SheriforPM Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 When we picked up Hiller, no one expected this to happen, for our tenders to push each other like this. I didn't either, I like Ramo but thought he would be in the backup role. Having a 1A 1B tandem is awesome! Keep it up guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjgallow Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 When we picked up Hiller, no one expected this to happen, for our tenders to push each other like this. I didn't either, I like Ramo but thought he would be in the backup role. Having a 1A 1B tandem is awesome! Keep it up guys! Well, and the ever-optimist that I am, I don't expect it to continue (sorry). But... I am pretty excited that Ortio got another shutout and, sans a few bad early games, is shaping up to be one of the AHL's top goaltenders for the 2nd year in a row! And Jon Gillies with three recent shutouts.....that's 5 shutouts already between our two top goaltending prospects! http://www.uscho.com/stats/player/mid,21374/jon-gillies/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyerfan52 Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Well, and the ever-optimist that I am, I don't expect it to continue (sorry). But... I am pretty excited that Ortio got another shutout and, sans a few bad early games, is shaping up to be one of the AHL's top goaltenders for the 2nd year in a row! And Jon Gillies with three recent shutouts.....that's 5 shutouts already between our two top goaltending prospects! http://www.uscho.com/stats/player/mid,21374/jon-gillies/ That's fine. You live for the future. Some on us are enjoying the present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjgallow Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 That's fine. You live for the future. Some on us are enjoying the present. It's a survival mechanism...how do you think i got through the last three years as a Flames fan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kehatch Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 The great thing about being a Flames fan right now is you can enjoy both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC331 Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Exactly, nobody should be complaining about the goaltending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s4xon Posted December 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 No complaints here whatsoever. In fact, I'm quite mystified that the Flames landed themselves into an above average duo that can get the job done. To be quite honest, many are pessimists when it comes to the Flames' success, but this club has had a few notables land in their laps. Iggy was one. Kipper was another. Both franchise players. So far it seems that Johnny Hockey is another gem, Gio of course, and Brodie. Now with a year or two of poor goaltending, the team has found a workable, capable tandem in Hiller and Ramo (Hillmo) it just goes to show, however, how much of a workhorse and a star Kipper was, that he could take on the workload of 2 guys and have better numbers/record year in, year out. The guy was a genius between the pipes. It'll be a while before the Flames see that kind of stardom again. I'm not so convinced we have that in our system as of yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 We are ripe with Goalie prospects, but I am still impressed with Ramo. He reminds me of Kipper, and I don't think we have seen his best yet this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjgallow Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 We are ripe with Goalie prospects, but I am still impressed with Ramo. He reminds me of Kipper, and I don't think we have seen his best yet this season. I think pretty much on here would trade all our current starters, and all our current prospects, for just one 23 year old Kipper. The problem is, Kipper was not particularly special at 23. We do already have prospects as good as or better than what Kipper was at their age. A lot of it is development, and a lot of it is luck. I think we are fortunate to have both Ortio and Gillies. Unlikely that they'll both become starts (but possible). Having two, gives us some odds to work with that one will lead us. Maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 I think pretty much on here would trade all our current starters, and all our current prospects, for just one 23 year old Kipper. The problem is, Kipper was not particularly special at 23. We do already have prospects as good as or better than what Kipper was at their age. A lot of it is development, and a lot of it is luck. I think we are fortunate to have both Ortio and Gillies. Unlikely that they'll both become starts (but possible). Having two, gives us some odds to work with that one will lead us. Maybe. TBH, I think Ortio is a few years away from being a starter in the NHL, if ever. Not to belittle his body of work, just that goalies are voodoo until they play more than 80 games. We have two start-quality goalies right now. Hartley has to find the right balance in number of starts. I don't care if he slices the total games in two, but stop running with a goalie until he loses or has a bad game. It makes the guy coming back in cold his first game, and doesn't give the guy going out a chance at redemption. What made Kipper great (ok, just one of the many things) was the ability to bounce back from a punding. He was great the game after a blowout loss. Right now, Ramo and Hiller have rust in their games when they back in. You may not agree, but I think Ramo has a long career ahead of him. He was respectable last year on a 27th place team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDeeds Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 TBH, I think Ortio is a few years away from being a starter in the NHL, if ever. Not to belittle his body of work, just that goalies are voodoo until they play more than 80 games. We have two start-quality goalies right now. Hartley has to find the right balance in number of starts. I don't care if he slices the total games in two, but stop running with a