Predict unsung hero on your team.

[Stive Morgan]

Mike Reilly

 

[izzy]

It's closer than most would think, but I wouldn't quite say he's caught up to Parayko. He does have great chemistry with Pie though and I agree with your pick.

yeah i think this year will be important for this situation

parayko has been kinda stuck the last couple seasons but eddy has been trending up like crazy.

 

[Fig]

Michael Frolik has been this guy for the Flames. He’s just as good defensively as Backlund, but nobody ever talks about him. He’s about as consistent as they come.

Lindholm could be the guy this year. Doing all the dirty work for the top line while Monahan and Gaudreau rack up points.

Someone mentioned Giordano, and I feel like he’s a bit too “on the radar” for a thread like this. Flames fans all know how good he is. Advanced stats fanatics all know how good he is. Maybe he could generate some more praise but he’s certainly not “unsung”.

That was me, and I see your point.

From the outside, Gio perhaps isn't unsung. But most of the media and things (especially lately) I have read never really talk about Gio. Possibly it's because it's just a straight up forgone conclusion that he will chug along just fine as a pillar of that roster in a neither amazing nor horrible way.

Most of what I read talks about the success based on:
- What's going on with the goalie situation? Will it succeed or collapse?
- How will Peters fit?
- Will Brodie get back to what he was 2-3 seasons ago to reduce the pain of losing Hamilton?
- How will Hanifin/Lindholm/Neal/Czarnik/Dube/Valimaki fit in?
- Andersson/Stone/Valimaki/Kulak combos on bottom pairing?

And not really much for Gio. It was the same in the prior year. Many are aware of Gio, yes. But all the heroes and villains on the team rarely include Gio. Or even if he's included, he's included in an almost supporting cast way. That's what I meant, and that's why I said he's not unsung, but the singing of his praises is about as harmonious as a group singing happy birthday out of tune. I am fine if the consensus is that he doesn't belong in this thread though.


I do agree with a few other Flames posters that Hamonic and Frolik are the ones that don't get the credit they deserve the most.

 

[Devil Dancer]

If my previous picks were too sung (as opposed to unsung), I'll go with Phoenix Copley. The Caps learned last year that a rested Holtby is a good playoff Holtby, so they'll need Copley to carry a big load down the stretch if they want to make noise in the playoffs again.

 

[Mobiandi]

Hamonic, like last year

 

[AveryStar4Eva]

Think it’ll be Faksa and Comeau for the Stars. Buried in the defencive zone and still putting up ~35 points with no powerplay time and being the first penalty kill unit. Faksa is loved here, but the Comeau signing wasn’t overly popular

 

[bukwas]

I feel Fabbri will at least somewhat return to old form and play a great two way game that gets overlooked.

Hard not to hope for good things for Fabbri.

 

[klozge]

Avs: Compher, Kamenev, Timmins (if he even plays in the NHL this season)
Edit: Probably Soderberg as well.