Horak on fire in Abby

[Nemisz/Breen]

At the beginning of the AHL season Horak said he was hoping for a chance to prove he had more to his game than what was seen last year. He did what was asked of him without question and did not play the style and type of game he likes to play. Obviously Ward heard him and is giving him his chance and he is proving he's got game.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Locke

I wouldnt say 'given up on' but the Flames only offered Backlund a 1 year contract for a reason. I'd imagine to give him a chance to prove that he needs to play better if he wants to be paid more. They may not be ready to give up on him, but I doubt his spot in the organization is as assured as it was once thought to be.

The Flames haven't given up on Backlund. My point was that some posters in this thread appear to have or are very ready and willing to do so. Backlund's future in the org is far from assured. I was speaking more to fans being willing to give up on young 1st rounders who have shown upside which I think is silly.

[Yrebmi]

Isn't that what we said about Boyd?
(not by any means advocating getting rid of Backlund though.)

[Machiavelli]

Originally Posted by Yrebmi

Isn't that what we said about Boyd?
(not by any means advocating getting rid of Backlund though.)

Definitely see some similarities in their progression with the team. Myself, I was never that high on either player. I do have slightly higher hopes for Backlund, although if I was to bet, I wouldn't count on him becoming even a mediocre second line centre.

His skill set isn't right for the third or fourth lines, so I'm a little bit worried about his future in the NHL in general. We'll see.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Yrebmi

Isn't that what we said about Boyd?
(not by any means advocating getting rid of Backlund though.)

I think one of the main reasons flames fans were concerned/hesitant to give up on Boyd was the fact there really only was him and Backlund as prospects we thought could become players. Backlund had 1st line C hype at one point. We have also witnessed flashes of what he can do from time to time so I think losing him and watching him blossom elsewhere is more legit than Boyd doing it. Obviously Boyd has proven he is not really a regular NHLer

[GoFlamesGo1989]

Anyways Back to Horak
Keep the Backlund stuff in his own thread.


Roman Frickin Horak!!!!

[carom]

Originally Posted by handgroen

who was that again?

..
In response to a suggestion to trade the rights to Gio:

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

Those are absolutely useless. You would be lucky to get a puck for those. Not even worth the ink needed to sign the papers. I will eat a pubic hair if Giordano ever plays in the NHL again

[Flash Walken]

I freakin' love Horak.

He more or less plays the same game Daymond Langkow did, and I love that.

You win with players like that.

[Mitch]

Horak has surpassed expectations and has made himself a very useful depth prospect. If he can keep up his consistency he should become a nice 3rd line winger for us in the future, with defensive and scoring ability. Definitely a pleasant surprise from the Erixon trade, seeing how he was seen as merely a throw in.

[Geeoff]

Nice to see us win a trade!

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Mitch

Horak has surpassed expectations and has made himself a very useful depth prospect. If he can keep up his consistency he should become a nice 3rd line winger for us in the future, with defensive and scoring ability. Definitely a pleasant surprise from the Erixon trade, seeing how he was seen as merely a throw in.

Yeah, it was pretty shocking on two fronts when he arrived.

I'm pretty cynical about Calgary's prospect pool, but even then, I was somewhat blinded by my desire to see them succeed.

With the arrival of Horak last year though, it was a slap in the face of realization in terms of just how poor the development system is for Calgary. Another team's depth prospect shows up in Calgary and is, in my mind, on par with the franchises' best prospect (at that time), Backlund, and plays himself onto the team.

The other thing that was so shocking for me was, not only how good he looked on the ice, but how veteran he looked, like he'd been a seasoned NHL'er for the better part of a decade.

Now, I think he's the organization's third best prospect behind Sven and Irving.

[GreenLantern]

I think his time with the big club last season is really paying off, fortunate circumstances with all of those injuries.

I'd love to see Bearchi and Horak on a line with a steady presence vet like Hudler who can play a great two way game. Could be a great spark for the big club.

[Calamity]

I don't understand how so many people are commending Feaster for this trade already. It is way too soon. Even with his productivity in the AHL, he has shown zero proof that he will be a viable NHLer. Maybe we should jump on the Krys Kolanos bandwagon too. Good, even great AHL players still have a tough time transfering to the NHL. Bottom line, Horak looks like a smart hockey player, average skill set and way undersized and does not have the strength to play with the big boys currently... Let's take it one step at a time and stop thinking we "won" the trade and "stole" Horak for Erixon.