goalie until he loses or has a bad game. It makes the guy coming back in cold his first game, and doesn't give the guy going out a chance at redemption. What made Kipper great (ok, just one of the many things) was the ability to bounce back from a punding. He was great the game after a blowout loss. Right now, Ramo and Hiller have rust in their games when they back in. You may not agree, but I think Ramo has a long career ahead of him. He was respectable last year on a 27th place team. Interesting thoughts, however if the Flames decided to go back to alternating goaltenders, the fans here would crucify the coaching. They have their favorite goalie and if they had a good game would want to see him in again. (eg Ramos two shutout streak.) can you imagine if they pulled Ramo after two shutouts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 Interesting thoughts, however if the Flames decided to go back to alternating goaltenders, the fans here would crucify the coaching. They have their favorite goalie and if they had a good game would want to see him in again. (eg Ramos two shutout streak.) can you imagine if they pulled Ramo after two shutouts? There are some games that the choice was obvious; Hiller against Anaheim, Ramo against San Jose, split up B2B games. I think fans are reasonable if they see a cycle, and not think that a goalie is played too many games in a row. Ramo played 3 times after posting consecutive shutouts. Hiller had two losses in a row after posting a shutout over Carolina and then got another 5 games after that. Just don't ride a hot goalie until he cools, or leave a guy to rust. Hartley looks like a genious at times for his choices, but at some point there is a letdown in a winable game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robrob1974 Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 Travel_dude, that's exactly what I think should happen. I noticed after the third straight game for Ramo, Hartley could have sat him even though he was riding a good 3 game win streak. That 4th game he looked like he was ready for a rest. The same thing applied to Hiller when Hartley ran with him. The last few games Hiller started giving a bad goal every game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s4xon Posted December 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 Travel_dude, that's exactly what I think should happen. I noticed after the third straight game for Ramo, Hartley could have sat him even though he was riding a good 3 game win streak. That 4th game he looked like he was ready for a rest. The same thing applied to Hiller when Hartley ran with him. The last few games Hiller started giving a bad goal every game. This is what I miss about Kipper so much. He was able to do what most people in his position couldn't. Play 70+ games per year and not even bat an eye. I miss the quiet spoken Finn in our crease. He had a certain presence about him in his game that made him Kipper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjgallow Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 This is what I miss about Kipper so much. He was able to do what most people in his position couldn't. Play 70+ games per year and not even bat an eye. I miss the quiet spoken Finn in our crease. He had a certain presence about him in his game that made him Kipper. I always felt that the workload affected him just like everyone else, and he was just good enough to still be great even with it. I wish we had seen what he could do with a lesser workload. All I want, is a goalie that can play a really strong 16-20 game stretch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 This is what I miss about Kipper so much. He was able to do what most people in his position couldn't. Play 70+ games per year and not even bat an eye. I miss the quiet spoken Finn in our crease. He had a certain presence about him in his game that made him Kipper. Kipper was never one to complain about the team in front of him. Hiller has shifted the blame away from himself, rightly or wrongly, at least once. McBackup ranted to the point of being sent down. I have never heard a Finnish goalie on this team blame anyone but themselves. For some reason, Finland seems to breed goalies like Cole Harbour breeds skilled centers. We have two in the system, and each one of them has a special set of skills. Whether it be Ramo or Ortio, we have some goalies that could have long NHL careers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjgallow Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 Kipper was never one to complain about the team in front of him. Hiller has shifted the blame away from himself, rightly or wrongly, at least once. McBackup ranted to the point of being sent down. I have never heard a Finnish goalie on this team blame anyone but themselves. For some reason, Finland seems to breed goalies like Cole Harbour breeds skilled centers. We have two in the system, and each one of them has a special set of skills. So true. I would rather have a Canadian goaltender in there, but the harsh reality is that we've fallen behind in our goaltender development (at junior level and below). We are very fortunate to have Hiller and Ortio. Whether it be Ramo Gillies or Ortio, we have some goalies that could have long NHL careers. There, fixed that for you BTW, Ortio is currently the best goaltender in the AHL if you look at December. And he was top 5 in November as well. Take away that ugly September performance and he is on pace for his best season yet. Don't be surprised if he gets callups in the second half. http://theahl.com/stats/gamebygame.php?id=4090 p.s....and that's nothing compared to Gillies, who is back on the leaderboard now after three consecutive shutouts. He is on pace for his best season ever. He's clearly the hottest goaltender in US College hockey...again, if you ignore his ugly start. http://www.uscho.com/stats/overall/division-i-men/2014-2015/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 So true. I would rather have a Canadian goaltender in there, but the harsh reality is that we've fallen behind in our goaltender development (at junior level and below). We are very fortunate to have Hiller and RamoOrtio. There. Fixed that for you. Don't get all the hate for Ramo. He may not have Hiller's quiet confidence, but how many shutouts does he have this year? He has games where he doesn't look great, but that is true of any Finn we have between the pipes. Give his some props for what he does, and just hope that Ortio can translate his game to the NHL. Gillies should turn pro next year, so we should get to actually see him play at the pro level. If he is as good as we bith think he is, he won't be long in the AHL, and will have Ortio (or Ramo or Hiller) backing him up for the NHL Flames soon enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjgallow Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 I actually forgot Ramo by accident, was not intentional. That being said, he's just not good enough. Hiller and Ramo are 20th and 21st in the league, and dropping fast. They had a strong start to the season. I will give Ramo that. It doesn't make him a true starter. Possibly a backup on a hot streak would be more appropriate. I'm excited about having that goaltender that can stay in the top 5. I believe Ortio and Gillies both have a shot at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cccsberg Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 I actually forgot Ramo by accident, was not intentional. That being said, he's just not good enough. Hiller and Ramo are 20th and 21st in the league, and dropping fast. They had a strong start to the season. I will give Ramo that. It doesn't make him a true starter. Possibly a backup on a hot streak would be more appropriate. I'm excited about having that goaltender that can stay in the top 5. I believe Ortio and Gillies both have a shot at it. Its interesting how at the start of the season everyone was saying our goalies were great and playing lights to, and they were, but now all of a sudden they are not even starter material. Goalies go through cycles, as do teams and the team hasn't been playing as well lately either so I'm not too concerned about our goalies current averages. In this past losing streak I've been surprised how "poorly" some top 5 goalies have been playing, as per their averages, i.e. NYR... Both our goalies are still above league average, I believe and have proven in the past to be able to play exceptional at times and steal games. I would have no problem going forward with either as our #1. Since Ramo is way younger, and cheaper and I think has better potential (he's still really young, for a goalie) I'd re-sign and go with him LT and look to make a trade of Hiller and bring in some assets at the TDL. Having said that, its probably time to start a longer stretch of games with one goalie to let them get established and settle in... Next year I believe Ortio can come in as backup with Gillies to the AHL, which would be a good progression for them all. Then let's see how they continue to develop, though we shouldn't have an issue for at least a couple of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjgallow Posted December 19, 2014 Report Share Posted December 19, 2014 Both our goalies are still above league average, well, not really http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchKey=20152ALLGAGAll&sort=savePercentage&viewName=savePercentageLeaders Next year I believe Ortio can come in as backup with Gillies to the AHL, which would be a good progression for them all. Then let's see how they continue to develop, though we shouldn't have an issue for at least a couple of years. It'll probably start off that way, but don't be surprised to see Ortio challenge for the starter position in a very short period of time. Even now, I think he would give Ramo a serious run for his money. Give him a little experience next year, he'd be knocking on the door with Hiller in a relatively short period of time. Potentially. Ortio just had another 30 save performance for a .944 in December. http://theahl.com/stats/gamebygame.php?id=4090 And don't be surprised if it's not long before Gillies challenges Ortio too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted December 19, 2014 Report Share Posted December 19, 2014 well, not really http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchKey=20152ALLGAGAll&sort=savePercentage&viewName=savePercentageLeaders It'll probably start off that way, but don't be surprised to see Ortio challenge for the starter position in a very short period of time. Even now, I think he would give Ramo a serious run for his money. Give him a little experience next year, he'd be knocking on the door with Hiller in a relatively short period of time. Potentially. Ortio just had another 30 save performance for a .944 in December. http://theahl.com/stats/gamebygame.php?id=4090 And don't be surprised if it's not long before Gillies challenges Ortio too. I don't see how you can begin to compare Ortio at the AHL level and Ramo at the NHL level. Apples and Bananas. Unless he was called up for a run and was 4-2 then I wouldn't consider him in the same ballpark as Ramo yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cccsberg Posted December 19, 2014 Report Share Posted December 19, 2014 I don't see how you can begin to compare Ortio at the AHL level and Ramo at the NHL level. Apples and Bananas. Unless he was called up for a run and was 4-2 then I wouldn't consider him in the same ballpark as Ramo yet. Yeah I'd agree, however its great to see Ortio doing very well in the AHL which indicates he's probably ready for the next challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheersMan Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 Here..........I'll tee it up for someone. The Flames have made the last 7 goaltenders look like Superman, any inkling why? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
420since1974 Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 We sure seem to hit a lot of iron during this cold streak. Jones could have had 4 goals himself. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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