Hamilton Discussion - Page 3 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

CliffFletcher · 10-21-2015, 06:04 PM

I hope this helps people appreciate how remarkable Aaron Ekblad's performance as an 18-year-old was last season. A lot of people on this site were scoffing at the media for the credit they were giving Ekblad.

Bs&Cs · 10-21-2015, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

I don't value the Boston management group's opinions very much these days. Besides getting rid of Chiarelli, trading half of their top player, using draft picks like scratch and win cards instead of investment vouchers...besides all that, they've been incredibly unprofessional in their dealings with former players and management. Taking the Flames offer for Hamilton was allegedly less than Edmonton's, but they didn't want to help Chiarelli out. Then they've notoriously talked down about former players and management. It's ugly, and quite frankly, I don't respect any of their decision making. Possibly the worst management group in the NHL right now.

So yeah, it means very little to me.

So let me get this straight...

Firing Chiarelli was wrong, but trading top players for peanuts, sucking hard at drafting and starting whisper campaigns about guys on their way out of town is also wrong?

Okay then.

(Bruins had a great draft, btw)

adc · 10-21-2015, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bs&Cs

(Bruins had a great draft, btw)

Considering none of them have played a minute in the NHL how do you know that?

Cali Panthers Fan · 10-21-2015, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bs&Cs

So let me get this straight...

Firing Chiarelli was wrong, but trading top players for peanuts, sucking hard at drafting and starting whisper campaigns about guys on their way out of town is also wrong?

Um...yes? I don't know how you could advocate for any of those things???

Someone help me out here...am I missing something?

Quote:

Okay then.

(Bruins had a great draft, btw)

terminator · 10-21-2015, 07:52 PM

Bouwmeester 2.0

Bs&Cs · 10-21-2015, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

Um...yes? I don't know how you could advocate for any of those things???

Someone help me out here...am I missing something?

All those things happened during Peter Chiarelli's tenure as Bruins GM yet you say that firing him was a mistake.

So, by contending that firing Chiarelli was a mistake and that the current management group is to blame for the team's woes I take it your comments about the trash talking of players and executives on their way out must be referring to Don Sweeney and Cam Neely, who took over in April. Right? Point me to some places where I can read about Sweeney or Neely talking trash about Lucic, Hamilton or Chiarelli. Could you do that? I've looked and I can't seem to find anything.

Quote:

Redline Report said the Bruins had the best draft of any team in the NHL.

btw, I'm screwing with you. I just find your opinion contradictory and ill informed.

Gator Mike · 10-21-2015, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

Um...yes? I don't know how you could advocate for any of those things???

Someone help me out here...am I missing something?

You criticized the Bruins for firing Peter Chiarelli.

Peter Chiarelli was fired because he traded players like Seguin and Boychuck for peanuts, drafted horribly, and mismanaged the cap, forcing his successor to make one cap dump trade after another.

FlamesAddiction · 10-21-2015, 08:45 PM

It often seems like it often takes defensemen a while to get into a groove on a new team.

I was always pretty cautious about my expectations with him compared to most people around here, but I am not ready to worry about him yet.

Iggy Snipe · 10-21-2015, 08:53 PM

Hamilton has been awful so far. Not because I set the bar higher for him, but because I honestly think a guy like Nakladal would be an upgrade at the moment, which is saying to me that Dougie is in a funk, and can't quite settle in. Him and Gio both have been sub par.

Dougie can be lights out. I watched him with the Bruins, especially the year Iggy went there. He has hands, vision, size and wheels. The guy is the total package. For some reason he just cant get it going, and his confidence is in the crapper.

I would pair him up with Wideman, and put Russel with Gio for the time being. Both pairing have been junk, and what worked last year isn't working this year.

When Brodie comes back then you have decisions to make.

Dion · 10-21-2015, 09:27 PM

He was asked to be a stay at home dman when he was with the Bruins. Now he's playing an up tempo style of game he's not used.

He looks nervous and at times trying too hard. I would give him some more time to adapt to our style of play.

Frank MetaMusil · 10-21-2015, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Engelland and Kulak have been our least terrifying defensive pairing so far this year because they're keeping things simple.

Hamilton, Giordano, Russell and Wideman have all gotten off to terrible starts. Hamilton is 22 years old playing top pairing minutes. Giordano, Russell and Wideman are much more of a concern in my eyes than Hamilton is at this stage.

It has been 6 games where the team play has been beyond horrific. That is not Hamilton's fault, and CP's desire to villainize individual players is sickening.

This team wowed us all for 93 games last season. It has taken 6 games to completely unravel that for some of you, which is beyond silly.

This is year 3 of a freaking rebuild. This is a process, trust it.

Wideman is 2nd on the entire team with 5 points in 6 games. Some want him hit by a bus. Gets trashed throughout game threads, but produces. You can't win 1-0 anymore. Wideman has more points than our entire remaining defense corps.

