2015 Development Camp Preview
By Ryan Pike
8 years agoHockey fans, your first chance to set eyes on the Calgary Flames prospects in 2015 is almost upon you!
The 2015 edition of Flames development camp kicks off Monday with fitness testing and Tuesday on the ice. Here’s a rundown of what’s happening when, who is here, and who isn’t.
THE SCHEDULE
| Monday | Fitness Testing (8am-3pm) |
| Tuesday | Skill Development Groups A & B (10:30am) Groups C & D (12:15pm) |
| Wednesday | Skill Development Groups A & B (11:30am) Groups C & D (1:15pm) |
| Thursday | Scrimmage (9:30am) |
| Friday | Skill Development Groups A & B (9am) Groups C & D (10:15am) |
Everything takes place at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Winsport. The Flames have the Joan Snyder rink booked all week, which is otherwise known as Rink B, the one closest to the front of the complex if you park where most of the parking is by the Canada Sports Hall of Fame.
Particularly for Thursday: there is limited seating by the Snyder rink, so show up early if you want a good spot.
THE ROSTER
There are 42 players in camp. The notables?
- First round picks: Sam Bennett, Mark Jankowski, Morgan Klimchuk & Emile Poirier
- Second round picks: Mason McDonald, Rasmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington, Patrick Sieloff & Hunter Smith
All five of Calgary’s 2015 draft picks are here, as is Jakub Nakadal (who is attending to get familiar with the organization).
Notably absent among those eligible to participate: 2011 picks Tyler Wotherspoon and Markus Granlund, as well as 2013 pick Tim Harrison. I would wager that since Wotherspoon and Granlund have been to a bunch of these things now, the organization felt they wouldn’t really benefit from another run-through. And Harrison? Maybe he’s in a similar situation as Matt Deblouw was in last year; Deblouw stayed at school to refocus on the next season. That approach worked, and Deblouw had a much better year and is back at this year’s camp. Rushan Rafikov is also not here, but that was expected.
THE TRY-OUT GROUP
There are a bunch of players – 17 by my count – who aren’t Flames property and are attending the camp as invites. Here’s the nitty-gritty on ’em.
- G Adam Clark: An AJHL and BCHL graduate from Sherwood Park currently playing at University of New Hampshire. Numbers weren’t great (.893 save percentage). 1993 birthday.
- G Rylan Toth: Red Deer Rebels goalie, became the team’s starter in his first season in the WHL last year. All things considered, his numbers were pretty decent. Could be a late-bloomer. 1996 birthday, he has to go through the draft one more time before he’s a free agent.
- D Chris Dienes: A teammate of Kenney Morrison’s at Western Michigan. He’s got decent size and okay numbers, but seems like a depth addition. 1993 birthday.
- D Scott Dornbrock: Miami (of Ohio) University defender. He’s big, but doesn’t produce much offense. 1993 birthday.
- D Carter Foguth: Minnesota State University defender. He’s big, but doesn’t score much. He’s slated to be the captain of his team next year. Previously captained his USHL team before heading to college. 1992 birthday.
- D Jason Fram: Spokane Chiefs captain. He’s got size. He’s right-handed. He’s put up really good numbers for a defender in the WHL. And he went through the draft unclaimed once again, so he’s eligible to be signed by the Flames as a free agent. 1995 birthday.
- D Jonathan Jutzi: Another Minnesota State defender who doesn’t score very much. 1991 birthday.
- D Phillipe Myers: Big blueliner from the QMJHL team in Rouyn-Noranda. Offensive numbers really tiny, but he’s big and young, so he may develop that a bit. 1997 birthday.
- C Tyson Baillie: Kelowna Rockets star. Scored at nearly a point-per-game in the WHL over the past couple seasons, but unclaimed in the past two drafts. He’s not physically large, and seemingly consistency has been an issue as he goes cold from time to time. Still, easily most interesting of the forward invitees. Late 1995 birthday, so he has to go through the draft one more time before he can be signed.
- RW Brandon Hawkins: Bowling Green forward. He’s not huge (“only” 5’11”) but put up good numbers as a rookie. Had 30 points in 39 games and was named to his conference’s all-rookie team. 1994 birthday.
- LW Ryan Lomberg: Headed to Miami (of Ohio) University next year. He’s an odd one: he played in Muskegon of the USHL as a 17-year-old, went to the University of Maine at 18 and 19, then went back to the USHL to play at Youngstown as a 20-year-old. Had good numbers in the USHL, but he was also 20. 1994 birthday.
- LW Mason Marchment: Bryan Marchment’s son. Big (6’3″, 195). Jumped to OHL as a 20-year-old and had decent numbers (26 points in 54 games). Probably headed back to the OHL as an overager. Maybe he’s a late-bloomer? 1995 birthday.
- C Josh Pitt: Another Kenney Morrison teammate from Western Michigan. He’s big, but has so-so offensive numbers. 1992 birthday.
- LW Julien Proulx: Big kid from the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres. Very little offense, many penalties. 1996 birthday.
- C Tomas Soustal: A Czech import playing with the Kelowna Rockets. He’s got good size, is a right shot, and had okay numbers offensively. Interestingly, he played in both the Ivan Hlinka Tournament and the Memorial Cup in the same season, and lost in the championship game in both tournaments. 1997 birthday.
- C Sam Studnicka:
Teammate of Andrew Mangiapane’sfrom Ottawa. Fairly big guy with okay-ish offensive numbers. 1995 birthday. - LW Matt Wilkins: Josh Jooris’ teammate from Union College from a few years back and a former Brooks Bandit. AJHL champion in 2012 and NCAA champion in 2014. 1991 birthday.
Anybody worth looking at?
I’d be shocked if the purpose of Jason Fram’s inclusion wasn’t one last look before a potential contract offer. Fram was at last year’s development and rookie camps, but couldn’t be signed. Now that he’s a free agent, there’s no barriers left for the two sides to sign something. I’d also keep an eye on Toth, Marchment and Soustal over the camp to see if they show anything.
Beyond Fram, though, nobody here really seems to fit the bill for what Calgary doesn’t already have in their system.
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