Training Camp Day 11 Notes - Flames assign 9 players to AHL. 6 players on waivers.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Royle9

This is the biggest issue.
Rooney in your top 9 is a fail, no matter how you spin it.

That 9th spot is better used on a Zary, Pelletier, Klapka.

I hope it’s just a placeholder otherwise that’s disappointing.

Better used how?

[Paulie Walnuts]

The issue isn't Rooneys play he is a adequate 4th liner player, it's wasting roster space on a guy like Eakin who isn't needed and now you have to push Rooney up the lineup so you can fit in Eakin. Rooney is not a 3rd line player and the depth becomes worse. You're only a deep team if the players you have are good. Eakin isn't good. Rooney on the 3rd line isn't good.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by Royle9

This is the biggest issue.
Rooney in your top 9 is a fail, no matter how you spin it.

That 9th spot is better used on a Zary, Pelletier, Klapka.

I hope it’s just a placeholder otherwise that’s disappointing.

Klapka wishes he could be a Kevin Rooney.

I realized everyone's enamoured with the big lug because it's a great story, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

[TheSkinner]

Originally Posted by Royle9

This is the biggest issue.
Rooney in your top 9 is a fail, no matter how you spin it.

That 9th spot is better used on a Zary, Pelletier, Klapka.

I hope it’s just a placeholder otherwise that’s disappointing.

This is kind of the same argument that had so many people pencilling in Pelletier solidly on the 3rd line before camp started. Mostly hope and great in theory, but Pelletier showed very little in preseason games. And that's all we could watch. The coaches saw all of these players in the drills, practices and scrimmages.

Sutter specifically said that Ruzicka was the player most ready for the NHL on the AHL squad last season. Maybe he's been passed maybe not. So what he's a centre. Sam Bennett played almost all of his time as a winger here in calgary and all of a sudden became the second line centre for the presidents trophy panthers last year.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

Eakins on the 4th line is a small problem. Rooney on the 3rd line is the bigger problem

There should be only 1 spot between Eakins and Rooney.

Originally Posted by Royle9

This is the biggest issue.
Rooney in your top 9 is a fail, no matter how you spin it.

That 9th spot is better used on a Zary, Pelletier, Klapka.

I hope it’s just a placeholder otherwise that’s disappointing.

I think it's only preseason, and Sutter is just trying to give the new players the option to play with as many players as possible.

Kadri played/practiced with Mangiapane, Phillips, Dube, Eakin, Milano, Coleman, Backlund as well as Lindholm/Huberdeau/Toffoli on the PP.

Weegar played/practiced with Zadorov, Tanev, and Mackey(I can be wrong on this one).

Now Rooney gets to play/practice with Backlund and Coleman as well as Lucic, Lewis, Eakin, and Ritchie who he already practiced with.

Even if Rooney starts the season on the 3rd line, the Flames can always upgrade that position mid season, or replace him with a call-up if he doesn't perform.

[Burning Beard]

People see what they want from the pre-season. Some see Phillips as having a great couple of games and some say he was too small and didn't stand out. Depends on what you want to see I think.

The coaching staff also gets to see these guys in practice all week when we don't.

All this Eakin and Rooney bashing brings me back to last pre-season and the constant whining about Gudbranson. Luckily the coaching staff were actually there and saw something they could make work unlike all the internet GMs.

Honestly all the players trying for that spot have been pretty underwhelming. If they see something in Eakin and Rooney and it allows them to hold off for a bit until the dust settles and they can line up a trade I'm all for it.

[Royle9]

Rooney has NOT looked better than Zary.
There’s only a handful of guys who have had a better camp.

Eakin has done nothing to show he deserves a spot, but he has experience so he’s getting a longer leash.

Not a single PTO has done enough to get a spot.

Dube is best suited for that 3rd line spot.
Our issue is we need a top 6 scoring winger, that’s what we’re missing.
Rooney, Lucic, Lewis, Ritchie, Eakin are the guys for the 4th line.

[Bonded]

I was hoping Pelletier wouldn’t make it a question

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Bonded

I was hoping Pelletier wouldn’t make it a question

A lot of us had him pegged as the one to make the jump. Dude just didn't get it done.

In the same stroke, Zarys looked as good and better than he did in his first full camp before the injury. And he still got sent down because age and contract.

I get it though, don't want zary plugging away on a bottom six line. Still socks there's plugs on the main roster Taki g spots away from players who've earned it.

