[News] Flames rookie/development camp — July 3-7. UPD: rosters/schedule announced

[Reggie Dunlop]

Stajan helping out on drills makes be happy. He's still so highly regarded by the organization. The right sort of character for being a developmental coach (or more).

[cracher]

Anyone have intel or footage of Nodler? Turns out he's family with one of my old bosses in Southfield/Novi MI.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by cracher

Anyone have intel or footage of Nodler? Turns out he's family with one of my old bosses in Southfield/Novi MI.

Excellent shot, both in terms of quickness of release and accuracy.

From what I've heard, consistency of effort is the problem between each game. Talent is there though. Definitely understand why the Flames selected him.

One of those guys that you drop in the NCAA and hope they turn out more like MEP.

Would not be shocked if he earns the moniker of "most improved late round pick" or at least in the conversation of that at the end of this season.

However, you can't always overcome inconsistency and if that's the case, then we're talking about an AHLer or guy that might not even be worth signing at the end of it.

For right now, he's doing what he needs to do to be noticeable. That's all you can ask. Just have to wait and see if there is more.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Samonadreau

So what gives? We have Gillies, Parsons and Zag that all should be on Stockton's opening day roster.

Only when every goalie is healthy. You need a lot of goalies when injuries hit. As fans were frequently guilty of assessing the depth in the summer assuming everybody will be healthy all year. Treliving isn’t assuming that and our depth is there to survive injuries.

You need a lot of goalies.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by Samonadreau

So what gives? We have Gillies, Parsons and Zag that all should be on Stockton's opening day roster.

Nick Schneider's shown signs he's ready for the AHL.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by Freeway

Gillies can block a loan to the ECHL, but everyone else can go to Kansas City.

I realize that but its time for Parsons to get to the next level if you want a player out of him and Zag didnt come over just to play in the ECHL. I guess something has to give though.

[Incogneto]

Have there just been no updates from CP’ers at the sessions, or did I miss it? Usually Caged Great and others have massive updates that have been amazing. Nothing as far as I can see this year.

[LIP MAN]

I was there for the early session. Standouts for me were Pelletier, Phillips and McKenna at forward. In a one on one drill Phillips knocked Pelletier down, he’s looking stronger out there.

[Nelson]

Here's a detailed article about Pelletier. It left me feeling very encouraged. Thanks to Mr. Christian Tiberi for his excellent work.

https://flamesnation.ca/2019/07/06/a...kob-pelletier/

[Nelson]

Originally Posted by LIP MAN

I was there for the early session. Standouts for me were Pelletier, Phillips and McKenna at forward. In a one on one drill Phillips knocked Pelletier down, he’s looking stronger out there.

This is good to hear. I've liked Phillips for a long time. 202 points and 98 goals over his last two seasons of junior. That's almost DeBrincat like.

[Ring of Fire]

Development Camp 2019
Was at camp on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Here are some observations. Take them for what it’s worth.

Goalies
82 - Tyler Parsons - Stockton Heat (AHL)
-Very calm. Seemed more positionally sound and efficient in his movements. More quiet in style and settled in the crease than previously. Made the extra effort to stretch and outwait players for some saves.

40 - Dustin Wolf - Everett (WHL)
-Quick lateral movement. Covers bottom of the net well. Active stick. Got beat high a couple times.

72 - Christoffer Rifalk - Rogle BK (SHL) - Free Agent Invite
-Hard to judge. Looked economical in his movements. Got beat high and let some squeakers through in some drills but I wouldn’t read too much into it.

70 - Nick Schneider - Stockton Heat (AHL)/Kansas City Mavericks (ECHL)
-Looked more comfortable this time around. Positioning was good.

50 - Artyom Zagidulin - Stockton Heat (AHL)
-Seemed very calm and relaxed in net. Not many shots seemed to fool him. Interested to see him against better competition as he looked a bit disinterested with the shots he was facing.

