I liked the decision making process. But seriously thanks for the updates and would love if you kept them coming.
I would've kept them coming, but the schedule said they started at 10:00am today, but they changed it without notifying the public and they actually started at 9:00am. So I was only able to catch the Red Team's 50 minute practice.
I'll be there for the scrimmage this afternoon, so I'll update you guys after.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cznTiburon
Conroy still got it?
No, haha. He missed the OPEN net several times. Literally open net, no goalie hahaha.
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It was quite an intense scrimmage. Lots of hitting. They only played two 25 min periods with an ice clean in between, but it definitely had a game feel to it.
The first person I was impressed with today was Eddy. He's an absolute bowling ball of a guy. He scored one of the three goals for the Red Team. He's got decent hands for the role he'll probably be expected to play with the Heat.
Brodie was really really good, like StrykerSteve said. Exactly what he did in Calgary, he did tonight. Creative, fast, plays great in his own zone, holds the line well... what more can I say? He's awesome.
If Brust isn't one of the two goalies that makes this team, I'll be pissed. He uses his stick so effectively. A player from the Black Team came in on a breakaway and he poke check/sprawled five feet out of his crease. I looked up at Ward to see his reaction, and he looked over at Malarchuk and Sigalet and gave them a thumbs up. Both goalie coaches had huge grins on their face haha. Also, he had a shutout.
Patterson was good today too. He was hitting everyone. Such a strong player. There's about six or seven guys at camp who could easily fit into a fourth line role. Patterson is one of them.
Baertschi was average. Didn't notice him too too much. He was on a sniper line with Street and Horak (who scored a goal tonight). They had good puck movement in the scoring zone.
Reinhart is really good in his own zone. He applies so much pressure and his stick is so active that he seems to make the defensemen double guess who they pass to. He scored the only goal for the Black Team today.
Drew MacKenzie is going to make the Heat. Mark my words. He'll be one of the final 8 d-men picked. He's so solid defensively and is a really good puck mover. He's probably been the most impressive invitee so far. I know I said Mouillierat was the most impressive, but I change my mind haha.
Lamb was good as usual. Something that surprised me is he likes to join the rush or even lead the rush. He may have better offensive skills than we expect.
Ferland was almost invisible tonight. Didn't notice him until he hit a couple of guys, but other than that he was invisible.
Brett Olsen has flashes of brilliance. One day he'll look good and one day he won't. I'm going to continue to watch him because he could be a decent callup.
Wahl was impressive today. Lots of flash with him. He's still a really good playmaker. He played on a line with Sylvester and Ferland. He even hit some guys, but dodged hits as well.
Ruegsegger could very easily make the fourth line... if Eddy, Aliu, Bancks, and Bouma weren't at camp. He scored a goal today by grinding the #### out of the d-men. He such a rugged, gritty guy that I'd love for him to make the team, but at the very least he's going to be a very reliable callup.
After today's practice (which is far from the time for cuts), I'm going to rule out some players that I think likely won't make the team (or wouldn't if I was Ward):
TEAM RED:
Spoiler!
G Danny Taylor
G Grant Rollheiser
D Jamie Fritsch
D Chris Breen
D Joe Callahan D Dave Cowan
D TJ Brodie D Nick Tuzzolino D Mark Isherwood
F Adam Estoclet
F Ben Street
F Lance Bouma
F Greg Nemisz
F Ben Walter
F Roman Horak
F Tyler Ruegsegger
F Ryan Howse
F Akim Aliu
F Gaelan Patterson
F Sven Baertschi
F Brett Olsen
TEAM BLACK:
Spoiler!
G Barry Brust G Alex Evin
D Brady Lamb
D James Martin
D Zach McKelvie
D Drew MacKenzie
D Steve McCarthy D Peter Merth
D Joe Piskula D Dennis Urban
F Krys Kolanos
F Quintin Laing
F Paul Byron
F Mitch Wahl
F Dustin Sylvester
F Bryan Cameron
F David Eddy
F Max Reinhart
F Carter Bancks
F Michael Ferland F Jordan Kremyr
F Kael Mouillierat F Garry Nunn
Quote:
Originally Posted by StrykerSteve
I'm at scrimmage right now, where are you pierre? It just dawned on me Idont know your name.
Haha I didn't know what you looked like or else I would've talked to you.
Last edited by Pierre "Monster" McGuire; 10-02-2012 at 07:46 PM.
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Besides being a soft player how has Wahl's conditioning looked? IIRC it wasn't very good at last years camp.
I'd say middle of pack. He can certainly keep up with the play/drill quite well. The only thing I'd like to see more of is his speed. I know he has it, but he's got to apply it.
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Depending on how quickly he progressed through his symptom recovery, there's no reason that Wahl couldn't have been working on his conditioning over the summer.
Heck, most of the Flames work on their conditioning ALL SUMMER.
It was quite an intense scrimmage. Lots of hitting. They only played two 25 min periods with an ice clean in between, but it definitely had a game feel to it.
The first person I was impressed with today was Eddy. He's an absolute bowling ball of a guy. He scored one of the three goals for the Red Team. He's got decent hands for the role he'll probably be expected to play with the Heat.
