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First off I’d like to apologize to my readers for not having anything prepared over the weekend. For personal reasons I was unable to post and have combined my last two blogs together for you this morning. Enjoy!
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The Calgary Flames had an interesting weekend, beating the Pheonix Coyotes at home 3-2 in overtime and then the Oilers 4-1 in Edmonton shortly after.
It’s somewhat of a mixed bag of emotions for fans after the weekend as they don’t necessarily want to win games these days, but beating the Oilers is always nice. Additionally, not only did the Flames’ younger players put up points, they increased their ice time and showed a lot of promise for next season. Against Edmonton, Calgary’s youth stepped up as Baertschi and Reinhart scored and T.J. Brodie played a solid defensive game. They also called Akim Aliu back up for a test run and started Joey MacDonald for both games. It appears the Flames may have finally understood the notion of playing their prospects…?
It’s definitely not a great spot to be in for Flames fans as they’re team is currently better off losing, but at the end of the day, these are NHL players who are paid to win and as such they can’t throw games. While losing gives them a great shot at a better draft pick for next season, developing the players they already do have is equally important. They will need to ensure they find a middle ground here and not welcome a losing environment.
To discuss some positive news from this weekend, on Friday the Flames signed Ben Hanowski who was acquired from the Iginla trade, after he wraped up a 4 year career with St. Could being eliminated in the semis at the Frozen Four. He would go on to make his debut against Minnesota last night.
As mentioned, the Flames took on the Wild and fell short with a 4-3 loss.
After going down two points after two periods and only registering three shots in the 2nd period, the Flames showed a lot of heart, scoring three goals in the 3rd to make a game out of it.
Starter Miikka Kiprusoff is still out nursing an injury and MacDonald received the start again last night stopping 23 of 27 shots. Tanguay and Stajan also sat out with injuries. Somewhat of a perfect storm as the Flames are forced to play some of the rookies in their absences.
Juri Hudler opened the scoring early in the 3rd with a nice passing play by his Czech linemates Horak and Cervenka. Hanowski scored his first NHL goal as his first game as a Flame, and Baertschi added a late goal. It was too little too late though because Backstrom was ultimately too good in net for Minnesota and Calgary couldn’t convert on their early chances.
Baertschi has scored in back to back games but even more impressive was his faceoff percentage last night, going 75% on the draw. He, Reinhart, and Horak have shown a lot of promise in the past couple of games. While Reinhart was absent from last night’s game sheet, it was only narrowly after he was robbed by Backstrom on 1 of his 3 shots taken. Although some youngsters are standing out, Aliu and Street were sent back down to the Abbotsford heat as they continue to struggle to find their role.
Tomorrow the Flames will play host to the Detroit Red Wings.
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To continue our draft discussion, my last of the top 5 potential draft selections will be Sean Monahan from the Ottawa 67's. He’s a leader off the ice and plays all 200 feet while on the ice as well.
The Flames would love to acquire a prospect like Monahan because he can create turnovers and he can play defensively; two areas where Calgary’s is lacking. Like most of his counterparts he has good puck handling skills and good hockey smarts, but what stands out is how Monahan has shown creativity on the power play and leadership on a failing team. A player who can show that ability despite the team’s poor results can be very valuable.
His weaknesses are also somewhat similar to other prospects; it’s a matter of getting bigger and stronger on his skates and becoming quicker to adjust to NHL calibre hockey. Given that the Flames will have struggles over the next few years as they redevelop their roster, they will need more than a player who can do well in spite of their team, they need a player who can elevate the entire team and create a winning environment.
In 58 games Monahan registered 31 goals (15 on the powerplay), and 78 points overall. He’ll definitely be an asset no matter where he goes.
That’s all for today folks, thanks for reading!
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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