Defence
94 - Zach Giuttari - RD - Brown (NCAA) - Free Agent Invite
-Decent skater for a big defenceman.
Age (23) and experience showed. Defensive defenceman similar to Josh Healey without the open ice hitting.

57 - Robert Hamilton - LD - Stockton Heat (AHL)
-Pro experience shows. Skating, puck moving ok, no skill really stands out. Good awareness.

96 - Tommy Miller - RD - Michigan State (NCAA) - Free Agent Invite
-Battled hard. Didn’t stand out much otherwise. Defensive defenceman mould.

43 - Andrew Nielsen - LD - Stockton Heat (AHL)
-Big, long stride. Long reach. Agility and mobility means AHL is probably his ceiling. Likes to play physical.

92 - Jerad Rosburg - LD - Michigan State (NCAA) - Free Agent Invite
-Hard shot. Tough in one-on-one battles. Physically developed at 23.

54 - Corey Schueneman - LD - Stockton Heat (AHL)
-Good skater, handles the puck well. Can tell he has learned from his short pro experience. Smart defender who reads the play well and doesn’t throw it away. Good shot.

95 - Johannes Kinnvall - RD - Hv71 (SHL) - Free Agent Invite
-Very mobile. Good puck mover. Undersized but some flashes of skill. Has a couple more seasons on his SHL contract. I’d be interested to see his development in a couple years.

46 - Carl Johan Lerby - LD - Malmo RedHawks (SHL)
-Good skater but not effortless in style. Handles and moves the puck well. Very engaged in the play. Good shot, instincts. Battles well for his size. High intensity style. Interested to see him in North America in a year’s time.

85 - Chris Merisier-Ortiz - LD - Baie Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL) - Free Agent Invite
-Can see flashes of skill but it needs some refinement. Uses an active stick to break up plays. Good offensive instincts. Needs some strength and weight. Shot needs some more power. Battles well for a smaller d-man and did well as one of the younger guys. Noticeable in the two-on-two drills. Overheard Conroy saying “he’s playing not bad. I noticed him.”

97 - Montana Onyebuchi - RD - Kamloops Blazers (WHL) - Free Agent Invite
-Big, mean, nasty player. Can see why he got into fights. Likes to play physical. Hands are not up to par.

98 - Jackson ven de Leest - LD - Calgary Hitmen (WHL) - Free Agent Invite
-Big, good stick. Likes to play physical. Hard shot but accuracy needs work.

45 - Alexander Yelesin - RD - Stockton Heat (AHL)
-Started to shine when board battles were involved. Physical. Plays bigger than his size. Hard shot. Will need some time in the AHL I suspect.

Forwards
60 - Lucas Feuk - LW - Sodertalje SK (Allsvenskan)

-Needs work on his skating. Nice shot. Still pretty raw but you can see flashes of higher end skill.

79 - Ben Freeman - C - UConn (NCAA) - Free Agent Invite

-Skating could use work. Big guy.

59 - Andrew Fyten - C - Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) - Free Agent Invite

-Decent skater. Lots of energy and intensity in drills.

42 - Glenn Gawdin - C - Stockton Heat (AHL)

-Poised. Pro level skating and puck handling. Looks like an AHL vet. Doesn’t do any one thing particularly well but appears to be a solid 2-way pro.

73 - David Kope - RW - Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) - Free Agent Invite

-Tall. Hard shot but inconsistent. Decent speed at times. Pretty raw as a player.
83 - Demetrios Koumontzis - LW - Arizona State (NCAA)

-Lots of energy. Still pretty raw. A real buzzsaw out there. Low centre of gravity, wide stance, hard to knock off the puck, strong edgework. Likes to drop the shoulder and use power moves to drive the net. Much improved from last camp.
74 - James Malm - LW - Calgary Hitmen (WHL) - Free Agent Invite

-Speedy, skilled forward. Scored a nice goal in two-on-two.