Brodie was really really good, like StrykerSteve said. Exactly what he did in Calgary, he did tonight. Creative, fast, plays great in his own zone, holds the line well... what more can I say? He's awesome.
If Brust isn't one of the two goalies that makes this team, I'll be pissed. He uses his stick so effectively. A player from the Black Team came in on a breakaway and he poke check/sprawled five feet out of his crease. I looked up at Ward to see his reaction, and he looked over at Malarchuk and Sigalet and gave them a thumbs up. Both goalie coaches had huge grins on their face haha. Also, he had a shutout.
Patterson was good today too. He was hitting everyone. Such a strong player. There's about six or seven guys at camp who could easily fit into a fourth line role. Patterson is one of them.
Baertschi was average. Didn't notice him too too much. He was on a sniper line with Street and Horak (who scored a goal tonight). They had good puck movement in the scoring zone.
Reinhart is really good in his own zone. He applies so much pressure and his stick is so active that he seems to make the defensemen double guess who they pass to. He scored the only goal for the Black Team today.
Drew MacKenzie is going to make the Heat. Mark my words. He'll be one of the final 8 d-men picked. He's so solid defensively and is a really good puck mover. He's probably been the most impressive invitee so far. I know I said Mouillierat was the most impressive, but I change my mind haha.
Lamb was good as usual. Something that surprised me is he likes to join the rush or even lead the rush. He may have better offensive skills than we expect.
Ferland was almost invisible tonight. Didn't notice him until he hit a couple of guys, but other than that he was invisible.
Brett Olsen has flashes of brilliance. One day he'll look good and one day he won't. I'm going to continue to watch him because he could be a decent callup.
Wahl was impressive today. Lots of flash with him. He's still a really good playmaker. He played on a line with Sylvester and Ferland. He even hit some guys, but dodged hits as well.
Ruegsegger could very easily make the fourth line... if Eddy, Aliu, Bancks, and Bouma weren't at camp. He scored a goal today by grinding the #### out of the d-men. He such a rugged, gritty guy that I'd love for him to make the team, but at the very least he's going to be a very reliable callup.
After today's practice (which is far from the time for cuts), I'm going to rule out some players that I think likely won't make the team (or wouldn't if I was Ward):
TEAM RED:
Spoiler!
G Danny Taylor
G Grant Rollheiser
D Jamie Fritsch
D Chris Breen
D Joe Callahan D Dave Cowan
D TJ Brodie D Nick Tuzzolino D Mark Isherwood
F Adam Estoclet
F Ben Street
F Lance Bouma
F Greg Nemisz
F Ben Walter
F Roman Horak
F Tyler Ruegsegger
F Ryan Howse
F Akim Aliu
F Gaelan Patterson
F Sven Baertschi
F Brett Olsen
TEAM BLACK:
Spoiler!
G Barry Brust G Alex Evin
D Brady Lamb
D James Martin
D Zach McKelvie
D Drew MacKenzie
D Steve McCarthy D Peter Merth
D Joe Piskula D Dennis Urban
F Krys Kolanos
F Quintin Laing
F Paul Byron
F Mitch Wahl
F Dustin Sylvester
F Bryan Cameron
F David Eddy
F Max Reinhart
F Carter Bancks
F Michael Ferland F Jordan Kremyr
F Kael Mouillierat F Garry Nunn
Haha I didn't know what you looked like or else I would've talked to you.
Finally have an opportunity to follow up on my thoughts on Brodie. This was my first chance to watch him play live, and he really impressed me. He's extremely quick, can turn on a dime when evading the forecheck, and won battles along the boards with smarts before muscle. The innovative way he used his stick to poke the puck away from the opposition was really exciting to watch in person. And his passes seemed to always be right on the tape, hitting guys in full stride.
I may have a slight man-crush on young TJ. If he isn't on the Flames opening day roster, it would be criminal.
Gotta say, it is amazing that no one comes out to watch these guys play. It was surreal sitting in an almost entirely-empty arena watching guys I would typically be paying top dollar to see. I actually wandered in the wrong entrance, went in through the players entrance, and got a first hand tour through the dressing room, players lounge, medical area, etc. by someone whom I assume was the trainer, before finally being led into the arena by the Zamboni entrance.
This was good hockey, intensity was high, and the majority of guys really looked like they were fighting for their jobs. It was fun listening to the bench heckle Baertschi when he was pulled down and awarded a penalty shot (he missed). Normally you wouldn't hear that because the sound in the building would drown it out, but in this environment, it was extremely intimate. I'm jealous that you get to do this on a regular basis.
Lastly, I want to call out Aliu. He looked great for his first few shifts, scored a goal, then all but disappeared. The guy is huge, he's really easy to spot on the ice, but somehow, he managed to make himself rather invisible.
Was disappointed to see his lack of energy, did he even hit anyone? Bodychecks were flying everywhere, but I can't recall one from him standing out in my mind.
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Thanks for all this guys. This is one of the few ways I get my hockey fix during the lockout.
How has James Martin looked in the camp so far. From what I remember, when I had gone to the prospect camp, he had held his own and looked pretty good.
