Joni Ortio Out 6-8 Weeks

Amidst the assignment of Sam Bennett to the OHL, Flames general manager Brad Treliving dropped another big announcement at his media availability today.

Goaltender Joni Ortio, the starting netminder in Adirondack and the undisputed #3 man in the pecking order, is out 6-8 weeks with what Treliving described as a high ankle sprain. Per Treliving, the injury occurred in the first period of Adirondack’s 4-3 overtime loss against the Oklahoma City Barons last night in OKC.

The injury really muddies the waters for the Flames in terms of what to do with Karri Ramo. A Hiller and Ortio tandem would be quite tempting down the stretch, but for the next 6-8 weeks the duo in Adirondack will be journeyman Brad Thiessen and the untested Doug Carr, recalled this morning from the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles.

With a healthy Ortio, the options seemed pretty clear. Without him, things are all up in the air.

Ortio went 4-1-0 with a 1.98 goals against average and .931 save percentage in five games in Calgary as a replacement for the injured Karri Ramo. He’s gone 20-12-1 with a 2.64 goals against average and .914 save percentage in 35 games with the Baby Flames this season.

As for the remaining healthy AHL goalies? Thiessen is 5-7-4 with a 2.72 goals against average and .913 save percentage in 17 games with Adirondack. Carr is 0-1-0 with a 2.30 goals against average and .925 save percentage in 2 appearances in the AHL, and 10-10-0 with a 2.65 goals against average and .888 save percentage in 22 games with the Colorado Eagles.

Carr’s on an AHL contract and has been thought of as a shrewd potential signing by some – Elliotte Friedman noted he could be a prospect to keep an eye on – but right now, if Ramo’s shipped out for picks or anything that’s not a goaltender, the back-up in Calgary by default becomes Brad Thiessen. He’s good, but he’s not an NHL goaltender.