Let's talk about: Oliver Kylington 2.0

[transplant99]

Yeah he just needs to simplify things and get back to what made him so good the last couple months.

His head seems like it is in chaos right now and it reflect in his actions on the ice...spazzy.

He will always have his speed so if he is starting to get closed in on...off the boards and out. Simplify. There were multiple examples the last few games where he was trying way to hard to make the more difficult play of those he had to choose from.

I still believe that BT gets another LS/LD before the deadline. Not to replace OK (he is far to valuable to the team) but maybe to relieve him periodically. Refocus. He is still a young guy who has been slogging through playing a lot of minutes and many of them of the hard variety.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Geeoff

So, it may be a case of him just learning how to be consistent.

Agreed. A lot of defencemen struggle the first time they have to play a full season in a top-4 role.

The Flames are very fortunate that they have three reliable pairings that can split even-strength minutes almost equally. Kylington is averaging 18:31 per game according to Hockey-Reference.com. I imagine his mistakes would be more frequent and more costly if the team had to lean on him for, say, 22 minutes. This arrangement gives him enough responsibility to develop his game, but not too much to handle.

[CroFlames]

Even the most consistent players go through inconsistent stretches.



Shilly is high risk and high reward. Just give him some time to settle down and Papa Darryl will guide him in the right direction.

[Mathgod]

I just hope that nasty spill he took in the Minnesota game didn't cause lingering harm to him. Seems like he hasn't been the same player since then.

[chubeyr1]

Lets bash on a guy playing for league minimum playing on the top pairing for this team.

Was Gio even playing in the NHL at this age?

He will be fine.

[Mathgod]

"Bash"??? I'm showing concern for his well being.

[dino7c]

he has had a few off games...hopefully that goal sparks him, although he kinda sucked again overall TBH

[Goriders]

Probably the best skater on the team. But it seems like he inherited Mangiapane’s skates from last season. Trips for no reason at the wrong times.

[CSharp]

Originally Posted by Goriders

Probably the best skater on the team. But it seems like he inherited Mangiapane’s skates from last season. Trips for no reason at the wrong times.

Getting tripped up and still scoring is more impressive than having a breakaway and not hitting the net. I think the skating abilities of both are just fine. Everyone gets knocked onto their butts throughout each game.

[activeStick]

I mentioned this yesterday during the game but I'm not too concerned about Kylington's mistakes lately. I think this happens to all players at this time during a very long season and mental lapses affect all players but especially those who aren't used to coping with 80+ games. Even vets with lots of experience go through it in the Feb/Mar months.

[tvp2003]

There was a sequence last night (third period?) where the puck got tipped back into the Flames zone. Tanev and the Caps player were heading for the puck, and then Kylington comes blistering in out of nowhere to join them.

He's got some jets when he decides to floor it. Pretty impressive to see.

[EVERLAST]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

There was a sequence last night (third period?) where the puck got tipped back into the Flames zone. Tanev and the Caps player were heading for the puck, and then Kylington comes blistering in out of nowhere to join them.

He's got some jets when he decides to floor it. Pretty impressive to see.

Tanev has bailed him and so so so many others out too.
Positionally Tanev is Incredible and now Shill will learn from him.
And.....its not Tanevs first d partner to excel , grow and blossom as a player as a result.

[Kipper_3434]

He had a bad giveaway last night at the offensive blue line. Skated back hard and broke up what looked like a 2 on 1 rush. He has had some pretty bad flubs lately, he sure recovers quickly though.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by MrMike

I don’t think it’s a dip in his play, more that the games are getting faster and tighter as the season ramps up. I think he will adjust and learn as he goes that time and space is getting tighter and tighter.

I was thinking the same. Things starting to tighten up as gear up to be in playoff mode and work their kinks out. OK is just a young player who will have to learn to adjust.

Still, hard to ignore these gaffs started occurring again immediately after his fall into the boards. Hope it's just a coincidence.

[Erick Estrada]

I'm not going to overly criticize a guy that many of us questioned if he would be a Flame this season that has far exceeded expectations but sheesh he needs to work on one timing the puck. The amount of times he's totally flubbed scoring opportunities on the powerplay and at the point the last few games has been almost comical.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I'm not going to overly criticize a guy that many of us questioned if he would be a Flame this season that has far exceeded expectations but sheesh he needs to work on one timing the puck. The amount of times he's totally flubbed scoring opportunities on the powerplay and at the point the last few games has been almost comical.

I was going to say the exact same thing. Seems like the last 4 games he has had a lot more of those where he fans on a shot, and it's resulted in an odd man rush the other way. Could be a string of bad luck hitting at once. It's one thing to bang it off a guys shin pads, but in these cases he's just missing the puck. Might be time to get him to just stop the puck and get something thru to the net on a few of these.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

I was going to say the exact same thing. Seems like the last 4 games he has had a lot more of those where he fans on a shot, and it's resulted in an odd man rush the other way. Could be a string of bad luck hitting at once. It's one thing to bang it off a guys shin pads, but in these cases he's just missing the puck. Might be time to get him to just stop the puck and get something thru to the net on a few of these.

I seem to recall his earlier goals being on good wristers and not a slapshot so you may be right. I say this as a guy who always could wrist it well but the timing of a slapped was a struggle for me.