Friedman: Flames Interested In College UFA Kyle Baun
By Ryan Pike
9 years agoAnother weekly edition of Elliotte Friedman’s 30 Thoughts column over at the Sportsnet site has, as usual, resulted in some interesting Calgary Flames information.
Per Friedman, the Flames are reportedly looking to dip into the college free agent pool once again.
As of Monday night it was not 100 per cent certain Colgate forward Kyle Baun will forego his senior season to join an NHL roster, although teams would be surprised if he didn’t. He’s still sorting through offers, with a few Canadian clubs (Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Winnipeg) interested. We should have a better idea of his future Tuesday afternoon.
The Flames obviously have some familiarity with Baun, as his teammate is Flames 2013 seventh round pick Tim Harrison. The 22-year-old Baun checks a lot of boxes for the Flames.
- He’s a 1992 birthday (as is recent signee Kenney Morrison), which fills some roster age gaps organizationally.
- He’s a right-handed shot. Right now the only right-handed NHL forwards they have are Josh Jooris, Drew Shore and David Jones. And the only AHL rightees they’ve got under contract are Devin Setoguchi, Brian McGrattan, Bill Arnold and David Wolf. (This is also why I think Taylor Vause has a good shot at an NHL deal.)
Baun’s been an offensive leader for the Colgate Raiders, putting up 79 points in 113 games over three seasons in a conference not known for high-scoring affairs. He’s a big body (6’2″, 210 lbs) and takes more than a few penalties – he averages about a penalty per game – so he may need to reign in his physical play a bit. His grandfather is former NHL great Bobby Baun and he’s from Toronto.
As of now, the scuttlebutt is that Calgary is in talks. But there’s definitely a fit in this organization for a player like Kyle Baun.
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