jjgallow
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Everything posted by jjgallow
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Kulstad, That was completely uncalled for and more importantly not thought through. Please go back to the start of this thread and check how many goaltenders we have gone through recently. We've dropped Laurent Brossoit, Danny Taylor, Leland Irving. Danny Taylor or Irving would have been just fine as a backup...and quite frankly with the Flame's record right now, Anyone including most pylons would have been just fine as a backup, making little or no difference in our fortunes. The Flames made a Conscious decision to keep older veterans such as JMac, and give up youth, such as Brossoit. They made a choice to bank on Ramo, who had bad knees when they acquired him. The Flames made a conscious decision not to sign Gillies, and have indicated they likely won't sign him next year either. World Juniors aside, Gillies is our top goaltending prospect. I'll even admit it...he's better than Ortio. At this point. He may be our top prospect overall. I can think of a million Better combinations Other than clogging your system full of aging, mediocre, questionable veterans. Now, they all have their own strengths and weaknesses and arguements can be made on many sides. But for you to act as if the Flames had no say in the matter and dismiss any suggestion of their involvement as tin-foil head talk, really demonstrates a lack of consideration and thought before you post. It's as if the last 53 pages of the most hotly-contested topic on this forum all of a sudden never existed and you were the first poster. Either issue a standard set of pom poms to all posters, and make it clear that this forum is only for praise of the organization (like what happened on the Oilers forum with Lowe)....or expect people to have opinions on here.
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You're agreeing with me, but it is worded in such a way that it seems like you're disagreeing, from a glass-half-empty approach? Yes, as per my post, he never should have been brought to the NHL this year. And, why on earth would anyone other than incompetent Flames management think he Would be ready? They have played this kid in just about every North American league this year, from the ECHL to the AHL to the NHL. Anyone could see from the onset of the season and now, that this was an obvious AHL year for him. Yet Flames management can't help but get confused and put him in leagues above and below this. True, there were reasons for each move. But all those reasons were a result of decisions made by the Flames which had predictable and avoidable downsides. I also thought he looked fine overall and I see this as a tremendous positive for his age and background. Hopefully the Flames manage to get him back in the AHL shortly, where he belongs, so he can gain more AHL experience. More importantly, more AHL playoff experience. If they can manage this, I think he will push hard next year for a spot with the Flames. He's not ready yet but he's getting close.
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Maybe just me, but I was really impressed with Ortio. I never wanted him up here to begin with...far too early. But I thought he played an overall solid game. I am very much looking forward to a strong playoff performance from him this year...and I see him making a run for a spot on the Flames in the fall.
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Man, Ortio is looking Great. The best I've ever seen him. Why I've Always been high on this guy, is not because he was the best goaltender every year. It was the steady progression that made him so appealling to me. Just look at his months in the AHL (and remember he Earned his way to the AHL, up from the ECHL): http://theahl.com/stats/gamebygame.php?id=4090 November: .921 December: .931 January: .937 IMHO, at this moment in time he is becoming dangerously close to being the best goalie in the AHL. And a very young one at that. Same thing if you look at his performance in SM Liiga over the years: 2009: .836 2010: .911 2011: .908 (not counting his stellar playoff performance. And, on a much worse team) 2012: .917 p.s....The Other exciting thing about Ortio, which could end up being even more important: He has a reputation for rising to the occasion in playoffs and tournaments. His playoff performance is almost Always a whole level higher than his regular season. If this translates to the AHL, and then to the NHL....we should consider ourselves very fortunate indeed.
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We can only hope there's a trade coming. Involving one of JMac, Berra, or Ramo. I don't think we can afford to give up our goaltending prospects. but the rest are expendable and it would be Fantastic if we got a return for any of them.
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lol.... There's no denying it...that was good
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Get your head in the game! Honestly, I just can't stress enough how much it doesn't matter, and how much I don't care whether Ramo or Berra is worse (or better, if you're a glass-half-full type). For goaltending, the Flames story of the year is Ortio: http://theahl.com/ortio-taking-the-ahl-by-storm-p190020 And it gives us a lot of hope going forward. Safe to say he's our number one prospect now? Or neck and neck with Gillies?
