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Old 08-09-2017, 06:31 PM   #41
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Originally Posted by Mister Yamoto View Post
Yes to PTOs. No to signing any. Every team uses PTOs. Last year there were well over 100 PTOs.

What is unusual is to actually sign any of them. Only 5 were signed, 2 by Calgary. It is a sure sign that the top prospects dropped the ball in training camp. Hopefully that doesn't happen again this year.
No thanks. Rather spread the preseason icetime on young players and building early chemistry. Flames are notoriously slow starters, let's try something different.
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Old 08-09-2017, 07:18 PM   #42
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Isn't that equally true for Spencer Foo?
Foo is a much better player and it's much easier for a young winger to play in the NHL with no pro experience than a defenseman.
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Old 08-09-2017, 07:23 PM   #43
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#6 - Should be a fight between Kulak and Wotherspoon. Leaning Kulak as I've never really been all that impressed by TW. Kylington is a wildcard, but I'll leave that at a 1% chance.

#7 - Should be Bart, as he'd probably be best suited riding the pine and eating popcorn.
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Old 08-09-2017, 07:24 PM   #44
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Isn't that equally true for Spencer Foo?
No.

Spencer Foo is fighting for one of the "easiest" spots in hockey on a team that is weak on the right side, the side he plays. Healy would be fighting for a D spot on one of the hardest positions to break into, on one of the deepest defensive teams in the league.
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Old 08-09-2017, 08:36 PM   #45
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I'm hoping for a philosophy change this year.

Instead of going with the safest bets possible fearing the team might miss the playoffs on rookie mistakes, assume you're a playoff team and play the guy that has the best chance of being the better player by April.

Kulak is that guy.
Time will tell but we haven't seen that kind of approach by this organization in quite some time. As you correctly say, it would mark a philosophy change. One that I would welcome, but not yet ready to predict.

Either that or the organization simply has a dimmer view of players like Kulak than does the fan base. Maybe they don't ever see him amounting to anything more than Bartkowski.
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Old 08-09-2017, 08:39 PM   #46
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No thanks. Rather spread the preseason icetime on young players and building early chemistry. Flames are notoriously slow starters, let's try something different.
Yeah I'm not too keen on hearing any excuses for another slow start. Whether it's some younger players giving more energy at the start of the season, or a different approach to camp.

One difference maker would be having a goalie playing well at the start.
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Old 08-10-2017, 01:02 AM   #47
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I thought both Kulak and Wotherspoon were quite good, and not just last season either. For the last few seasons I thought they both provided quality depth and strong play.

What happened to both in my opinion is that they ran out of fumes. They came in and played well, and then started to fade with time. They started making more errors and were then substituted for someone else.

If either one just plays with more consistency, they will have an NHL career. Both are pretty good defencemen, and I like them both over Bartkowski. Bartkowski isn't some absolutely horrible player who is going to single-handedly undue the hope this team has for this upcoming season. He is simply a replacement-level defencemen for me, and given that Calgary has a pretty damn good top 5 right now, I want a bit better than replacement level. I want a consistent defencemen capable of playing defence and helping with moving the puck up the ice. Kulak and Wotherspoon have it in them to be that guy, and they just need to find a way to do it longer than their usual 3-7 games' or so worth of it.

Kylington I still maintain has an outside chance at cracking it. He does make mistakes, but he does not make mistakes at the rate you see him in the summer. I think he tries to show too much. I remember his one game that he played he looked decent. In the AHL, he really does go through games at a time where he looks steady defensively and is essentially mistake free.

Really depends on what Gulutzan is wanting out of that bottom pairing. Mistake free minutes to allow the top 4 rest? Or another pairing that can attack and transition really well? (Kulak has a nice point shot, and both he and Wotherspoon are able puck-movers as well, so it won't be like the bottom pairing won't be able to transition well, just that Kylington transitions really well).

This is the biggest battle for that 6th spot that I can remember.
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Old 08-10-2017, 01:37 AM   #48
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With Gulutzan's insistence on having dmen play on their natural shooting side that only leaves Kulak, Wotherspoon and Bartkowski as the choices to play in that last spot with Stone. The team probably isn't too interested either in having Kulak or Wotherspoon sitting in the press box when they could be getting ice time in the A, so I think it's a battle between Kulak and Wotherspoon with the loser going down while Bartkowski stays up in the 7 slot.

