Friends, the exhibition schedule is over and done with. Opening rosters will be revealed today by the 32 NHL clubs. Hockey games that count in the standings start on Tuesday. The Calgary Flames face the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.

Let’s dive into the mailbag!

Assuming that Jonathan Huberdeau is temporarily unavailable for the first game or two, here’s how I think they’ll roll things out to start.

For forwards:

Farabee – Kadri – Sharangovich
Gridin – Frost – Coronato
Zary – Backlund – Coleman
Lomberg – Pospisil/Kirkland – Klapka

Farabee and Kadri are battlers and Sharangovich has some speed and a good shot, so there’s some complimentary skills on that line. Gridin feels like a Huberdeau placeholder, but he’s looked strong and the Frost/Coronato combo has been effective in exhibition games. Backlund/Coleman are a reliable duo and Zary’s speed and puck-handling compliments them nicely. I’m less sold on the fourth line, but we’ll see if they can find some chemistry. I love the idea of a rough-and-tumble identity group as the fourth line.

On the blueline:

Bahl – Andersson
Hanley – Weegar
Bean/Pachal/Parekh

The top four is status quo. I’m fascinated in how they ease Parekh in. I think they’ll mix and match that third pairing over the next few weeks to provide Parekh with the right partner for his skillset (and for the opponent).

If the Flames are going to be anywhere close to a playoff spot, Dustin Wolf will need to be one of their best players, if not their best one.

But I’m really bullish on the potential for big seasons from players like Morgan Frost, Matt Coronato and MacKenzie Weegar. Weegar, in particular, will be leaned on heavily… especially in the event of a Rasmus Andersson trade. He touches every game situation and if he’s feeling good about his game and performing well, I think the Flames could be all the better for it.

Let’s do a compliment sandwich for young Zayne Parekh!

I think Parekh has looked more and more comfortable on the point of the second power play unit and I think he’ll get more and more confident in that role as he gets more game reps.

I think Parekh has struggled at times with the NHL pace, in that it forces defenders to make quick decisions with the puck. And if you’re not used to making decisions at that speed, sometimes you make mistakes. And Parekh has made some mistakes in the pre-season that he’ll need to learn from.

I think Parekh is smart as heck and I don’t think it’ll be the end of the world if he sits from time to time to watch. Johnny Gaudreau looked fairly ordinary in his first few NHL games in 2014-15 before he watched a game from the press box and realized where all the space was on the ice. When he got back in, he was fantastic. I think Parekh thinks the game at a high level, but maybe some time to process the nuances of the NHL game could be beneficial for him.

I keep going back and forth as to whether or not I’d have Parekh play on Wednesday night. I don’t know if a road game against Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid is the ideal proving ground for a young defender. I’d much rather use him at home and control his deployments before loosening the reins a bit.