Does Dube make the team?

[Karl]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

Dubé can make his case in Stockton to start. Give him the opportunity to tear up the AHL and play the All-Star Game and give him a few NHL games down the stretch as a reward.

No. He deserves to start with the big team.

He's leaps and bounds better than Peluso and even way better than Hathaway & Lazar already.

[heep223]

Give him some more preseason games with the big boys as teams start icing NHL lineups. If he continues to earn it, you need to find a spot for him.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by heep223

Give him some more preseason games with the big boys as teams start icing NHL lineups. If he continues to earn it, you need to find a spot for him.

This. If he impresses, give him the 4th line LW slot and see where it goes from there.

The bottom 6 could use an injection of youthful speed and skill.

[flamesrule14]

I can see him getting the Jankowski treatment. Play well in camp, but get sent down to start the season only to be called up eventually after he tears it up for a few weeks. Either way he is making a case and if he continues to play well as the rosters get tougher he’ll make it a tough decision.

[Classic_Sniper]

Even with a step up in competition, Dube still looked dominant out there tonight. It should be noted that the Canucks dressed quite a few regulars and dressed plenty of their top 10 prospects. Their prospects are consistently ranked as one of best in the league, so Dube doing what he did to them tonight is definitely impressive.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Still too early. As others have said, if he continues to do what he's doing over the next week or so, sure.........find a spot for him. But if his plays drops a bit and he starts the year with Stockton it's not the end of the world.

[Unknown]

Here hoping for this opening night roster:

Gaudreau - Monahan - Lindholm
Tkachuk - Backlund - Neal
Bennett - Jankowski - Czarnik
Frolik - Dube - Ryan

Giordano - Brodie
Hanifin - Hamonic
Andersson - Stone

Smith
Rittich

If Dube continues playing great in pre-season, at least give him a try! Hathaway and Lazar closest threats in offence, Kulak in D. I'd say these four lines would be solid.

[Imported_Aussie]

Originally Posted by Unknown

Here hoping for this opening night roster:

Gaudreau - Monahan - Lindholm
Tkachuk - Backlund - Neal
Bennett - Jankowski - Czarnik
Frolik - Dube - Ryan

Giordano - Brodie
Hanifin - Hamonic
Andersson - Stone

Smith
Rittich

If Dube continues playing great in pre-season, at least give him a try! Hathaway and Lazar closest threats in offence, Kulak in D. I'd say these four lines would be solid.

I agree with these lines. If you keep Dube up, put him with veterans who can play multiple positions. Then you can always reconfigure that line to Dube - Ryan - Frolik

[GranteedEV]

I'd like to see a Flames team with both Dube and Bennett as centremen. Something like:

Gaudreau-Monahan-Lindholm
Frolik-Backlund-Neal
Tkachuk-Bennett-Czarnik
Ryan-Dube-Jankowski

[Strange Brew]

With as good a camp as Jankowski had last year, plus he was older and a year in the AHL under his belt, he was still sent down to start the year.

I don’t pretend to know what the Flames might do but it would be quite a departure to keep him up to start the year. Unless you put him in a category with guys like Monahan, Tkachuk etc. who skipped the minors, but they were never sent back to junior either.

[Poe969]

it's a completely different situation than last year. Janko was kind of forced down because there weren't any spots open. This year there is a spot up for grabs and the only guys Dube has to beat out are on manageable contracts. I love the idea of a line with Dube and Ryan and Frolik so they can all change positions if need be. I think Dube is a great #12 guy providing they roll the lines.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

I'd like to see a Flames team with both Dube and Bennett as centremen. Something like:

Gaudreau-Monahan-Lindholm
Frolik-Backlund-Neal
Tkachuk-Bennett-Czarnik
Ryan-Dube-Jankowski

Bennett has shown he’s not a NHL center. He really needs to keep his game simple and find some success on the wing. Build from there. Dube is a rookie and it is unlikely they bump two guys from their natural position to make room for him the middle. If Dube is going to stick, he’s very likely going to do it on the wing and play in sheltered situations. Better to see him start the year in the AHL, learn to play his position, and gain some success. No need to rush him, and no real benefit from doing so. Don’t Bennett the kid.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Poe969

it's a completely different situation than last year. Janko was kind of forced down because there weren't any spots open. This year there is a spot up for grabs and the only guys Dube has to beat out are on manageable contracts. I love the idea of a line with Dube and Ryan and Frolik so they can all change positions if need be. I think Dube is a great #12 guy providing they roll the lines.

