[GDT] 2017 Young Stars Classic: Oilers vs Flames. 5pm MT. calgaryflames.com

[Freddy]

That was disappointing, but it did feel like the balance of play was in Calgary's favour. This was my first game watching Valimaki and I've come away super impressed. As a sucker for physical play, I'll be cheering Healy on while he's with the organization. I'm not confident enough to vouch for his hockey IQ or potential, but I love the 'X factor' of having a player that can rob opposition confidence with fear of getting smoked.
I'm really high on Parsons, but unfortunately he looked very active in his net and only average at stopping the pucks today.

No sweat, it's great to be watching hockey again!

[bax]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

That does not take away from the fact that Huska's teams highly underachieve Imo and this is a trend with him behind the bench. I am not a fan of his coaching ability and really felt like the Heat majorly disappointed last year given the talent they had.

Ummm weren't the heat one of the youngest and most inexperienced teams in the league last year?

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

I hate playing revisionist history woulda, coulda, shoulda.... But that was such an ugly and disappointing 2nd round. MacDonald over the highest ranked goalie in the draft in demkho. Then picking a plug in smith then the ducks nabbed Montour with the very next pick. Argh...

MacDonald was ranked #1 by central scouting

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by bax

Ummm weren't the heat one of the youngest and most inexperienced teams in the league last year?

But dissentowner had huge expectations of that young and inexperienced talent and therefore the coach must suck because said youngsters were inconsistent. His argument is pretty terrible. There's a few Huska haters on this board with extremely weak arguments. The organization seems to think quite a lot of Huska and his work so far.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by bigrangy

Pp awful, Pk awful, breakouts awful, transition awful

Hoping for a better performance in the later games

Foo and Valimaki were better than I thought they'd be. Phillips was good too.

This is not a tournament to judge one team vs another team.

The players are thrown together one day before it starts. There are no practices, no special teams, no structure of any kind. It's a tournament to let the players show what they've got.

Who wins the games is irrelevant (can anyone tell me what the Flames' record was two years ago, without looking it up?).

The only thing that matters in this tourney is seeing some of the prospects that you might not otherwise get a chance to see, and compare them to their peers.

What matters to me is: how did Jankowski, Foo, Parsons and Valimaki look?

Who won? Who cares? 80% of the kids on each one of the teams is never going to get a sniff of the NHL. If some defenseman that I have never heard of (and will never hear of again) gets walked, does it affect the Flames in any way? If another scores a hat-trick, does it matter?

Not to me. But if the key prospects look dominant and NHL ready, well that is something to be interested in.

[Gaudreau is a Ninja]

I will always hate when the Flame lose to any rival, but all that matters is how Janko, Foo, Valimaki, Anderson, Phillips, Dube, EatBread, and Parsons looked and played. For the most part each of our top prospects played very well at times and this early in tourney that is all we can ask for. The defence would have been much better if Kylington and Fox were playing. On a bad note Hunter Smith looks like a lifetime ahl player.

[Ring of Fire]

Team play was messy and it is only one game but here are some observations.

Forwards

88-Mangiapane
Strong skating, created chances, around the puck, held on to the puck a bit too long at times but was trying to make plays. I am interested to see how he does against better defenders at main camp.

77-Jankowski
The best forward on the ice. Very poised and confident. Won face offs, controlled the puck, created chances and has a quick wrister that resulted in a goal and a post. Makes the players around him better.

15-Foo
At 23 he should look good and he did. Strong on the forecheck, blocked shots, offensive chances, great skating and a nice end-to-end rush.

60-Pollock
Looked quicker than I remember. Had some chances with Dube and Phillips early in the game but his play disappeared and moved down the lines.

59-Dube
Continued to drive play and you can see his 2-way ability. He creates chances with his persistence and skating. Not elite level skill or flashy but there is definitely pro potential.

47-Phillips
Used his quickness a few times.had a nice lateral cut across the crease and the goalie made a good save. A few nice passes his teammates didn't expect led to missed opportunities.

89-Dove-McFalls
Didn't stand out.

63-Ruzicka
Big centre had a pretty good game. Showed flashes of why he was ranked higher than where he was drafted. He could use some more speed in his game but seemed to have a good feel for the game.

71-Smith
Not much in the way of hands. Some plays seemed to die around him. Didn't crush anyone. Interesting project but don't see much in the way of progression.

50-Rassell
Involved in the play but not much to show for it.

