I Think its on the second line with kadri and mang, if they decide to go with that as a second line, where we might need someone. Coleman would be better suited for the 3rd line but him on the second line would make that a very good shutdown line. He needs to produce more this year. At least be a 20-20 guy.Maybe 45pts.Would be great.
If they could get a RW for the second line and put Coleman on the third line then everyone would slot very well. It would have to be the right kind of player though. They at least need to bring in one more guy with speed. This team still needs to get faster.
I think Dube should be ready t be that 2nd line guy. If he can mature his game, a line of Mangiapane - Kadri - Dube could be all kinds of nasty and effective.
And then have Pelletier to step up, making a perfect 3rd line of Pelletier - Backlund - Coleman
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I think Dube should be ready t be that 2nd line guy. If he can mature his game, a line of Mangiapane - Kadri - Dube could be all kinds of nasty and effective.
And then have Pelletier to step up, making a perfect 3rd line of Pelletier - Backlund - Coleman
I really like Pelletier playing with Backlund and Coleman where he can learn from two vets that can show him the defensive side of the game. Also, they can both take him under their wings.
I think they do very well. Lots of jam in the lineup. We might see them struggle or come out of the gate hard, lots of new faces slotting in. I do think we see if we can fill the RW slot internally; if that doesn’t work we hit up the market for a RW forward.
Sutter alleviates a lot of the "but will it work on the ice" concerns. Under one of the inexperienced former coaches you could flip a coin with this new group. But yes.. Calgary will be good. I would be shocked of they aren't.
I've been banging the need another top 6 forward drum, but if we are ever going to give Phillips a fair shake now is probably the time. We don't have anyone else really small (Mangiapane maybe) slated to play in the top 6. He has put up points every league he's played in, has been a top AHL player, and is a RHS.
I am not sure it works out but it's probably best just to try it.
I really like Pelletier playing with Backlund and Coleman where he can learn from two vets that can show him the defensive side of the game. Also, they can both take him under their wings.
This is exactly where I see Sutter deploying him. Pelletier should be a player Sutter loves and I fully expect him to excel at both ends of the ice from day 1 now that he's got a full year of pro hockey under his belt.
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I think Dube should be ready t be that 2nd line guy. If he can mature his game, a line of Mangiapane - Kadri - Dube could be all kinds of nasty and effective.
And then have Pelletier to step up, making a perfect 3rd line of Pelletier - Backlund - Coleman
I don't disagree with what you're proposing, but it really drives home the point of how fragile the line-up looks if we are pinning our hopes on Dube to make it effective. We need another proven top-six forward in the mix. If Dube beats that guy out, fantastic, we have more depth. Going in with just Dube as gap filler is kind of scary.
They are going to add a top nine, Sutter never goes into a season with a young player penciled in; they have to knock the door down.
They have 8 clear cut top 9 forwards, 3 clear 4th line guys, and then three younger players hoping to make a dent.
Dube will be interesting.
His offence generation is certainly moving into a top six level (6-7 forward), but he still gives up too much which Sutter can't like. He was 2nd worst in xGA60 in the second half despite being more productive.
What's interesting to me is Toffoli was the worse, but you'd never know it from Sutter's comments.
I've been banging the need another top 6 forward drum, but if we are ever going to give Phillips a fair shake now is probably the time. We don't have anyone else really small (Mangiapane maybe) slated to play in the top 6. He has put up points every league he's played in, has been a top AHL player, and is a RHS.
I am not sure it works out but it's probably best just to try it.
If I remember correctly, Phillips was among the late cuts at camp last year, and never looked anything more than average. He sure didn't leave me with the impression that he was making the decision difficult for the coaches. I don't think he is being unfairly passed-over—he is already 24-years-old, and last year was his first ever +1.0 pts/GP season as a professional. He has been outproduced by Adam Ruzicka the last two years, who himself is on the bubble to crack the NHL roster, and he is a full year younger than Phillips. On top of this, Phillips is tiny—he is small even compared to Johnny Gaudreau.
I like Phillips and have been really happy with his development, but I just do not see a NHL player. I think he gets overtaken by Pelletier and Zary on the Wranglers depth chart this year, and then will probably continue to have a long and successful career in the second-best hockey league on Earth.
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Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
If I remember correctly, Phillips was among the late cuts at camp last year, and never looked anything more than average. He sure didn't leave me with the impression that he was making the decision difficult for the coaches. I don't think he is being unfairly passed-over—he is already 24-years-old, and last year was his first ever +1.0 pts/GP season as a professional. He has been outproduced by Adam Ruzicka the last two years, who himself is on the bubble to crack the NHL roster, and he is a full year younger than Phillips. On top of this, Phillips is tiny—he is small even compared to Johnny Gaudreau.
I like Phillips and have been really happy with his development, but I just do not see a NHL player. I think he gets overtaken by Pelletier and Zary on the Wranglers depth chart this year, and then will probably continue to have a long and successful career in the second-best hockey league on Earth.
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Psychologically, I always wonder about a fan's feeling of the franchise missing the perennial star player (e.g., Martin St. Louis) as a significant contributor to the anxiety over letting the kids have a shot at the NHL roster. I suspect - though cannot confirm - that nearly every roster has a Martin St. Louis type of talent error that they have made and those situations are exceedingly rare.
I think the team is likely to underwhelm out of the gate as the players get used to each other, but I think they comfortably make the playoffs (with less points than last year).
The post-season is hard to predict as it's so match-up dependent. Ideally, I'd love if the Flames could add a finisher to the forward corps at the deadline (maybe Tarasenko as a rental?). That would push them into real contender status IMO. As things stand, I think they'd still fall short of Colorado or Tampa in a 7 game series, and would be in tough against a handful of other teams too.
I also think they need to get Wolf some NHL games this year, as there's no guarantee Vladar can hold the fort if something happens to Markstrom to keep him out long term.
How good will they be this season? My expectations remain tempered, but they'd better be pretty darned good anyway, because they've only got a few years to find success before this roster turns into a pumpkin.
Psychologically, I always wonder about a fan's feeling of the franchise missing the perennial star player (e.g., Martin St. Louis) as a significant contributor to the anxiety over letting the kids have a shot at the NHL roster. I suspect - though cannot confirm - that nearly every roster has a Martin St. Louis type of talent error that they have made and those situations are exceedingly rare.
Martin St. Louis is the example of a talent error for the entire league, if you want to frame it that way. He was never drafted, IIRC, waived, etc.
For the record, I don't think anyone thought he was going to be a star. He was a small 4th liner when the Flames released him. Good for him for making himself the player he became.
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From HFBoard oiler fan, in analyzing MacT's management:
O.K. there has been a lot of talk on whether or not MacTavish has actually done a good job for us, most fans on this board are very basic in their analysis and I feel would change their opinion entirely if the team was successful.