That’s not how I remember it. Jagrs and Glass were signed to contracts at end of camp so there were forward spots available. Janko was sent down mainly so Bennett could get more games at centre IIRC.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

That’s not how I remember it. Jagrs and Glass were signed to contracts at end of camp so there were forward spots available. Janko was sent down mainly so Bennett could get more games at centre IIRC.

There was never a talking point around Jankowski being sent down for one reason or another, just that he'd be back soon.

The best understanding I can come to on why Jankowski was sent down was because our coach wanted to play bad players, because he was a bad coach.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

There was never a talking point around Jankowski being sent down for one reason or another, just that he'd be back soon.

The best understanding I can come to on why Jankowski was sent down was because our coach wanted to play bad players, because he was a bad coach.

They didn't want guys to go through waivers (rightly or wrongly), so they had to wait for someone to get hurt. Which did happen and he was called up.

I don't think Dube has to worry about the same thing. I think Treliving has stop caring about losing Lazar on waivers.

[ST20]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

Even with a step up in competition, Dube still looked dominant out there tonight. It should be noted that the Canucks dressed quite a few regulars and dressed plenty of their top 10 prospects. Their prospects are consistently ranked as one of best in the league, so Dube doing what he did to them tonight is definitely impressive.

Most of their regulars and top prospects played the night before in Edmonton.

[ST20]

Originally Posted by Karl

No. He deserves to start with the big team.

He's leaps and bounds better than Peluso and even way better than Hathaway & Lazar already.

Even if he has a great camp and pre-season the rest of the way I would still rather have him play 20 first line minute games in the AHL before rushing him to the NHL and letting him play 4th line minutes. Sometimes it's a real confidence killer to bring someone along so quickly when they are use to success. Let him build even more confidence in the AHL first and bring him up hungry during the quarter-mid season games or when someone gets hurt.

Given our depth in the top 6-9 forwards this season, I think we should be giving more minutes to the top lines rather than trying to roll four lines evenly.

[Bingo]

I like Dube as a story, and he's certainly moved up in my potential ranks to the extent that upper six is very possible and top nine (third line) likely his floor and that's great.

But nothing he's done to this point in camp matters at all to me given the competition. It starts on the weekend and if he's dominant from Saturday on then he stays. If he sifts back into the noise than he won't.

But he still hasn't played a game with predominantly NHL opposition or teammates this year.

[Wolfman]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I like Dube as a story, and he's certainly moved up in my potential ranks to the extent that upper six is very possible and top nine (third line) likely his floor and that's great.

But nothing he's done to this point in camp matters at all to me given the competition. It starts on the weekend and if he's dominant from Saturday on then he stays. If he sifts back into the noise than he won't.

But he still hasn't played a game with predominantly NHL opposition or teammates this year.

I agree Bingo, it's great that he is progressing but the big test for him will be against a regular NHL lineup. I think what he has done so far has earned him a few games.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I like Dube as a story, and he's certainly moved up in my potential ranks to the extent that upper six is very possible and top nine (third line) likely his floor and that's great.

But nothing he's done to this point in camp matters at all to me given the competition. It starts on the weekend and if he's dominant from Saturday on then he stays. If he sifts back into the noise than he won't.

But he still hasn't played a game with predominantly NHL opposition or teammates this year.

All true, but last year I remember him being saddled down with Tanner Glass against NHL competition and actually making Glass look good by bouncing pucks off him and generally driving play. Glass doesn't get a contract without Dube, I firmly believe that.