Gotta say, it is amazing that no one comes out to watch these guys play. It was surreal sitting in an almost entirely-empty arena watching guys I would typically be paying top dollar to see. I actually wandered in the wrong entrance, went in through the players entrance, and got a first hand tour through the dressing room, players lounge, medical area, etc. by someone whom I assume was the trainer, before finally being led into the arena by the Zamboni entrance.
This was good hockey, intensity was high, and the majority of guys really looked like they were fighting for their jobs. It was fun listening to the bench heckle Baertschi when he was pulled down and awarded a penalty shot (he missed). Normally you wouldn't hear that because the sound in the building would drown it out, but in this environment, it was extremely intimate. I'm jealous that you get to do this on a regular basis.
Lastly, I want to call out Aliu. He looked great for his first few shifts, scored a goal, then all but disappeared. The guy is huge, he's really easy to spot on the ice, but somehow, he managed to make himself rather invisible.
Was disappointed to see his lack of energy, did he even hit anyone? Bodychecks were flying everywhere, but I can't recall one from him standing out in my mind.
How was the tour? They keep asking me if I wanted to go, but wasn't really interested. Maybe next time I'll go.
Yeah, they kept chanting "diver!" when Baertschi went down. It kind of was a dive from my perspective haha. He held Nunn's stick under his arm and went down. Luke Strand let him have it haha.
I agree with you about Aliu. I liked what he was showing the first few shifts, but he after that he was pretty fumbly with the puck.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kehatch
What were the lines in the scrimmage? I got the Baertschi - Street - Horak line. But what about the rest?
Thanks for all this guys. This is one of the few ways I get my hockey fix during the lockout.
How has James Martin looked in the camp so far. From what I remember, when I had gone to the prospect camp, he had held his own and looked pretty good.
Martin's been making some mistakes, a little too many. However, he's shown signs of being a good defenseman. He's a heavy hitter, probably one of the more physical guys at camp. He just needs to show a little more consistency day to day. He hasn't been as good as the "front-runners" for the final 8 spots, but he hasn't been bad either.
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Take McKelvie, as just one example. Prior to jumping to the professional ranks, the 27-year-old missed two hockey seasons to take care of other, more important, matters as a student at the United States Military Academy.
“When I was doing scouting for Boston, I obviously didn’t spend a lot of time at West Point, because those guys have military commitments,” Weisbrod said. “But I happened to see him at a game one night, and I just really liked what he brought to the table. He’s a big, lanky, strong kid who is a really good skater.
“When I met with him, he was just a world-class human being and a real, as you would expect, ‘yes sir, no sir. He’s an honest guy — the kind of guy I thought a coach would love.”
Quote:
“We don’t have to worry about the on-ice stuff with Sven,” Weisbrod said. “He’s got all the on-ice stuff. We just need to teach him to be a man and be a teammate, and be consistent.
“We need to teach him to deal with adversity and deal with pressure -all those things he’s obviously going to encounter as he goes forward.”
“I see a physical change in Mitch,” Weisbrod, the assistant general manager in charge of player personnel, said in a break from the action at Abbotsford Heat training camp. “He’s thicker and stronger, and it’s clear he has worked hard.
“This is a kid who I thought in the summer, he has every reason to physically and emotionally pack it in with us. l thought I would come in and either see a guy who was indifferent and out of shape and here because he had no place to go or I would see a guy who realized, ‘I’m up against it. My career is on the line. I’m going to put my best foot forward.’ ”
[...]
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the earnestness he came into camp with,” Weisbrod said. “It’s still going to be a hard situation. I feel like we have a lot of tough decisions to make, but I feel like with everybody here — his mind and spirit and body is pointed in the right direction."
Quote:
Forwards Michael Ferland and Ryan Howse might have finished near the bottom of the group in fitness tests, but Weisbrod says the Flames have zero intention of giving up on either player.
[...]
“Well, they’re both young pups and they’re both guys who still need to get it in terms of understanding what we expect,” Weisbrod said.” I mean, Ferland is sort of wide-eyed and new to it. They both have attributes, abilities on the ice that are hard to find and can’t be taught. You don’t throw the baby out with the bath water in that regard.”
Quote:
Reinhart played for the enemy Kootenay Ice and made life miserable at times for the Swiss sniper.
“He’s a really good two-way centreman,” Sven said. “Sometimes I was really surprised by him.”
One particular sequence will forever stick out for Baertschi as a sign of Reinhart’s hustle and determination.
“When we played in the finals two years ago against each other, I remember one time he had the puck in the offensive zone,” Baertschi said. “Somehow he lost it, and we went all the way down into their zone.
“The first guy who was back was Max. I was like, ‘what is he doing here?’ You can tell he’s a really good skater. He does the right decision almost every time.
“It’s definitely good to see him again, this time on my team.”
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of course Wahl's conditioning wasn't very good at last years camp, he hadn't played in almost a year
Yeah sure, I know he had an excuse last year, in fact I mentioned it in one of my posts at the time and noted that he had put on a bit of weight that didn't look like muscle but I was wondering how he's reacted without that excuse.
If he isn't on the Flames opening day roster, it would be criminal.
