Flames Cut 5 Players, Camp Roster At 59

As the club prepares for a pair of pre-season contests tomorrow, the Calgary Flames has made a handful of roster moves. None of them are particularly astounding.

The team announced that they have assigned 2015 picks Pavel Karnaukhov and Riley Bruce back to their junior teams, so they’re going back to Calgary (WHL) and North Bay (OHL) respectively. They’ve also released Mason Marchment, Tysoni Baillie and Taylor Burke back to their junior clubs.

Karnaukhov looked good in camp and played pretty physical, but with the Hitmen preparing to begin their season, it probably made sense to send him back to the Dub to get accustomed to his new teammates and get ready for a season where he’ll be relied upon a lot more than in the past.

Bruce was decent, but he’s still a project (and barely 18), so giving him a ton of time and attention in North Bay was probably a smart move, as well. He’s physically really tall and thin, and maybe he’ll turn into something when he fills out a bit. There’s plenty of time.

Marchment, Baillie and Burke didn’t really stand out one way or another, and cutting them gets Calgary’s roster numbers down to a more manageable figure.

The Flames have 59 players remaining in camp: 7 goalies, 20 defenders and 32 forwards.