Giordano and Hamilton have a combined 2 points. Dougie is also 4th on the team in PIM, behind only Bollig, Stajan, and Engelland.

Street Pharmacist · 10-21-2015, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dion

He was asked to be a stay at home dman when he was with the Bruins. Now he's playing an up tempo style of game he's not used.

He looks nervous and at times trying too hard. I would give him some more time to adapt to our style of play.

He wasn't stay at home really. Kid put up good numbers last year

activeStick · 10-21-2015, 10:02 PM

It's pretty obvious Hamilton has the talent and skill. His issue right now is the Calgary system and learning how to play within it. That's up to his head. No idea if he has that ability to learn the system, though I'd assume so. Just takes time.

Calgary4LIfe · 10-22-2015, 02:58 AM

Hamilton has been downright horrid thus far.

With that being said, kid is 22 years old. Just got traded for the first time. Just signed a long, big money contract. Came in with heaps of expectations tossed on his shoulders.

At 22, Brodie had some downright awful times too. Giordano at 22? Heck, most defencemen at 22 aren't usually very good at all. Add all the circumstances on top of his age, as well as factoring-in that the entire team (mostly) is stinking up the joint, and you realize that the least you can do is give the kid a break.

He should be 'demoted' to the 4th line. Pair him with Engelland or Smid - one of those more 'steady stay at home types' (and yeah, I know they get crapped on too). Give him some easier match-ups. Let him adjust.

Horrid is not a strong enough word to describe his play. I think putrid fits, and it was getting worse by the shift last game.

With that being said, I actually very much still expect him to become an elite defencemen. He just needs to settle down a bit. He won't be an elite defencemen at 22. Probably not 23. I just think around the halfway mark of his contract, that is where I expect him to start being one.

People calling him the next Bouwmeester? I will take that, though I know they are implying that would be terrible. Bouwmeester under Brent Sutter was putrid. Consistently. Bouwmeester under Hartley blossomed and was a legitimate top-pairing defender. Yep, another tall, smooth-skating guy without much of a physical presence? That's ok. I don't expect him to lay guys out with open-ice hits, or replace Regehr's Tunnel of Death. Hamilton - like Bouwmeester did - will learn how to be more physical in front of the net and not allow himself to be so easily blocked out. You have to fight for that space, and as a defencemen, you need to learn that it is YOUR space that an opposing forward is fighting you for. He will learn soon enough in this western conference - and without the other more physical and large D from Boston doing it for him - that he needs to adjust his battle-level (it is 3am, and my mind is not working really well right now). I don't ever think he will become a physically punishing defencemen, but he will learn over time that he needs to be much more difficult to play against. Kid will get there.

bugsy · 10-22-2015, 03:29 AM

Agree that Hamilton will find his game but I think "battle level" is team-wide right now and it probably has more to do with trying too much individually and being caught out of position. Horrid and putrid are words better left to Harry Potter characters maybe.

Caged Great · 10-22-2015, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bs&Cs

(Bruins had a great draft, btw)

I agree. Getting Zboril, Debrusk, Senyshyn, Carlo, Lauzon, Forsbacka-Karlsson was huge.

Could accelerate a rebuild very quickly. I would have went with Kyle Connor instead of Debrusk personally (I'd take Senyshyn over him as well), but that's splitting hairs.

Camronius · 10-22-2015, 08:05 AM

With Ramo down, smid back and nakladal up, this gives Hartley what he likes; a spot to bench someone if they are not performing. Lot of speculation of trades etc, I think it's pretty straight forward, and ties into the always earned mantra. We'll start seeing the under-performing dman sit along side the fwds and the backup goalie. Maybe the first victim is hamilton similar to Wideman last year.

Hemi-Cuda · 10-22-2015, 08:17 AM

Bouwmeester 2.0

Finger Cookin · 10-22-2015, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troutman

Is it instructive at all that Boston didn't want to offer the sun and the moon to keep him? They knew him best.

Is that what we signed him for, the sun and the moon? Seems Boston offered essentially what we offered, and Hamilton didn't want to sign. That could be just as instructive about the Boston organization as it is about Dougie Hamilton the player.

With regards to the overall topic: Hamilton's play to start the season has been concerning, as has the play of nearly every single one of his teammates. Hamilton was brought in not to be a Norris trophy contending player from day one, he was brought in to be a key piece of a group of players that will mature and grow together into a great team. Nothing that's happened this season has changed that.

HartAttack · 10-22-2015, 03:25 PM

As I've said in other threads, I believe that Hamilton is the WORST of our current Flames defensemen right now. He just isn't showing the defensive IQ required to play defense in the NHL.

While I agree that he's young and needs time to blossom, and will likely be a top pairing D-man for the Flames one day, he certainly is not worthy of playing top pairing minutes with Gio right now. Get him down on the 3rd pairing until he figures himself out.