FlamesNation Fan Ask – August 16, 2013

 

It’s no secret that things are slow in the NHL world – that August kind of slow. Most sports fans in Calgary have turned their attention to the thriving Stampeders and any Flames talk was placed in storage for the summer. Anyway, I thought I’d do a little Q&A to mix things up so I asked fans on Twitter and Facebook to send in questions for me to answer and I’ve narrowed it down to 10.

First and foremost I think is Lance Bouma. Brent Sutter loved him and many believed he was a near lock to make the team out of camp last year. Unfirtunately he broke his leg in Heat training camp and was lost for the year. I imagine he’ll come into camp hungry and with the youth winds sweeping through Calgary, will be given every opportunity to succeed. Mr. McGrattan, Mr. Jackman, I hope you like pressbox popcorn.

You can also mention Carter Bancks in the same breath as Lance Bouma when listing contenders for the 4th line. Management absolutely loves Carters’ work ethic and drive, with Jay Feaster recently saying he "wishes every player in the organization trained as hard as Bancks" in an interview withnthe Fan. I’ve seen Bancks play a couple of times and every time I come away with the same impression: the kid can shoot the puck. Which is always nice for a 4th line guy. A good camp would go a long way towards possibly uprooting face breakers McGrattan or Jackman from one of the 4th line positions.

Guys like Cundari, Horak or Reinhart wouldn’t be massive surprises to make the opening day roster so I decided to go with Chris Breen as the final dark horse candidate. He’s played good hockey in the AHL for the past few years and many have speculated he’s NHL ready now. We’ll have to see how he can handle the speed of the big leagues as the big guy isn’t known for speed.

David asks: Which Flames do you see playing in the Olympics in Sochi next year?



Karri Ramo – provided he establishes himself as an NHL starter – has a shot at going to Sochi. Remember a team can take three goalies, so him being the third string guy isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Jiri Hudler will be there for the Czech’s, maybe even playing with former Flames mega star Roman Cervenka! You could make a case for Mikael Backlund I suppose as a 3rd or 4th line guy for Sweden but other than that, I don’t see any other guys at this point who have legitimate shots at making their respective countries squads. Welcome to the rebuild.

I think the "finishing the year" part of the question is most interesting. Karri Ramo is in my mind the undisputed starter and will take Kiprusoff’s spot in the crease when the first anthem of the Flames season is sung, but I’m not so sure that he finishes the year as the incumbent. If he can’t handle NHL, there’s always Joey MacDonald, Reto Berra or even one of the young bloods, Joni Ortio or Laurent Brossoit, there to take over the rubber stopping duties. So basically, Ramo in game 1, fill in the blank in game 82.

Eric asks: How would you rank Calgary‘s prospect system?

I’m right in line with Corey Pronman’s analysis of Calgary being a Top 10 system in the league. The top end is good, the depth is spectacular and unlike past years, it actually has variety. Not just grinders or silky snipers, it’s a mix of everything which I think is important depth to have. However, say Baertschi, Monahan, Knight and Cundari all graduate this season, the Flames system drops considerably. Maybe even past the league average and into the 20’s. Not to worry though, the 2014 Draft will no doubt resupply it with top talent. Do I hear top 3 pick?

All of the above? Seriously though I’d go with the big defenseman, Ekblad. In my eyes all three are at the same level and this upcoming season will go a long way in setting them apart when the final 2014 draft rankings come rolling out. Ekblad would fill a giant hole on defence for the Flames and although at this point I think Nylander has a slightly higher ceiling, Calgary can’t make the same mistake the Oilers did and beef up the forward ranks while leaving their defence in shambles. It’s like when working out, you skip leg day and end up with a killer upper body but havechicken legs. Only half of you will look good and that’s what the Oilers look like right now. Since the skill/potential gap isn’t big, Flames go for need with Ekblad.

Unless they somehow make the playoffs by way of a miracle, I pray it’s a bottom three position. They desperately need a Top 3 pick in next year’s draft and by looks of it right now, the roster is in good shape to provide just that.

Mark Giordano has all the intangibles and tools to fill that massive void left by Jarome Iginla. Will he have the same impact as Captain as Jarome did? Probably not. But I think he’s the closest thing to a bonafide leader that the Flames have right now. I’d be more in favour of leaving the captaincy vacant next year though.

Well unfortunately I recently broke my crystal ball but if I were to guess, I’d say something around 50 points. It’s a pretty tall order for a sophomore (technically a rookie because of games played) on a crap team but I think a combination of skill and opportunity will make the 50 point plateau a reachable one for Baertschi. I wouldn’t be crushed if he doesn’t reach it but it’d definitely be nice to see.

Short Answer: Yes. Excluding Karri Ramo and Reto Berra because they’re established pros, the Flames goaltending depth looks very good. I’d go as far as saying if the stars align, all 3 of Laurent Brossoit, Joni Ortio and Jon Gillies could be stopping NHL puck as starters.

At this point Gillies the most likely of the group to realize that potential as he’s the youngest and has already played excellent hockey at the NCAA level, but the other two have shots as well. The key I think is they all have the tools and have shown flashes of brilliance and it now comes down to properly developing and cultivating them so that they can translate all that to consistent, high level goaltending. Easier said then done but the potential is there.

Backstreet Boys – Quit Playing Games With My Heart or Enrique Iglesias’ Finally Found You are my nominations.