[News] Flames recall D Rinat Valiev from Stockton

[sureLoss]

Presumably because Hamonic is a no go for tomorrow and that would leave the Flames with 6 d-men only. No word on Hamonic's condition.

https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/flam...?tid=282300716

The Calgary Flames announce today they have recalled defenceman Rinat Valiev from the Stockton Heat of the American Hockey League.

Valiev, a native of Nizhnekamsk, Russia was traded to the Flames on October 1, 2018 from the Montreal Canadiens. The 23-year-old defenceman was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round (68th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft. Valiev has one goal and 11 assists for 12 points in 36 games for the Stockton Heat this season.

[JonDuke]

A Russian on the roster? Fancy that.

[GioforPM]

Russian but also a WHL grad, and fairly big.

[edslunch]

Can anyone comment on his play?

[Cali Panthers Fan]

That was not the recall I was expecting.

Ok, so this means any of the following might be true:
-Hamonic may have tweaked something, but it isn't so bad that he'll be out long term. Valiev is only up in case something happens to a player on game day.
-Valimaki isn't game ready yet. He might need a few more games to get up to NHL level conditioning etc.
-Stone is close to returning, so no need to rush Valimaki back up to the bigs. Conditioning won't be an issue for Stone since he's been skating the entire time.


Other than that, I'm not exactly sure of the reasons here to bring up Valiev.

[TheScorpion]

This actually makes a fair amount of sense to me. I figured they'd probably call up Valiev -- he has NHL experience, he's still only 23, and he's big but a solid puck-mover. Was highly thought-of in Toronto for a little while. I think he makes some sense, especially if Valimaki isn't quite ready yet.

[Flames_18_22_12]

Does anyone know the expansion draft status for valimaki if he is called up after the regular season? Does he already need to be protected? If not, how many more games does he have to play before he needs to be protected in the draft? Do playoff games count towards that limit?

If the team continues to have success, it may be in their best long term interest to keep him in the ahl to avoid having to protect him in the upcoming expansion draft.

Thanks in advance!

[TheScorpion]

Valimaki will need to be protected in 2021: he'll be a third-year pro by then. 22 games as a rookie counts as a pro season. Assuming he plays the next two years, he'll be eligible.

Further: Valiev has been used on the right side at times in Stockton. Primarily plays left.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

That was not the recall I was expecting.

Ok, so this means any of the following might be true:
-Hamonic may have tweaked something, but it isn't so bad that he'll be out long term. Valiev is only up in case something happens to a player on game day.
-Valimaki isn't game ready yet. He might need a few more games to get up to NHL level conditioning etc.
-Stone is close to returning, so no need to rush Valimaki back up to the bigs. Conditioning won't be an issue for Stone since he's been skating the entire time.


Other than that, I'm not exactly sure of the reasons here to bring up Valiev.

To me it seems pretty straightforward - the team does not want Kylington or Valimaki on their off-wing, and would rather play Prout on his strong wing. So there's no point sitting Valimaki in the press box.

[killer_carlson]

why not Healey?

[SeanCharles]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

why not Healey?

It doesn't much matter other than an increased paycheque.

Healey hasn't done much on the farm so Valiev is the more obvious choice.

[Badgers Nose]

Last few years have been great with all the WHL grads and draft picks cracking the lineup. I know nothing about Valiev, but I think it's cool that he is with the Flames even for a couple of games and an insurance policy.

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by SeanCharles

It doesn't much matter other than an increased paycheque.

Healey hasn't done much on the farm so Valiev is the more obvious choice.

Healey hasn't done much except come into prospect camp in the best shape of anyone there.

Small rewards for a guy like that are a good thing. Call up Healey

[cannon7]

Adam Ollas-Mattsson leads the Heat in +/-, surprised he's not the call up.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by cannon7

Adam Ollas-Mattsson leads the Heat in +/-, surprised he's not the call up.

He doesn't have an NHL contract, just on an AHL deal

[bax]

Haven't watched any of the games, but interesting to note that Valimaki has 3 points in 4 games since going down. he will definitely be back up before the season is over I think. Will be tough to get minutes from Kylington or Andersson though.

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by bax

Haven't watched any of the games, but interesting to note that Valimaki has 3 points in 4 games since going down. he will definitely be back up before the season is over I think. Will be tough to get minutes from Kylington or Andersson though.

TBH I'd rather have Jusso down in the farm over sitting in the pressbox. Unless the Flames trade one of Kylington/Andersson for a big player - I just don't see him forcing his way back into the lineup.

[MrMike]

He won’t be sitting in the press box for long up here he is really good. I think some posters forget how good he was before his injury.

[TheScorpion]

On the topic of the thread... I'd like to see Valiev given a game, preferably against the Canucks on the 9th. Just to see what the Flames have in him.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by MrMike

He won’t be sitting in the press box for long up here he is really good. I think some posters forget how good he was before his injury.

He was good, but objectively speaking he was not better than Giordano, Hanifin, or Kylington have been at LD.

If Valimaki can play RD he would be an upgrade on Andersson/Stone/Prout - but that doesn't mean we are going to play him in that role.

So what would happen is that he would either sit in the press box, or play ahead of Kylington who has outplayed him this year.