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Why would I want any of those scenarios to happen, lol? Ortio is getting excellent development right now with the Heat. The last thing I want is any goaltending changes. For me, I'm living the dream. Somehow, out of all the mess.
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The Heat have been getting JMac in some games recently. He's been decent. Makes me wonder...a bit...if the Flames are hedging their bets. And, makes me wonder in what direction. Is Reto close to a demotion, or.....could Ramo possibly have trade deadline value? imho, it's all nearly irrelevant.
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I am one of the biggest supporters on here for the WJC, but in terms of scouting, I feel its real value is finding talent that was otherwise off the radar or not apparent. In terms of discrediting players, I don't see how you can do it with such a small sample size. Especially for goaltenders on European ice. Here we have a proven prospect at the US College level, and we disregard his accomplishments because of a handful of games at the WJC, which is generally a lower competition level? Blows my mind. He would be perfect to start for the Heat next season. Very unlikely Ortio will be there.
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Actually, I am more of an Ortio fan. And I think he faces similar or tougher competition in US College than he did at the world juniors (most nights). You could be right, but I was giving what I thought was an honest assessment.
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I feel that Gillies had difficulty adjusting to the angles of European ice. He certainly couldn't be blamed for any of the losses. Nor could he be made out to be innocent. The world juniors is a very short tournament, and players Do often struggle in it, only to become fantastic NHLers. I don't think this has a huge impact on our projections for him. Do we care if he had some trouble adjusting to European Ice? No, we really don't care. It would have been great if he could have achieved "Jon Gibson" status, but he is still a fantastic goalie and....Probably....our best goalie prospect. Ortio is making that less clear-cut all the time.
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Looks pretty clearly like two guys in their prime getting outplayed by senior citizens and the injury-plagued. Very few on that list will be around next year.
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Ortio has completed a couple very strong games to put him 6th overall in GAA for the AHL, and 5th overall for save percentage. At this time, I would suggest that he is the most NHL-ready AHL Rookie goaltender in the league. I really hope the Flames leave him with the Heat and allow him to focus for now, but I would not be surprised if they call him up sooner. As for Ramo and Berra, there is absolutely no rush. Nor will there be, unless one of them actually shows up here: http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchKey=20142ALLGAGAll&sort=savePercentage&viewName=goalsAgainstAverage
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Gooo Gillies! Except when you play Team Canada. Otherwise, Gooooo Gillies! lol
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didn't ask you to...just asked you to recognize the difference between a 27 year old having success in the AHL, versus a 22 year old. If that makes you upset, I take it back. You must be pretty excited about Irving then, no? I don't think any team does. I completely agree, this would be pretty much the worst thing ever. Although...Ramo/Berra are basically older veterans, without the experience.
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I won't argue with your getting more excited about Gillies. At this stage, anyway, I think you're right to take that stance. But I do think it's worth getting excited about Ortio as well. I don't think it's fair to compare his AHL success as a 22 year old with Brust and Taylor's success in their late 20's. I think that goes without saying and I'm sure you would agree. I'll take it one step further: I don't think it's fair for us to dismiss Brust and Taylor's AHL success either. It was not just isolated to the AHL. Both are doing quite well in Europe now: http://www.eliteprospects.com/league.php?leagueid=SHL&season=2013#goaltending http://www.eliteprospects.com/league.php?leagueid=KHL&season=2013#goaltending Barry Brust blew away the the KHL earlier in the year, before plateauing. Danny Taylor got off to a slow start, but is now creeping up to the top of the SHL. Brust is probably too old to mount a comeback, but I'm not so sure the NHL has seen the last of Taylor. Anyway, feel free to disagree with this....except the bolded part of course. I should also mention....I don't think Ortio has worked his way UP the prospect rankings. He's worked his way BACK UP the prospect rankings. He was, for some time, a goaltending prospect worthy of getting excited about. If you subtract a few AHL games that he was not ready for and probably should have never played in from two years ago....he has NEVER fallen off his original development curve. He continued to improve year-after-year in SM Liiga. Outside of our incompetent goalie development system, he has continued to be the prospect we were originally excited about. Gillies....he's amazing, obviously. But he's also had the benefit of not having to go through the Flames goalie development system. Without a shadow of a doubt, if he had been placed in the AHL games Ortio was placed in at that age....the result would have been similar. So I think it's worth being excited about both. With maybe a slight preference for Gillies at this point.
