Ek's note: We are thrilled to welcome Trevor Neufeld to our team of writers here at HockeyBuzz. Trevor, a Calgary native, has been involved in hockey for three decades — as a player through minor hockey and junior, as a volunteer minor hockey coach, and as a sports journalist.

Update: Cuts were made in camp today with Luke Philp, Colton Poolman on waivers. Alex Gallant, Matt Greenfield, Yan Kuznetsov, Mark Simpson, Ilya Solovyov, Eetu Tuulola, Dmitry Zavgorodniy to AHL Stockton. Jeremie Poirier assigned to QMJHL Saint John.

The Calgary Flames fell 4-3 to the Kraken last night in what was a thrilling back and forth game. This first viewing for Flames fans of the freshly formed franchise involved high quality chances being traded all night. Here are a few observations:


Return of Mark Giordano
The former captain made his Mark last night with an early backhand goal to put the Kraken up 1-0. He played a solid game defensively after that. It was good to see Giordano hit the ground running.

The Schwartz Show
Jaden Schwartz contributed on all three of the Kraken’s goals and looked deadly in overtime. He would likely have put it away in overtime had Jusso Valimaki not disrupted two plays in a row. Which brings me to:

Valimaki Rebounds
Jusso looked great last night. His passing was on point and his defensive gaps were well managed. I have to admit I was starting to have doubts about his chances at making the lineup out of camp after two bad outings. Last night was a huge step forward.

Walking the Walk
Walker Duehr showed up seemingly out of nowhere this offseason and has barged his way into the picture. He moves exceptionally well for his size (6’2” 209lbs) and he was the puck carrier on two 2-on-1’s. One of which led to a goal. The 23 year old fresh out of the NCAA looks like an NHL player.

Kyling It
Oliver Kylington had a big game last night and led all Flames players in ice time with 24:27 in time on the ice. This looks like Kylington’s year to establish himself as a regular.


Here are a few notes on each line’s performance:


Tkachuk-Lindholm-Coleman
Tkachuk set up Coleman with a partial breakaway. Tkachuk scored the flames first goal off an odd bounce out front. Matthew drew a nice penalty in the third and almost drew a second on a blatant trip by Carson Soucy. He stayed sitting on the ice to accentuate the foul, and that move seemed to rub the refs the wrong way. Tkachuk received a minor penalty the next time he got on the ice.


Gaudreau-Backlund-Mangiapane
Backlund was flying. Gaudreau was making some creative passes. This line put in a quiet night until Backlund found space in the late third and ripped a wrist shot off the far post and in. The chemistry doesn’t seem to be there with this combination, but each player played well.


Lucic-Gawdin-Lewis
Lucic was an absolute wrecking ball throwing several big hits. Gawdin did a good job playing center and deserved a look with some better skaters. The 24 year old center from Richmond, BC set up Lucic for a glorious chance late in the third.


Kirkland-Froese-Duehr
Duehr showed some offence to his game on the Flames second goal. He forced a misplay at the point in the defensive end and took the puck up on the rush, snuck a shot under the blocker and nailed the post. The puck rebounded out to Micheal Stone who put it away to tie the game. Duehr’s skating made him the puck carrier on two 2-on-1’s in the second.

Zadorov-Andersson
Unnecessary cross checking penalty for Zadorov in the first. Missed passes, shots. Accuracy was an issue. Got caught flat footed which led to a 2-on-1 against Andersson who managed to diffuse the rush. Zadorov was stripped of the puck in his own zone leading to a dangerous chance late in the first. Andersson was slow to start, but played a solid game. He made a glorious shot block when Vladar lost his net late in the second.


Kylington-Tanev
Kylington got right back at it with smooth passing. He was burned on Giordano’s goal — Gio stepped into Kylingtons coverage and Oliver didn’t close the gap in time. Tanev played a very solid, quiet game last night which is what you hope for in a defensive defenseman.


Valimaki-Stone
Valimaki made a great breakout pass to start the play that led to Tkachuk’s first goal this preseason. Valimaki appeared to jam his wrist in the third, but didn’t miss a shift. Valimaki made two great plays in overtime both stopping a rush then closing the gap on Jaden Schwartz when he was about to shoot. Stone played a quiet game and picked a good time to pinch in the second when a Walker Duehr rebound found its way on to his stick. His goal tied the game 2-2. Unfortunately for Stone, he made a weak pass late in the third that got picked off and promptly sent out front for a kraken goal to make it 3-2.

Vladar
Daniel Vladar had a solid game. If he brings this quality of play consistently throughout the season then concerns about Markstrom’s injury history will be eased.


Hi everyone, this will be my first official post writing for the Calgary Flames on Hockeybuzz. Consider the guest spots my preseason. I’d like to thank everyone for the kind words in the comments. I appreciate all of you.



Thanks for reading,


Trevor Neufeld

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