With the drop of a puck at the Saddledome on Wednesday morning, summer in Calgary was officially over, and a new hockey season had begun.
For many, August is the longest month on the calendar regardless of weather or cabin destination.
With September comes the long awaited look at a rebuilt Flames club, and the first answers to some off season questions surrounding the team and how it will fare in 2009-10.
However, don’t look for any roster spot intrique this fall.
Unlike years past there are no real camp battles for rookies pushing to make the big team. With 23 players on one way contracts, and another (Anton Stralman) with waiver issues the only way to cram a freshman into this roster is through a trade, or successful waiver wire maneuvering.
Having said that, there just isn’t any fun in calling the roster set so we’ll take a good poke at it anyway.
Goaltenders:
Very little doubt at this position with a clear cut incumbent in Miikka Kiprusoff returning for the second campaign in his long term deal.
The Flames are hoping better goalie management when it comes to workload, and a more responsible defensive system in place that #34 will return to his previous glory and not just gaudy win totals.
Backing Kiprusoff up, Calgarian Curtis McElhinney, armed with a two year one way contract. Personally it took me two years to get his name right without looking it up so I’m happy to see him back. He got that monkey off his back in disposing of the Oilers late in the season, and will hopefully bring more of his reported practice skill-set to games that really matter. The organization appears to be high on him despite his questionable results in two NHL seasons, and he has the age advantage over a group of younger goaltenders coming up.
If you’re really pining for a good goalie controversy, perhaps number one pick Leland Irving will put on a camp show so strong that Sutter is forced to make a move … but don’t count on it.
On the farm with Kevin Leland dispatched, it should be Irving backed up by Matt Keetley, but don’t write the former WHL Tiger off in reclaiming the number one spot. His 2008-09 season was awful but he’s shown he has the chops and could easily bounce back.
Recent pick Joni Ortio may come over and join the WHL Broncos or stay in his native Finland and perhaps get a look at the World Junior Championships this holiday season. Former Hitman stopper Daniel Spence is also in camp on a try out basis.
Calgarypuck Picks – Kiprusoff is the man in the pipes and McElhinney takes the backup spot and actually wins a few games this season. Down on the farm is where the peeked interest lies with both Keetley and Irving battling for the number one spot on a very successful first season in Abbotsford.
Defensemen:
The most interesting position to watch at this year’s camp is on the blueline, as the revamped group is rich with interesting story lines.
On the weekend Calgarians will get their first look at Jay Bouwmeester in Flame’s silks, the league’s biggest free agent prize this summer. Who will Bouwmeester be paired with as Brent Sutter takes his group from zero to sixty as fast as he can for preseason action beginning on September 15th (just five days from today)?
How about Robyn Regehr and the knee injury that kept him out of the playoffs last season, a good part of the reason the Flames were tripped up by the Hawks. There certainly haven’t been any whispers of concern, but a key player with a key injury is always something to keep tabs on.
Dion Phaneuf was a mess at the end of last season due to multiple injuries, and a season of up and down play and off ice distraction. It will be interesting to see what version of the talented young defender shows at camp under his former junior coach.
How about Mark Giordano and his rebuilt shoulder? Is he ready to go? He looks to be in for a pretty good fight at camp and will need to be at full speed heading in.
And speaking of Mark Giordano he is part of a bottom roster group in a pretty interesting battle for the 5th through 8th positions in the organization.
Bouwmeester, Regehr, Phaneuf and Cory Sarich are more than safe, and using camp to find new pairings and their mid season form, but the rest of the group is very much up in the air.
Giordano joins other returnee Adam Pardy, Leaf pick up Anton Stralman and Niklas Kronwall’s brother Staffon as a group of players with NHL experience. Toss in up and coming prospects Matt Pelech and John Negrin and you have an interesting battle.
Further down the list is another group of good prospects that aren’t likely looking to challenge this fall including: Keith Aulie and TJ Brodie.
Calgarypuck Picks – Brent Sutter builds a spooky shut down duo by pairing Regehr with Bouwmeester to start the season. Dion Phaneuf plays with Adam Pardy to start, and the final pairing is made up of Sarich and Anton Stralman. Mark Giordano is packaged in a trade in a move to avoid exposing Stralman or Pardy on waivers. Kronwall is retained as the #7 defender despite a great camp by Matt Pelech. Pelech is in Calgary by the trade deadline.
Forwards:
Most hockey analysts had the Flames getting out from under some expiring contracts and then using the dough to add to the mix up front. Mike Cammalleri and Todd Bertuzzi were on the way out the door, so it seemed only natural that a scorer or two would be the prime target when the Canada Day gun fired.
To be honest, I wasn’t far behind them, though I question the consensus math this summer just as I questioned the consensus math last summer when writers saw a team minus Huselius and Tanguay and adding only Cammalleri.
The Flames added Olli Jokinen at the trade deadline, so a full season starting at camp essentially makes the big Fin the Cammalleri replacement. Bertuzzi and his 14 goals shouldn’t be that hard to replace.
Success on the ice from this group is going to come from the Herculean move towards defense first hockey in their own zone and cutting down goals against. Losing a few spots against the 7th overall scoring club of last season would be just fine if much greater gains are made against the 23rd rank for defensive clubs.
So how does this forward group shape up?
Gone from that nasty opening night 6-0 setback 13 months ago are Bertuzzi, Cammalleri, Wayne Primeau, Andre Roy, and Matthew Lombardi.
Replacing this group is Jokinen, Nigel Dawes, Freddy Sjostrom, Brian McGrattan, and a host of additional pieces that aren’t likely to factor into an opening night roster.
At first blush the Flames are a group somewhat shy on top six forwards with only Jarome Iginla, Jokinen and Daymond Langkow confirmed as year to year performers. The strength of the club lies in the depth of next wave, top nine, players that should fill out the mix in the top three lines.
Rene Bourque and David Moss both scored 20 goals last year, and hope to repeat. Will they? I’m guessing no, but there are other players that seemed primed to pick up the slack. Players of this ilk would include Nigel Dawes, Dustin Boyd, Curtis Glencross and perhaps rookie Mikael Backlund should he make the club.
The trickle down effect from these players builds a solid third line, and perhaps a somewhat productive fourth line if the presence of McGrattan doesn’t gum up the offensive flow.
Fred Sjostrom looks capable of scoring 10 goals, and perhaps Eric Nystrom is ready to make a push into the double digit category. Will Craig Conroy finally lose a step or be equally as productive this season with less time in the top six and more time in a more suited position of third line center?
There appears to be 11 every day forwards with one of Brandon Prust or McGrattan in the lineup and the other munching popcorn. If Backlund makes the team they will have to expose a player to waivers or make a move to alleviate some one way contract depth.
Players like Jamie Lundmark and Jason Jaffray look good in camp but just can’t find the opportunity to stick in a veteran laded lineup. Colin Stuart, the pesky forward that came over from Toronto with Stralman is on a one way contract but looks in tough to secure a spot.
Calgarypuck Picks – The Manitoba connection gets the most ink in the preseason schedule with Dustin Boyd and Nigel Dawes both doing well in top six roles for the club. Mikael Backlund is a different player from last year and creates some humming and hawing in the decision group before finally being dispatched to the Canuck’s backyard. A hot start to his AHL career has him back in Calgary by mid November. A line of Glencross, Conroy and Sjostrom has people talking in camp and Nystrom looks to be a third line player without a third line spot. That Giordano trade mentioned above could see Dustin Boyd as a partner in the exodus.
