Van Der Gulik signs with Colorado

[Vulcan]

Too bad he won't be back in his hometown of Abbotsford next season. He probably sold more than a few tickets. He's also a decent call up but time marches on.

[jeremywilhelm]

Originally Posted by flamesaresmokin

Pretty much but our team is hardly stocked full of players with upside. Most of them are 4th line pluggers. I would have at least kept him around another year or two.

Nemisz, Wahl, Cameron and Patterson are not pluggers.

[Ren]

wrong thread, nm

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by flamesaresmokin

Pretty much but our team is hardly stocked full of players with upside. Most of them are 4th line pluggers.

Van Der Gulik had a lot less upside than many of the players still in our organization. Did you really see VDG as anything more than a 4th/3rd line plugger himself? He's got average size and from what I've seen isn't that physical. So he isn't really a prototypical energy line player either.

A few years back I thought he had 3rd line upside. But he failed to win himself a chance with his crappy camps. And he put up decent but not spectacular numbers in the minors, I don't think he was ever consistently a first line player on the farm.

Originally Posted by flamesaresmokin

I would have at least kept him around another year or two.

Did you miss the part where he was UFA? He could sign anywhere he wanted. Why at 27 would he sign with an organization that has barely given him a chance and now has much better prospect depth than previous? If he couldn't get a chance when the farm team was weaker, he won't get one now with players like Wahl, Nemisz, Bouma likely jumping ahead of him in the pecking order.

What role does VDG fit at the NHL level? Does he do that significantly better than the Flames other prospects? The answers to those questions should inform.

[Change of Heart]

I remember watching DVG when he played with the Chilliwack Chiefs. He was a solid player, best of luck DVG