84 - Josh Nodler - RW - Michigan State (NCAA)

-Low skating stance, good in board battles. Surprisingly quick release. Good hands, flashes of skill.
64 - Emilio Pettersen - LW - Denver (NCAA)

-Great hands. Quick, smooth skater. Great puck-handling, excellent shot. High end offensive skill, hangs on to the puck until he sees a play. Drives the play. On a two-on-two drill he deked through two players including through one player’s legs and dished to Roman for a tap in. Really smart, confident player. Always asking coaches questions.

76 - Martin Pospisil - C - Stockton Heat (AHL)

-Skating a work in progress. Big frame but still thin. Looks like he’s still growing into his body. Some sneaky moves in tight that fooled defenders and goalies. Hard shot. Tough in board battles, annoying to play against.

65 - Milos Roman - C - Vancouver Giants (WHL)

-Quick, but not smooth. Somewhat choppy stride. Compete level is evident. Intelligent player. Good chemistry with teammates.

61 - Tristan Crozier - RW - Brown (NCAA) - Free Agent Invite

-Smaller quicker skill guy. Didn’t really stand out.

90 - Ronnie Hein - C - Ohio State (NCAA) - Free Agent Invite

-Some speed, intensity. Hands aren’t quite there.

81 - Linus Lindstrom - C - Skelleftea AIK (SHL)

-Smooth skater and puck handler. Smart. Accurate shot. Deceptive skill. Needs to add strength and speed as he is still slight and gets muscled off the puck.

91 - Mitchell Mattson - C - Michigan State (NCAA)

-Big. Straight line speed is good but questionable agility as he corners slow. Not seeing too high of a ceiling. Heavy shot but accuracy and puck handling are not strong.

51 - Jeremy McKenna - RW - Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL) - Free Agent Invite

-Good speed, compete level. Skills a bit raw at this point and need some refining.
86 - Mason Morelli - LW - Stockton Heat (AHL)

-Short pro experience showed. Good skater, good hands. Better touch around net then the college free agents. Doesn’t give up on plays.

49 - Jakob Pelletier - LW - Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)

-Very quick, good edges, handles the puck well, great hand-eye coordination. Drives the play. Can hang on to the puck. Good vision and passing. Real battler. No fear of bigger players in board battles. Has a knack for coming out of a one-on-one on the boards with the puck. Knows how to use his body positioning to shield the puck. Harder, more accurate shot than most players his size (or age) at this camp. Scored lots on drills.
47 - Matthew Phillips - RW - Stockton Heat (AHL)

-Has not gotten any bigger. Great edgework, smooth, quick stickhandling. Lots of creativity and confidence offensively. Scored more than most during drills including some nice backhand goals. Weak shot but very accurate.
39 - Luke Philp - C - Stockton Heat (AHL)

-Smooth, quick skater, excellent edges. Good hands. Can score in tight, good finisher. Interested to see how he transitions to AHL from CIS. I think he’ll be able to put up a few points there. Seems mature.

63 - Adam Ruzicka - C - Stockton Heat (AHL)

-Skating has improved. Good puckhandling. One of the more skilled players out there. Big, strong, good hands. Heavy shot. Interested to see how he does playing against men in the AHL as I think he has got by on size and skill alone. Compete level is a question for me (I expected him to win more board battles and be a bit more physical).
62 - Filip Sveningsson - LW - IK Oskarsham (SHL)

-Strong skater, nice stride and good speed. Hard and accurate shot. Very impressive physical skills and power in both his skating and shot. Has some offensive creativity. Doesn’t shy away from physical play. He could fit a checking role if the offence doesn’t fully develop.
*78 - Dmitry Zavgorodniy - RW - Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)

-Not on ice.

General observations:

None of the players are at the level we have seen in the last few years. I would be shocked if anyone outside of the Russians (Zagidulin, Yelesin) stayed late in training camp (other than Pelletier for an extended look but I suspect he’ll go back to juniors. Lerby was also strong but is back to Sweden).

Forward standouts: Pelletier, Phillips, Pettersen, Sveningsson

Defence standouts: Schueneman, Lerby, Chris Merisier-Ortiz (Yelesin may look better in the scrimmage).

