[News] With the 53rd OA pick the Flames select D Rasmus Andersson

[TheSquatch]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Andersson has been passing my eye test with flying colours for a while now. He's got his head up and beating like a 3 man press with a great pass to the middle to breakout.

He holds pucks in and finds guys for passes. He's starting to shoot more - the PP time will be huge. Defensively, he's been very good too, detailed and just competing hard.

So many good little plays all over the place.

Yep. Really impressed. Holds the line really well, good skater, smart player. I'm totally sold on the guy. Oh and a pretty big shot too which is a nice touch.

[GioforPM]

Based on reports I was expecting him to be a lot slower than he is. He doesn't get beaten due to speed very often.

[Strange Brew]

^ I think awareness and anticipation are more important for a defender than actual speed. Actual footraces are rare.

If Andersson is slow, it doesn’t manifest very often from what I have seen.

[Sandman]

He's also quite salty, which I didn't expect-doesn't back down in a scrum, likes to give out some facewashes, etc. We haven't seen anything close to his ceiling IMO.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

^ I think awareness and anticipation are more important for a defender than actual speed. Actual footraces are rare.

If Andersson is slow, it doesn’t manifest very often from what I have seen.

True. A defenseman being a little slow isn't a huge issue if they don't put themselves out of position.

[Anduril]

Other aspects to skating beyond speed and acceleration. Turning/pivot speed, footwork and general reaction time are all significant factors to whether a guy will be slow on the play or not.

[Calgary4LIfe]

He has been a LOT better than I gave him credit for. Going into his draft year, there was a list or two that had him in the top 10 (I think 8th) with Kylington in 2nd or 3rd, IIRC. After seeing a few camps with him, I felt he was a bit of a long-shot at becoming a top 4 defencemen, but was hoping he would get it together and eventually become an every day bottom pairing guy.


Yep, he has been proving me wrong this season. He has been stellar for the most part, with only relatively minor hiccups all season. He doesn't make me worry when he is out there (actually, none of the D this year make me worry when they are out there, including Valimaki and Kylington, and even Prout doing spot-duty has been fine).

[Moneyhands23]

Man I hope they sign him to a 6 year 3.5/4 mil contract! Guy is sweet!

[Husky]

If andersson had better acceleration and overall speed he could be a top 25 D with potential.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Husky

If andersson had better acceleration and overall speed he could be a top 25 D with potential.

As it is, he appears to be a guy who has a future in the Top 4, which everything considered, is absolutely fantastic.

[Jore]

His ability to pick out and make the right pass in transition is already tops on the team (maybe next to Gio). Got a good repertoire of escape moves and deception against the forecheck that also reminds me of a young Gio. It's glorious to watch him sense the lanes open up and drive hard through the neutral zone for clean zone entries. Rarely see him make a mistake with the puck on his stick.

He still struggles, understandable given that he's a rookie, to contain big/skilled forwards and interrupt the cycle to get the puck out quickly, but I have full confidence that he will get there. He's already improved a bunch to my eye in his defensive positioning and 1 on 1 defense. He's just scratching the surface of his potential.

It sure is nice to have four 22 and under young defenders excelling in the league and getting better everyday instead of watching the likes of Bartkowski (infinite puking), Grossmann, Wideman, and Jokkipakka fail to execute the simplest hockey plays and bleed goals and shots against and get crushed every time they step on the ice. Still can't believe Bartkowski played 42 games for us when we were supposed to be competing for the playoffs, and also played 4 playoff games where his pairing with Engelland almost single handedly sunk us. Thanks Gulutzan

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Jore

His ability to pick out and make the right pass in transition is already tops on the team (maybe next to Gio). Got a good repertoire of escape moves and deception against the forecheck that also reminds me of a young Gio. It's glorious to watch him sense the lanes open up and drive hard through the neutral zone for clean zone entries. Rarely see him make a mistake with the puck on his stick.

I still think this is Hamonic. Watch him - how often does he flub a pass out of the zone? Not very often.

If Andersson can be Hamonic with a better shot, I'm pretty pleased.

[Jore]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I still think this is Hamonic. Watch him - how often does he flub a pass out of the zone? Not very often.

If Andersson can be Hamonic with a better shot, I'm pretty pleased.

Hamonic is excellent at getting the puck out reliably, that's true, but Andersson is better at getting the puck to players in dangerous positions on the breakout or on the reset in the neutral zone. I trust him to catch a player in stride in these situations a little more than Hamonic

[Bunk]

He’s a gamer. Not exceptional at any particular skill, but just smart and effective.

[cannon7]

He's actually progressed more slowly than I anticipated and Kylington is ahead of schedule. But both are going to force the Flames to make some tough decisions on the blueline. Very pleased with both.

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by cannon7

He's actually progressed more slowly than I anticipated and Kylington is ahead of schedule. But both are going to force the Flames to make some tough decisions on the blueline. Very pleased with both.

I really wonder what they do with Kylington. He's quite good and seems to have a high ceiling, but also we have Gio, Hanifin and Valimaki up the left side.

I wonder if Oliver moves to the right side, and we move out one of Hamonic or Brodie in the off-season?? No issues having Valimaki or Kylington finish out the year in Stockton this year, but would seem pointless next season, as both seem ready for full-time NHL responsibilities.

High class problems, I guess.

[JackIsBack]

I love our defense - years past, there was always that uneasy feeling when Gio or Brodie weren't out there... or when Gio was in the penalty box - an almost certainty that we give up a goal. But now... I really don't worry who is out there.



Over that last several years, our defense has always looked good on paper - now, they just are good.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Sandman

He's also quite salty, which I didn't expect-doesn't back down in a scrum, likes to give out some facewashes, etc. We haven't seen anything close to his ceiling IMO.

That is my favorite part of his game. I think he chirps a lot and backs up his team mates

[Boreal]

On CHED, Stauffer was a little peeved that after the game Saturday Rasmus yelled down the hallway at the Oilers... to quote Bob...

“You ___ing suck.”

“You’re ___ing losers.”

Hahahah.... hahahaha!!

Love it.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by nobles_point

On CHED, Stauffer was a little peeved that after the game Saturday Rasmus yelled down the hallway at the Oilers... to quote Bob...

“You ___ing suck.”

“You’re ___ing losers.”

Hahahah.... hahahaha!!

Love it.