2014/15 2nd Annual Its the Flamettes thread

[MatthewFlames]

The 2nd Annual Flamettes Prospect happenings thread for your ignore button!

MADE IT TO THE NHL

Alex Stalock technically made it last year but this year he had a chance to take the starting job in camp but it remains to be seen whether he or Niemi start against the Kings tonight.

While in San Jose, the biggest news is that Mirco Mueller has made the Sharks roster. It remains to be seen if he will stick. Had a slow start to camp but came on in the last two exhibition games.

Ryan Murphy scored points in every pre-season game and made the Hurricanes. HF listed him as the 40th best NHL prospect in their new HF Top Prospects list.

Mattias Ekholm looks to have a better 2nd pro season in North America for Nashville.

Josh Leivo had a good camp and despite a late injury is included in the Maple Leafs roster.

DIDN'T MAKE IT TO THE NHL, BUT SHOULD HAVE

Martin Marincin came to camp much bigger than last year and yet he was surprisingly cut by the Oilers. At least he made the HF Top Prospects list, coming in at 44.

Surprisingly Anders Lee was a late cut. He had a great camp, clearly outplaying veterans like Josh Bailey, but was one of the few forwards who didn't have to pass through waivers.

TRADES

Ville Pokka was traded by the Islanders for Nick Leddy. On one hand its encouraging to know that his value is so high. However, its very discouraging knowing his NHL debut got pushed back a decade or three.

NOTES:

Calvin de Haan isn't a prospect for the Flamettes any longer, but he did make the HF Top Prospects list, coming in at 45.

Laurent Dauphin signed his ELC with Arizona.

Click to read more...

 

[Fooladelfia]

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[MatthewFlames]

And Jeff Skinner has a jello- brain again....

PutoBrain

 

[MatthewFlames]

Its been a real mixed bag for the Flamettes prospects of late.

In the NHL:

Mirco Müller has been the highlight and surprise. He's had some great games and some terrible ones but he will be with the Sharks for the season, passing the 9 game mark last week.

Val Nichushkin is one of many Flames prospects who've battled injuries early this season. He was just added back to IR.

On the dissapointment front no other Flames prospects have managed to really stick with their clubs in the NHL. Marancin, Murphy, Lee, and Leivo have all been up and down to the minors. Leivo got his 2nd NHL goal but only played six minutes a game and was sent back down to the Marlies.

John Klingberg, 22, is about to make his NHL debut. He is amongst the AHL scoring leaders, with 12 points in 10 games, despite being a defenseman. He will dress for the Stars against Arizona on Tuesday. Klingberg was acquired with Martin Gernat for Zybanek Michalek.

In the AHL, things are fairing much better.

As mentioned, Klingberg has been superb in his first North American pro season. Dalton Smith is finding new life in his career since his trade to the Lightning organization. He has 6 goals in his first 8 games, as well as 24 PIM's. Ryan Culkin is showing his abilities with the puck in the Q were not a mirage. He has 7 points in his first 8 pro games from the back end. Oscar Dansk has grabbed the starters duties and his play has steadily improved. He's now 4-2-1 for the Springfield Falcons.

In the WHL, Coda Gordon, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Justin Kirkland are all in the top 30 in scoring.

In the Q, Laurent Dauphin has sparkled and was named the leagues Player of the Week. He has 18 points in his first 13 games.

 

[Ohio Jones]

In the WHL, Coda Gordon, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Justin Kirkland are all in the top 30 in scoring.

 

[Fan.At]

there's your angry flamettes mascot

 

[MatthewFlames]

Got your BJ's all fired up... 8-1... the shame....

 

[Ohio Jones]

Was worried I'd used up all my goals in that one, will have to see once I play a team that is not the Sens.

 

[MatthewFlames]

At the WJC:

By far the best WJC performance for the Flamettes in recent memory. Dylan Larkin was clearly the best US player in the tournament, despite getting 3rd line ice time at 5 on 5, and playing with less offensive wingers. Mirco Mueller had a good tournament for Switzerland and its not yet known if he will return to the Sharks or head back to junior. Everett have a contender for the WHL title and Mueller would be a huge benefit to the team. Plus I think he should have been sent back to junior in the first place.