[MisterJoji]

Originally Posted by Calamity

I don't understand how so many people are commending Feaster for this trade already. It is way too soon. Even with his productivity in the AHL, he has shown zero proof that he will be a viable NHLer. Maybe we should jump on the Krys Kolanos bandwagon too. Good, even great AHL players still have a tough time transfering to the NHL. Bottom line, Horak looks like a smart hockey player, average skill set and way undersized and does not have the strength to play with the big boys currently... Let's take it one step at a time and stop thinking we "won" the trade and "stole" Horak for Erixon.

[the-rasta-masta]

Originally Posted by Calamity

I don't understand how so many people are commending Feaster for this trade already. It is way too soon. Even with his productivity in the AHL, he has shown zero proof that he will be a viable NHLer. Maybe we should jump on the Krys Kolanos bandwagon too. Good, even great AHL players still have a tough time transfering to the NHL. Bottom line, Horak looks like a smart hockey player, average skill set and way undersized and does not have the strength to play with the big boys currently... Let's take it one step at a time and stop thinking we "won" the trade and "stole" Horak for Erixon.

Not true at all, IMO. Horak already proved last year that he is going to be a good defensive player in the NHL at the very least. You know who he reminds me of? Stephane Yelle.

[Calamity]

Originally Posted by the-rasta-masta

Not true at all, IMO. Horak already proved last year that he is going to be a good defensive player in the NHL at the very least. You know who he reminds me of? Stephane Yelle.

Very True infact. Horak played soft minutes and was a healthy scratch quite a bit - that's why he got sent down, to play more because he was not ahead of the others on the depth chart. There no proof yet that suggests Horak will be a viable NHLer. I am not doubting his future, but as it stands he is not currently. I am more concerned with the fact that people are applauding this trade like we "stole" him.

Bottom line is: Feaster did what he could in a bad situation and the jury is still out on Horak's future.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Calamity

I don't understand how so many people are commending Feaster for this trade already. It is way too soon. Even with his productivity in the AHL, he has shown zero proof that he will be a viable NHLer.

Incorrect. Making the NHL as a rookie pro and not looking out of place shows a lot of proof that he will be a viable NHLer. Horak was one of the best players in camp from what I saw last year and I was very impressed by his smarts and hockey sense during the NHL season. He was our best centre to start last season. He's still young and therefore has room to grow and improve.

I guess you didn't watch Horak at all last year? How could you say that his performance at age 20 shows zero proof that he'll be an NHLer?

Nothing worse than the negative Nancies who come into every thread about young players and try to poo-poo any optimism about a player. It's annoying. If you want to bet that Roman Horak will never become an NHL regular I'm sure I and many others will take you up on that bet. I'm not one that likes when people predict future stardom for all of our prospects but thinking Horak will have a good career as a 3rd or 2nd line centre is not an outrageous position to take at all. In fact based on evidence to date the more outrageous position is the one claiming there's zero proof he'll be an NHLer.

[Calamity]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Incorrect. Making the NHL as a rookie pro and not looking out of place shows a lot of proof that he will be a viable NHLer. Horak was one of the best players in camp from what I saw last year and I was very impressed by his smarts and hockey sense during the NHL season. He was our best centre to start last season. He's still young and therefore has room to grow and improve.

I guess you didn't watch Horak at all last year? How could you say that his performance at age 20 shows zero proof that he'll be an NHLer?

Nothing worse than the negative Nancies who come into every thread about young players and try to poo-poo any optimism about a player. It's annoying. If you want to bet that Roman Horak will never become an NHL regular I'm sure I and many others will take you up on that bet. I'm not one that likes when people predict future stardom for all of our prospects but thinking Horak will have a good career as a 3rd or 2nd line centre is not an outrageous position to take at all. In fact based on evidence to date the more outrageous position is the one claiming there's zero proof he'll be an NHLer.

He made the team last year due to injury.

I am not being negative, he could very well become a good nhler, I just think it's too early to tell - as well way too early to start saying we won the Erixon trade, I still don't think we have.

[Henry Fool]

Horak was great at camp. That's why he made the team. He deserved to be on the team based on how he performed.

[nik-]

I don't think we will ever win the Erixon trade because this organization needed an Erixon more than it needed a Horak. That said, I do like Horak.