If Andersson gets an opportunity it will only be on the right side even though most would agree he likely ranks higher than all the other 3 players in progression and ability if handedness is ignored.
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Old 08-10-2017, 03:34 AM   #49
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The team probably isn't too interested either in having Kulak or Wotherspoon sitting in the press box when they could be getting ice time in the A, so I think it's a battle between Kulak and Wotherspoon with the loser going down while Bartkowski stays up in the 7 slot.
This is a myth. All these players are now waiver eligible, so if Wotherspoon or Kulak are good enough to be number 7, they will be number 7. Even if the belief that a player would be better off getting playing time in Stockton, it would be silly for a win now team to put its 7th best D on waivers to keep their 8th best dman in the NHL.
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Old 08-10-2017, 07:48 AM   #50
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Loubardias saying on the Fan he wouldn't be surprised to see Valimaki starting in the Flames' lineup by next season. Brass were that impressed with him with team Finland, that they signed him to his ELC very quickly.
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Old 08-10-2017, 03:29 PM   #51
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One thing I love about Treliving is that he always makes sure that their is a lot of competition going into camp. Who ever takes the 6-7 spots will have to earn their place, there will be no walks ons.
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Old 08-10-2017, 03:33 PM   #52
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One thing I love about Treliving is that he always makes sure that their is a lot of competition going into camp. Who ever takes the 6-7 spots will have to earn their place, there will be no walks ons.
And because we wait too long to determine who wins those competitions, we have no chemistry and get off to a terrible losing start every year.
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Old 08-10-2017, 03:37 PM   #53
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And because we wait too long to determine who wins those competitions, we have no chemistry and get off to a terrible losing start every year.
Well part of that last year was the coach not really knowing the players, not having coached them before, not having seen proven chemistry. I think with Gulutzan's experience now with the players he coached last year and the players on the cusp last year the decision are a lot easier to make quickly.

I mean if you listen to everything coming out of the coaches/management they already have a pretty good idea of how they the lineup will shake out. You can quite easily predict a lot of the lines/pairings based on proven chemistry.
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Old 08-10-2017, 03:39 PM   #54
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One thing I love about Treliving is that he always makes sure that their is a lot of competition going into camp. Who ever takes the 6-7 spots will have to earn their place, there will be no walks ons.
Ehhhh... Treliving usually also makes sure that every young player is tied to a veteran anchor that usually doesn't mesh with the prospect at all skill/tool/ability-wise. Whether that's Hamilton (Grossmann), Jankowski (Korpikoski), Wotherspoon (Engelland), Bennett (Brouwer)... camp is usually a time where all our prospects/youth are set up to struggle.

Stone gives me hope, but not overwhelmingly so as he is still a possession black hole without Brodie/OEL. I can also imagine we'll see a lot of Bartkowski-Kulak in preseason and things of that ilk.
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Old 08-10-2017, 03:44 PM   #55
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Ehhhh... Treliving usually also makes sure that every young player is tied to a veteran anchor that usually doesn't mesh with the prospect at all skill/tool/ability-wise. Whether that's Hamilton (Grossmann), Jankowski (Korpikoski), Wotherspoon (Engelland), Bennett (Brouwer)... camp is usually a time where all our prospects/youth are set up to struggle.
Didn't know the GM made lines now! Interesting!

Set up to struggle? lol. Man you have some of the smelliest hot takes on this forum.
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Old 08-10-2017, 03:47 PM   #56
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Ehhhh... Treliving usually also makes sure that every young player is tied to a veteran anchor that usually doesn't mesh with the prospect at all skill/tool/ability-wise. Whether that's Hamilton (Grossmann), Jankowski (Korpikoski), Wotherspoon (Engelland), Bennett (Brouwer)... camp is usually a time where all our prospects/youth are set up to struggle.

Stone gives me hope, but not overwhelmingly so as he is still a possession black hole without Brodie/OEL. I can also imagine we'll see a lot of Bartkowski-Kulak in preseason and things of that ilk.
If a prospect can't play well on their own they shouldn't make the team. Making excuses about who they are paired with in training camp doesn't prove anything.
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Old 08-10-2017, 05:27 PM   #57
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And because we wait too long to determine who wins those competitions, we have no chemistry and get off to a terrible losing start every year.
Three seasons with Brad as GM to start the season.

14-15: 15-8-2 by Nov 30
15-16: 8-14-2 by Nov 30
16-17: 11-13-2 by Nov 30

One good start, one bad start, one mediocre/average start.
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Old 08-10-2017, 06:00 PM   #58
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If a prospect can't play well on their own they shouldn't make the team. Making excuses about who they are paired with in training camp doesn't prove anything.
So Wideman didn't drag Brodie down past year? Grossmann didn't drag Hamilton down? Chiasson didn't drag Gaudreau down.

It's a team sport. Korpikoski was arguably the worst player in the entire preseason.. worse than many of the junior prospects. And yet the GM kept him around, almost long enough to sign him.
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Old 08-10-2017, 08:33 PM   #59
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Three seasons with Brad as GM to start the season.

14-15: 15-8-2 by Nov 30
15-16: 8-14-2 by Nov 30
16-17: 11-13-2 by Nov 30

One good start, one bad start, one mediocre/average start.
Just curious how about the records for first like 7-10 games?
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Old 08-10-2017, 08:38 PM   #60
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Three seasons with Brad as GM to start the season.

14-15: 15-8-2 by Nov 30
15-16: 8-14-2 by Nov 30
16-17: 11-13-2 by Nov 30

One good start, one bad start, one mediocre/average start.
25+ games is more than a start though and even at that, 11-13-2 is good enough to be out of the playoffs, so not even average. This team did not come out of the blocks strong last 2 years and last years camp/pre season was particularly ineffective. No excuses ths year.
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