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This. Goaltending is but one area where the Flames actually have a decent prospect pipeline. It is ironic, actually, that so much focus is put on this thread, rather than defense, or right wing, or even center. IMHO, Berra and Ramo are currently battling for the future backup position in the Flames organization. It's not to say that they Can't end up being our starter, but he chances are very remote. More likely, Ortio and Gilles will soon be battling for the starting position with the Flames (although it'll likely begin as a backup position). Berra and Ramo basically have to hope that at least One of Ortio or Gillies bombs, and/or get traded, opening up a backup spot. Otherwise, I expect Ortio to be in the Flames mix next year at the Latest. And the only thing possibly standing in his way, is Gillies the following year.
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I Love this thread
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You beat me to it Pretty great....looks like he had a strong game. 7th overall in the AHL now....Glad to see they're giving him more well-earned responsibility and time to develop!
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For his age, I would call that stellar. Trying not to dwell on it, what's done is done. Let's just hope Edmonton screws up his development, lol
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Totally agree. I don't care if it's Berra, Ramo, or JMac....but one of the three has to go packing. Soon. The Flames would have to be crazy to not realize that they have the AHL's rookie of the year, and possibly the 2nd best prospect overall in the AHL. With how hard it is to project goalies, he could very easily end up being better than Gibson too. With that in mind, It just blows me away that Ortio has been given Less than Half the number of playing games as other goalies over his calibre, and even significantly less. It is sad to see the development wasted for no good reason. Hopefully something gives soon. There is no official trophy for Rookie Goaltender of the year, unfortunately. Other than a very quick ascent to the NHL. That's not to say there isn't a Rookie of the Year award. If the Heat would just realize that he's basically their winning percentage and play him a fair number of games (which I still believe they will), I think he could be at very least a candidate for that trophy. More importantly, as you've mentioned, is the opportunity to Lead the Heat through the playoffs. By the time the playoffs come, I don't think it will matter how many goalies the Flames have. They don't have a single goalie in their system that wouldn't clear waivers. Even if JMac isn't there, they'll probably send Berra back down (maybe even Ramo) to back up Ortio. And by that time, I suspect he'll be better than all three anyway (if he isn't already). In order for him to become better, Ortio needs playing time. Now. Somebody's got to go imho. I hope they play Ortio back to back tonight.
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I'm not sure that they are NHL calibre. But if that's what you're looking for, you'll be glad to know that Ortio had another strong performance and a win last night: http://theahl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=1011424 That puts him statistically above Joey Mac in the AHL (and he out-played Berra a long time ago). Far more importantly, it puts him Ahead of Jon Gibson in the race for the AHL's Rookie Goaltender of the Year. http://theahl.com/stats/statdisplay.php?type=top_goalies&season_id=43&tournament_id=0&division_id=-1 Ortio is currently the best rookie goaltender in all of the AHL, pulling ahead of even Jon Gibson. And nobody other than those two is even any where close. Jon Gillies continues to be on fire. Patience, great things are coming in net. Now, if you get frustrated with our defense....I cannot respond the same way unfortunately.
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you are suggesting that Ramo/Berra are 1/1a?
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Honestly I could not think of anything I care less about than which of the Flames "NHL" goalies are the worst. By NHL standards, none of them are good enough, and that's becoming very clear. True, Ramo may not have been given enough opportunity yet. But as things stand now, they don't cut it, and I've no solid reason to believe that's going to change. All I care about is that we drop one of them. Soon. Joey MacDonald is hogging minutes in the AHL, and cutting into Ortio's development. I'm not even really sure why, as Ortio has outplayed him. But what matters most is that by Next season, we have something positive on the horizon. That means developing Ortio, Lots, Now, unless Gillies signs early.