I am shocked Poitier is still up.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Royle9

Rooney has NOT looked better than Zary.
There’s only a handful of guys who have had a better camp.

Eakin has done nothing to show he deserves a spot, but he has experience so he’s getting a longer leash.

Not a single PTO has done enough to get a spot.

Dube is best suited for that 3rd line spot.
Our issue is we need a top 6 scoring winger, that’s what we’re missing.
Rooney, Lucic, Lewis, Ritchie, Eakin are the guys for the 4th line.

So what happens when Zary gets into real game action and struggles and gets his confidence crushed? No arguing he had a good camp but letting him play on the Wranglers and develop as a top line player there with PP minutes is the proper way to develop him.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Royle9

Rooney has NOT looked better than Zary.
There’s only a handful of guys who have had a better camp.

Eakin has done nothing to show he deserves a spot, but he has experience so he’s getting a longer leash.

Not a single PTO has done enough to get a spot.

Dube is best suited for that 3rd line spot.
Our issue is we need a top 6 scoring winger, that’s what we’re missing.
Rooney, Lucic, Lewis, Ritchie, Eakin are the guys for the 4th line.

Your opinion...the Flames radio guys think Rooney has been one of the best players in camp and I agree from what I have seen. Rooney is responsible for the Dube goal Friday and he played McDrai really well.

[GullFoss]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

Well that's probably your team. Eakin signs a contract, Milano released, Ruzicka to the minors, Ritchie the 13th forward. My guess, anyways.

I could see Ruzicka earning the 3rd line, left wing spot. And one of Mackey, Poirier, Valimaki starting on the third pairing.

If Poirier is still in camp, I think it speaks to the potential they see in him...which is amazing.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Poirier could be still up to get more time with the coaches and vet dmen
High end talent but needs a ton of work on his complete game
Some additional days to work on that stuff could help

[bdubbs]

If Dube stays with Mang and Kadri this year, he could be primed to pop. He's in the right age group and he's got wheels, and came to camp in the best shape of all the Flames players. Assuming he had nothing to do with the WJC scandal, this year is up to him to stick there. I'm hopeful because he seems to have a lot of the tools.

[dammage79]

Yeah, Poiriers defensive game is like 3 times as bad as Kylingtons was at the same time frame. Offensive Ely gifted but a clas 7 black hole defensively. If you look like Gaudreau cherry picking at your own blue line as a D Man , that's a problem.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

No he hasn't. He also doesn't provide the team anything we need, we have enough Eakin players. I'm also not advocating for Phillips, but no offensive player truly got a real chance.

This is nonsense. NHL coaches have spent their entire lives doing nothing but playing and watching hockey. So much so that they can see what they need to see in a player much more readily and in depth than rank amateurs like you and me. The fact of the matter is that all of these players have been in all the practices, and have now played multiple exhibition games. A NHL coach can see the mechanics of what makes a player tick even when he is not catching passes from Sydney Crosby, and unfortunately it would appear that the Flames coaches have not seen enough from Phillips or Milano to think that they can play up the lineup.

Why do they think this? Because they know hockey better than all of us, and have been watching players for decades at a detailed level of minutiae that you and I can barely fathom. In other words, I doubt that Sutter needs to see Phillips next to Kadri again in order to know how that will go. He can already tell, because that's his job and he is damn good at it. This doesn't mean that he is always right, but he is right a lot more often than he is not, and he sure as hell is right more often than those if us posting on a message board.

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[Royle9]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Your opinion...the Flames radio guys think Rooney has been one of the best players in camp and I agree from what I have seen. Rooney is responsible for the Dube goal Friday and he played McDrai really well.

Your opinion some kinda coincidence wouldnt you say?
Sutter thinks Zary has had one of the best camps as well.
This being a Sutter who rarely praises rookies nor gives them much of a leash.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Royle9

Your opinion some kinda coincidence wouldnt you say?
Sutter thinks Zary has had one of the best camps as well.
This being a Sutter who rarely praises rookies nor gives them much of a leash.

I also thought that Rooney has had a great camp, but I don't get your point about Zary.

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[VilleN]

Originally Posted by GullFoss

I could see Ruzicka earning the 3rd line, left wing spot. And one of Mackey, Poirier, Valimaki starting on the third pairing.

If Poirier is still in camp, I think it speaks to the potential they see in him...which is amazing.

I haven’t been watching much, but hasn’t Valimaki been horrible?

[tony-soprano]

People actually think Phillips deserves a 10 game try out with the big club? Or is this crazy talk just on twitter?