80-Gawdin
Best of the tryouts. Threw a massive hit in open ice. Won some face offs and looked to be defensively responsible. Maybe an AHL depth signing?

48-Fischer
Very involved physically and in the play in general. Threw a big hit. Moved up the lineup to play with Dube later in the game. Might have a chance to play in Stockton this year.

Defence

42-Valimaki
Consistent, intelligent play from the Finn. His poise would make you think he was a 23 year old in this tournament rather than 18 as he made it look easy. Quietly used his skill to escape 2 or 3 forecheckers at a time with ease on a number of occasions. Crisp passes, smart play on the power play. Rarely, if ever gave the puck away. Scored with a solid wrister. Very impressed. He should get a long look at main camp.

54-Andersson
Some nice offensive plays, some big hits, some penalties. He is clearly head and shoulders above all the other Flames d-men in this game not named Valimaki.

68-Ollas-Mattsson
Raw potential is there. Some nice passes, good reach, long strides but still gets walked around. He still has a long way to progress and I question whether he will develop the ability to play at NHL speed so you can see why he was only given an AHL deal.

43-Doetzel
Fairly steady game, not an NHL speed player as of now, hence the AHL deal.

85-Healey
Very physical, constantly throwing hits all over the ice. Needed very little space to line up his man. A few nice defensive plays down low but not mistake-free. I am interested to see him play with a better d partner.

73-Watson
Didn't do much to stand out positively. A couple bad giveaways. I'd be surprised if he got another game.

Goalies

82-Parsons
Good quickness, tracking of the puck, competitiveness. Got beat top blocker a couple times. Hard to judge on one game where he wasn't all that busy.

[TheIronMaiden]

For what it's worth:

Valimaki and Jankowski were standouts for sure, both were calm collected and controlled the pace. Neither were mistake free, still they were the best for the Flames.

Phillips, Anderson, Mangiapane,Dube and Foo Showed they have some promiss.

Healy and Fischer were dominent physically but put themselves out of position a lot.

The rest have more to prove.

[bigrangy]

Welllll watching this Van-Wpg game, I'll be really surprised if the Flames don't go 0-3

At least the grease will he 1-2

[Dion]

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

But dissentowner had huge expectations of that young and inexperienced talent and therefore the coach must suck because said youngsters were inconsistent. His argument is pretty terrible. There's a few Huska haters on this board with extremely weak arguments. The organization seems to think quite a lot of Huska and his work so far.

Ok, so what was his excuse the year before that? I am sure defenders of Huska can come up with something. You are also arguing that young and inexperienced talent means those players suck? So how does any rookie ever break 20 points then? The Flames had a very young but very talented and skilled group last year and they most certainly should have been better than what their record was. The organization also thinks a lot of Sigalet as well but it does not mean I have to agree with it.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by bigrangy

Welllll watching this Van-Wpg game, I'll be really surprised if the Flames don't go 0-3

At least the grease will he 1-2

Oh for the love of Christ. It was one game, and the first one at that. Back away from the ledge.

[EldrickOnIce]

^ the job of the minor league affiliate is to develop players for the NHL club, imo.
Huska should be evaluated on that more than AHL wins.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

^ the job of the minor league affiliate is to develop players for the NHL club, imo.
Huska should be evaluated on that more than AHL wins.

We're still waiting for the fruits of that development so the jury is out.

[Gaudreau is a Ninja]

Originally Posted by bigrangy

Welllll watching this Van-Wpg game, I'll be really surprised if the Flames don't go 0-3

At least the grease will he 1-2

What in the world are you talking about?!!!!! Even if the Flames do go ofer, our top prospects still will represent well geez buddy

[Gaudreau is a Ninja]

Would all the negative nellys feel better if the Flames got Badly outplayed and won!? Our top prospects played well for the 1st game of the season that's all that matters. The oilers had a good 5 minutes with a bunch of breaks, as long as our top prospects show well and stay healthy that's good enough for me.

[FBI]

It was very fun to watch hockey again.

[FireGilbert]

I caught about half the game, it's great to have hockey back. The Flames were easily the better team but unfortunately lost their composure for a few minutes after that great chance to go up 3-1 was missed and the Oilers scored on a breakaway to tie the game seconds later.

I thought Jankowski was the best player on either team and was also impressed by Foo and Phillips.

[Freeway]

I really liked Glenn Gawdin.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by Freeway

I really liked Glenn Gawdin.

Been impressed with him since July. Think he earns a contract. Can never have enough smart two way forwards in the system.