man (men) out? To me, Morrison, Culkin (when he returns), Kulak and Wotherspoon are all very deserving of those top 4 minutes. Deserving - I would think they require those minutes in order to continue developing. Add in Sieloff as well - kid has not played much hockey at all in the last few years, and he looked sensational in his game - kid needs as much playing time as possible.

Add-in Nakladal, and you quickly start seeing how difficult it will be for the prospects to all get enough playing time (barring injuries). Johnson (if signed) and Stevenson only add to that dilemma, and they are there for leadership and to help shoulder the load much like the vets on Calgary do.

For me, it is either ECHL or WHL for Kylington. ECHL might make the most sense, and he probably will not be alone. I think that would be a great landing spot for Kanzig (who I really like, but he needs loads of development time), or even Sieloff who just needs to get in as much time as possible.

Everyone seems so sure that Kylington should be in the AHL, and so am I - until I try and figure out who loses out on those very important minutes down there. For me, it then becomes an exercise of 'where can we assign guys to maximize their playing time, and retain enough for injury (both AHL and NHL) replacements?'

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by JJ1532

GOALTENDERS
1 - Jonas Hiller
31 - Karri Ramo
37 - Joni Ortio

DEFENCEMEN
15 - Ladislav Smid
7 - TJ Brodie
26 - Tyler Wotherspoon
29 - Deryk Engelland
4 - Kris Russell
6 - Dennis Wideman
5 - Mark Giordano
27 - Dougie Hamilton
33 - Jakub Nakladal
44 - Ryan Wilson(PTO)
61 - Brett Kulak

FORWARDS
13 - Johnny Gaudreau
16 - Josh Jooris
23 - Sean Monahan
60 - Markus Granlund
79 - Micheal Ferland
8 - Joe Colborne
11 - Mikael Backlund
17 - Lance Bouma
22 - Drew Shore
52 - Brandon Bollig
64 - Garnet Hathaway
67 - Micheal Frolik
18 - Matt Stajan
19 - David Jones
21 - Mason Raymond
24 - Jiri Hudler
93 - Sam Bennett
32 - Paul Byron

None of the cuts today surprised me in the slightest.

Injured players for opening day in red. My cuts indicated by strikethrough.

I have to say that Ramo doesn't look much different than last year. He still flops a lot and overcommits to the shooter. As much as Hiller is inconsistent as well, he still is a much more solid presence in net than Ramo. I keep Ortio for a few reasons: 1) he's no longer able to pass through waivers, 2) he's young and improving, 3) he has lights out potential that the other two just don't have. There's nothing really wrong with Ramo, but if I'm forced to make a choice it's Hiller getting 60% of the games and Ortio getting 40% of the games, with Ramo moving on.

The defense situation is murky, but I love what I've been seeing from Kulak. Unless he has an absolute bomb of a game he'll be there opening night even ahead of Wilson. On that subject, I think he's earned the right to a contract, but I'd make it a two-way and send him to Stockton once everyone is healthy. He'd be a nice veteran presence on a team with a lot of young players. Nakladal would make my opening night roster, so if he's healthy you can scratch Wilson. Kulak goes down once Brodie is healthy, but I believe he would be a perfect fit to play 3rd pairing minutes alongside Engelland for the time being.

As for Kylington, he's far too good and too experienced playing among men to be sent to junior. Even if he struggles for a period, the point is to challenge him and force him to be better. Plus, teaching defense in the AHL vs. Juniors is a very different process, and at least in the AHL we can be sure the coaching style would mirror the NHL club. I think he's a year away from competing for a job at least, but he's not far beyond that.

Same could be said for Anderssson. There's no doubt he needs to be more fit and have a better first step. That being said, he looked just fine competing against NHLers and he already thinks the game at a very, very high level. Quite frankly, if he was eligible for the AHL he should have gone there, because Junior isn't going to offer him any challenges at all. At least he can work on his fitness over the course of this season.

I didn't have nearly as much trouble making cuts among the forwards. I like Granlund, but unfortunately he's still able to pass through waivers, so he had to go. Same for Hathaway, but he's clearly not ready for the NHL. I liked what I saw from him though. Raymond has to go simply because he doesn't cut it anymore. He offers nothing, and I don't think there would be much problem for him to go through waivers unclaimed (unfortunately). There are just too many quality players here to keep him around any longer. Shore deserves the chance to at least be a spare forward, and slot him in when we need some more size at center or right wing. Byron is a tough cut, but he looks like he needs to spend some time in the AHL just to get his game back on track after all the injuries that he only recently recovered from. I don't think anyone would claim him, and he'd likely be the first injury recall.

Ferland has more than earned a job on the team, he's earned top 6 duty. Can't wait to see him for a full years. Bennett also deserves to be here, even though he hasn't been as effective as he can be. I think he'll take the first 10-20 games to get things going. It won't take long for him.

Obviously this is just what I think, and it doesn't necessarily mean it will go down this way, but I'd be happy if it did.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by Lanny'sDaMan

Sieloff should still be at camp. He's been solidly impressive. He certainly looked great last night against the Canucks main roster.

He did look good but that wasn't last night against Vancouver's main squad. He played the night before against their B squad.

[Enoch Root]

Assuming Nakladal is healthy, I think there are two fights on defense:

Nakladal / Wilson for #7

and Kulak / Wotherspoon for the temporary assignment.

As for Kylington, when everyone is healthy, I could see him and Kanzig in Adirondack, and then back in Stockton when the inevitable injuries cut into the lineups.

[FlameZilla]

The idea of Kylington in the ECHL cracks me up. I could see a guy with his amount of skill setting some point-scoring records in a league like that! Kulak went there last year, played incredibly well & now he's a dark horse to crack the opening day lineup. It's not a bad shout.

He has some amazing skills, and if he doesn't end up sorting out his abilities in his own zone he could actually make a pretty talented winger. I think he could be the steal of the 2015 draft.

[Da_Chief]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

Kelly McCrimmon the owner/GM and Head Coach has been with the team for 27 years.

So yeah it pretty much is the same person running the Wheat Kings for the last 30 years.

He's been an on-off head coach. Head coach only 11 of those years. They've had some good WHL dman but those guys didn't develop in NHLers. Only takes couple good guys and the perception changes. That can happen with Pulock and Provorov.

That being said he still needs to go to AHL.

[442scotty]

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

Obviously this is just what I think, and it doesn't necessarily mean it will go down this way, but I'd be happy if it did.

Cant argue with your choices at all... Would like to see Wotherspoon get a shot... We have so many defence already that have earned a crack... Do we really need that Wilson guy?