Oliver Bjorkstrand had an outstanding tournament, his line with Eller and Ehlers leading Denmark to their first ever win in the tournament. One of the other pleasant surprises has been Vyacheslav Leschenko for the Russians. He’s the leading goal scorer and tied point getter for the Semi-Finalists even though he’s more known for his feisty aggressive energy play.

In the AHL:

Laurent Broissoit is impressing in the AHL. He is 12-1 in his last 13 games with a current 6 game win streak going. He has a 2.17 GAA and a .928 SV%., with a 12-4 record overall.

Stanislav Galiev is one of two Flames forwards prospects whose lack of development had meant that they were close to being written off as potential NHL players. He and Marek Tvrdon had struggled to stay in the AHL, with Tvrdon getting sent back to junior as an overager last year and then to the ECHL to start this season. Galiev failed to make an impact in the AHL in his last two seasons.

This year its a different story. Galiev bounced back and forth between the AHL and ECHL until mid-November. In December he scored 15 points in 12 games and is suddenly back on the radar. With undeniable skills and great skating, Galiev is still an improving quantity in his own zone and with his smaller size needs to learn to handle the physical aspects of the game better.

Tvrdon dominated at the ECHL level but is scoring at a point per game pace through his 7 games in the AHL. He has a lot of development to do and being in the Detroit system means he will continue to develop for a while.

In the CHL:

Justin Kirkland is one player who might benefit the most from the re-assignment of Leon Draisaitl to the WHL. The big winger has 35 points in 33 games so far in his second WHL season and could enjoy playing on the Germans wing if he does get traded to Kelowna.

In the NHL:

Due mostly to injuries, especially the one to Val Nichushkin, it has been a frustrating year, John Klingberg aside. One recent upside is the recall of Ryan Murphy, who continues to display his wonderful offensive talents in the AHL, but now combined with a growing defensive game. He should get a long run now with Carolina as they have several veterans who are probably trade bait at the deadline. Another upside is the improvement of Mattias Ekholm, now playing with much more consistency and becoming more comfortable with the puck on his stick.

 

[MatthewFlames]

Clendening Traded

The Flames have traded defenseman Adam Clendening for center Mikael Backlund. The Flames are deficient top two centers and hope that Backlund continues his improvement to fill that second line C spot. Berglund and Anisimov have so far failed to live up to those expectations. Backlund, a 10th overall draft pick of the Flames who was traded away for Dion Phaneuf, returns to the Flames.

Clendening was available because of the depth of the Flames prospects. Veterans Phaneuf and Sekera occupy the top pairing, with de Haan and Gardiner in the 2nd pairing. Holden, Wiercioch and Orlov will face challenges from incoming rookies Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Murphy and John Klingberg next season, with Mirco Mueller and perhaps Martin Marincin due to arrive in 2016.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Oliver Bjorkstrand is the WHL player of the week. Brad Ross got himself a 20 game suspension for PED's. Josh Anderson made his NHL debut and has played in Columbus' last three games.

 

[MatthewFlames]

The Flames completed a trade this week - moving defenseman Nick Holden. If Ryan Murphy returns from injury and the Oilers keep Martin Marincin up in the NHL for the rest of the season, with the forced signings of prospects, the Flames will have 12 NHL defenseman (a defenseman came back in the deal.) And that doesn't include the recently traded Holden. I expect to trade a couple more defenseman by the deadline or in the summer - looking primarily for forwards and goalies as defensive depth won't be a problem for the new few years.

The trade with the Ducks looked like this:

To Calgary: Deryk Engelland, Vaclav Karabacek, 2017 ANA 7
To Anaheim: Nick Holden, 2015 CGY 5, 2016 CGY 4, $196,700

Vaclav Karabacek was the main piece as far as the Flames were concerned. A 2nd round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres, Karabacek was a player we liked despite his limited offensive upside. He's a straight ahead player who lacks a little size but makes up for with his grit and determination.

Engelland is now on the trade block if anyone needs a depth defenseman.

NOTES: John Klingberg was named NHL rookie of the month for January. Oliver Bjorkstrand was the CHL player of the week. Bjorkstrand scored 30 points in 12 games in January. Jimmy Vesey had his 21 game point streak for Harvard broken. He won Harvards 'Athlete of the Winter' award.