Goalie standouts: Zagidulin, Parsons (but really hard to evaluate at this camp)

[Nelson]

Thanks Ring of Fire. I won’t quote your post because of how long it is.

Your post leaves me wanting to hear more about the Russian goaltender. I’d also say the forwards you mentioned as stand outs were the ones I would expect to stand out. I’m excited to hear more about all 4 of them.

[TheScorpion]

Wonder what Gawdin's future holds. He had a good first year of pro and by all accounts looks excellent out there.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Thanks for the notes, Ring of Fire.

Like mentioned, it's basically a light summer camp designed so staff get a better sense of where these kids are at, and how they interact with others.

Great to see improvements in some of the returnees.

The Flames development system is a marked improvement over past years, so let's hope that trend continues forward.

[circle]

I agree with a lot of Ring of Fire's takes. But here are my standout players from this morning's ice-times:

Jakob Pelletier:
- Kid has some jam to his game. In the one-on-one / two-on-two drills, he wasn't shy about getting to the dirty areas and using his body to protect the puck. Really good edges and some good hands. Needs to work on his shot this summer, but very promising prospect.

Matthew Phillips:
- Best player on the ice. Really quick, turns on a dime, has a surprisingly good shot and release, and was very noticeable out there. Saw him off the ice without any equipment on and his frame is tiny, so it's impressive that he can fend others off in puck battles.

Matthias Emilio Petterson:
- The standout player in group A. The one thing that really stood out to me is his ability to listen. The on-ice coaches were having a hell of a time trying to get some players to understand a few drills. If he made a mistake, he would ask the coach, and then on the next time he was up, he would execute. Great skater and a pretty good release. I think we have a player here.

Demetrios Koumontzis:
- Really stood out to me in group A. Him and Petterson in my opinion were far above all the other prospects in their group. He was really giving his all in the 1v1 and 2v2's and even took a big check during the drill but got back up to make a slick pass. Good skater, good shot and good puck protection. One of those players that may not have any one talent to write home about but nonetheless does everything well for his age.

Carl Johan Lerby:
- Thought he was engaged and was noticeably calling for pucks in drills and communicating with the coaches. A good skater. Interested to see him next year in Stockton.

Tyler Parsons:
- Calm, cool and collected. Kid is a gamer for sure, always battles to try to make the save. Made some great desperation saves. Noticed him really taking Wolf under his wing and make him comfortable which was nice to see.

Other players that had some flashes:
- Josh Nodler
- Adam Ruzicka
- Johannes Kinnvall
- Dustin Wolf
- Artyom Zagidulin
- Alexander Yelesin
- James Malm

[Heavy Jack]

I said it last year and I’ll say it this year I think Matty Phillips could be a dark horse to force his way into the lineup; have loved watching his game for a while now! So glad to hear the take away guys thanks!!

[Nelson]

The common denominators between the two sets of notes on the development camp standouts so far are Parsons in net; Lerby on the blueline; and Petterson, Phillips, and Pelletier at forward.

[btimbit]

Happy about the notes on Parsons. I truly do think he's way better than what he showed last year

[TheScorpion]

I think Stockton's defense is gonna be really bolstered when Lerby arrives in 2020. He's still just 21. Has tons of room to grow but he already has a ton of experience. Very intriguing prospect.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Heavy Jack

I said it last year and I’ll say it this year I think Matty Phillips could be a dark horse to force his way into the lineup; have loved watching his game for a while now! So glad to hear the take away guys thanks!!

I just don't see this happening. Not with Gaudreau, Ryan, Czarnik, and Dube ahead of him. Too many small players already. Phillips would have to step up and become a Gaudreau level scorer to get a sniff of the NHL. Seriously, where else do you play him? You can have a couple small players on your roster, and maybe one tiny player on the team. Phillips is a tiny one-way player that puts up marginal stats in the AHL. Its a massive jump to the NHL, and then a assive jump to where he could be a player on the Flames. He's just got the deck stacked against him.