 

[MatthewFlames]

The Flames made just one deadline deal this year. The Flames moved pending UFA Tyler Kennedy who they were not going to re-sign. In come two defenseman, both in the NCAA's, and a 6th round pick in 2016.

Patrick Koudys is a good sized defenseman with some grit who has improved but may lack the skating and puck moving skills at the next level. Koudys is a senior who was asked to go pro by the Capitals last season but chose to go back to school.

Brian Cooper is the exact opposite. The once much heralded puck mover didn't grow. He was drafted 5th overall in the USHL, a spot ahead of Jordan Schmaltz, who was drafted 25th overall in the NHL. Other defenseman drafted after Cooper include Connor Murphy, Xavier Oullette, and Jake McCabe, all NHL defenseman. Cooper however has proven to be a two-way player in his college career but will have to overcome his 5'11" height. Cooper is a junior and an Anaheim Ducks prospect.

News & Notes

Anders Lee was the NHL Rookie of the Month for February with 15 points after moving to the top line with John Tavares. He is the 2nd consecutive rookie of the month winner for the Flames after John Klingberg won in January. In his first 82 games in the NHL, Lee has a stat line of 30G - 19 A - 49 pts.

Oliver Bjorkstrand is the WHL player of the month for the 2nd consecutive month. He scored at least one goal in all 9 games, with 13G-8A-21pts in those 9 games. He is now second in scoring in the WHL with 91 points in 49 games, trailing Trevor Cox by 6 points despite 11 fewer games.

Oscar Dansk and Taylor Aronson both saw their first NHL call-ups despite not seeing any action for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators respectively.

Despite deadline trade rumors surrounding a multitude of players, only Andrej Sekera was traded. One of those not moved was Zack Kassian who recently recovered from being a health scratch to score 10 points in 10 games.

Long term injuries continue to plague baby Flamettes. Dmitry Orlov and Val Nichushkin are confirmed out for the season in the NHL, while Radek Faska had shoulder surgery that curtails his first pro season.

 

[Canuck09]

One of those not moved was Zack Kassian who recently recovered from being a health scratch to score 10 points in 10 games.

He may have recovered from being a healthy scratch (for now) but he'll never recover from being a goofy looking dude.

 

[MatthewFlames]

He may have recovered from being a healthy scratch (for now) but he'll never recover from being a goofy looking dude.

Handsome

 

[MatthewFlames]

Tonight Jimmy Vesey will find out if he has won the Hobey Baker Award. The Harvard star turned down a chance to play in the NHL for another year, and will return to the Ivy League school for his senior year. Meanwhile, he will join Dylan Larkin playing for the US World Championship team.

Michael Parks team almost pulled off a comeback last night against Boston U. in the Frozen Four but lost 5-3, ending Parks' NCAA career. The senior, a 5th round draft pick of the Flyers, will now go pro. Junior Brian Cooper also saw his upstart Omaha-Nebraska team also lose in the final 4 and will return for his senior season.

The Russians are back! Val Nichushkin and Dmirti Orlov both returned from long term injuries while Stanislav Galiev made his NHL debut for the Washington Capitals.

Goaltender Laurent Broissoit made his NHL debut for the Edmonton Oilers, making several athletic saves, and 49 saves overall, against the San Jose Sharks.

Oliver Bjorkstrand finished 1st in the WHL in scoring and led his Portland Winterhawks to a come from behind win against Seattle in the first round of the WHL playoffs.

Ville Pokka was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team, while Bobby Sanguinetti was named the AHL 2nd All Star Team.

 

[MatthewFlames]

It was a bright end to the season for Flames prospects, despite disappointment for most individual prospects. Oliver Bjorkstrand and his Portland squad lost the WHL final, Jimmy Vesey didn't win the Hobey Baker and Dylan Larkin's pro debut in the AHL was an individual success but team failure. All three did have the honor of representing their countries at the World Championships.

While a new era of prospects rise to the forefront, one of the old guard, Devin Setoguchi has been bought out by the newly rich Flames. "It's with great disappointment that we release Devin. He was part of the success of turning around this team, it just a shame that he won't be hear for the next rise. The Flames have issues with roster numbers and with the focus on developing prospects, and the flux of incoming rookies, there just wasn't space anymore" said the GM.

With the draft fast approaching the GM was coy on who his selection would be. "It won't be a Russian, unless it is, and it won't be a defenseman, unless we have to...."