JTech780 Posted February 25, 2021 Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 I bought the Heat TV package this season and will be watching most of their games. I thought I would start a topic to post some of my thoughts from what I have seen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTech780 Posted February 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTech780 Posted February 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 So far a guy who doesn't get enough love is Justin Kirkland. He isn't ever going to be a top 6 forward at the NHL level, but I think he could be a solid bottom 6 forward in the mold of a Lance Bouma. He has size, he skates well, he is physical, goes to the dirty areas, and is solid defensively. Another guy not enough people are talking about is Luke Philp. Led the Heat with 19 goals last year. He plays in all situations. Smart, good skater. Plays a lot like Derek Ryan, though he is a better shooter and maybe not as good as a passer as Ryan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTech780 Posted February 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 Another massive save by Wolf. He looks much better tonight than he did in his first game, which to be fair was most likely his first game in a year and was his first pro game. He is really quick, and his puck tracking and focus is great. He is really small though, I think he might be smaller than he is listed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTech780 Posted February 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted February 25, 2021 Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 2 hours ago, JTech780 said: I bought the Heat TV package this season and will be watching most of their games. I thought I would start a topic to post some of my thoughts from what I have seen. Appreciate the comments. I tried to watch the 1st game, but it was after a Flames blowout so I didn't have it in me. Philp was a slow starter last year IIRC, but started being in on goals as the year went on. I think he finished strong. Funny that you mention Ryan, since they had very similar careers up to the point of Ryan going overseas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted February 25, 2021 Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 2 minutes ago, JTech780 said: Gee, a player that shoots on the rush before the defender can get set. 9/10 times, we get the shot off into the defender's stick and it goes over the glass. Of course, this is AHL. NHL defenders maybe get a stick on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebrewcrew Posted February 25, 2021 Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 Wolf was excellent. Made 3 or 4 highlight reel saves. Rebound control was solid. Showed he has the ability to play at the pro level. Would imagine he starts Friday and then heads off to Everett. Ruzicka had a big game. The two goals and could have had more. He shows flashes defensively, his 200ft game is improving. Phillips was good again, the second assist being the most impressive play from him. He’s constantly around it. I liked Pettersen early in the game, he was generating looks for his linemates. Faded a bit down the stretch, likely a result of the Heat taking a bunch of penalties. Zary shows flashes, mostly in the offensive zone, this is bonus development time, it will make a big difference when he’s playing next year. Quiet night for Zavgorodniy I thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTech780 Posted February 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 Zary, Pettersen, Mackey and Poolman all registered their first pro points and Wolf had his first pro win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robrob74 Posted February 25, 2021 Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 5 hours ago, JTech780 said: I bought the Heat TV package this season and will be watching most of their games. I thought I would start a topic to post some of my thoughts from what I have seen. you know, I wish the NHL would allow a one team package so all i would have to pay for are Flames games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cross16 Posted February 25, 2021 Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 Wolf was excellent. He tracks the puck so well that even his big saves look effortless. He's very Kipper like in that regard. Not saying he is Kipper good it's just who he reminded me of watching him move. I tuned in for the 2nd and I thought the Heat were looking excellent. Good structure, great puck movement, air tight D. I was really impressed. It unraveled quite a bit in the 3rd but I do wonder if they just don't have their legs yet. It is a young team so this is also to be expected. I think much of the team is still finding their way. The veteran guys stood out a bit more for me especially Phillips. Really small sample size but i'd be keeping a close eye on him if I were Calgary I think he could help here. I liked a lot of what I saw from Ruzicka but i wish he was a little more faster and more engaged. He makes an impact, that was a killer shot on the last goal, but there are warts there. Rookies all had flashes, including Peterson, but I also think they all have a ways to go. Only thing that stood out to me is i think the D are going to hold the Heat back. It's not a very mobile group and they really struggled with some breakout passes/moving up the ice. Not surprising given the makeup but it's something the coaching staff is really going to have to account for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebrewcrew Posted February 25, 2021 Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 The lack of recent picks on D really stands out when you watch the Heat. Not trying to poke holes in recent Flames drafts, because I think they've drafted well, just an observation. Like others have said, it's not a very mobile, nor talented blueline. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zima Posted February 27, 2021 Report Share Posted February 27, 2021 As usual what I have to say will not be a welcome comment and I really hate to say but I believe it's time to blow this team up we are getting worse each yr not better. BT has done everything fired coaches every few yrs grabbed goalies almost every yr we have some good peace's but as a team they just can't get it together GIO who I really like is losing a step MrT I think so far is having a mediocre season to this point but would not trade him .J hockey is doing really good we should be able to get a few first and some one who can jump in and help. Mony I don't know what he is worth but as a team they can't get it together. If we do some trading for picks like Boston did a few yrs back maybe we could get some good D and begin to build a team that can play together. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sak22 Posted February 27, 2021 Report Share Posted February 27, 2021 2 hours ago, zima said: As usual what I have to say will not be a welcome comment and I really hate to say but I believe it's time to blow this team up we are getting worse each yr not better. BT has done everything fired coaches every few yrs grabbed goalies almost every yr we have some good peace's but as a team they just can't get it together GIO who I really like is losing a step MrT I think so far is having a mediocre season to this point but would not trade him .J hockey is doing really good we should be able to get a few first and some one who can jump in and help. Mony I don't know what he is worth but as a team they can't get it together. If we do some trading for picks like Boston did a few yrs back maybe we could get some good D and begin to build a team that can play together. To blow up or not to blow up is a well covered topic in the Flames section. Lets leave this to the Heat, unless you want to blow them up as well, which is a vastly premature conversation to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robrob74 Posted February 27, 2021 Report Share Posted February 27, 2021 6 hours ago, zima said: As usual what I have to say will not be a welcome comment and I really hate to say but I believe it's time to blow this team up we are getting worse each yr not better. BT has done everything fired coaches every few yrs grabbed goalies almost every yr we have some good peace's but as a team they just can't get it together GIO who I really like is losing a step MrT I think so far is having a mediocre season to this point but would not trade him .J hockey is doing really good we should be able to get a few first and some one who can jump in and help. Mony I don't know what he is worth but as a team they can't get it together. If we do some trading for picks like Boston did a few yrs back maybe we could get some good D and begin to build a team that can play together. to me, I wonder how deep is our farm? They’re young, but are we drafting enough to say we have hope? we have a couple of pieces to be excited about, and one is a rookie on D not on the farm. I wish we’d draft more D, more RW and so on. I can’t honestly say there’s a Heat player destined for the NHL. But let’s hope a few can. The best chance seems to be another small guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cross16 Posted February 27, 2021 Report Share Posted February 27, 2021 On 2/27/2021 at 12:13 AM, robrob74 said: to me, I wonder how deep is our farm? They’re young, but are we drafting enough to say we have hope? we have a couple of pieces to be excited about, and one is a rookie on D not on the farm. I wish we’d draft more D, more RW and so on. I can’t honestly say there’s a Heat player destined for the NHL. But let’s hope a few can. The best chance seems to be another small guy. Honestly, IMO the farm is in really good shape. D is questionable yes but let’s also point out that the flames are really young on D at the NHL level too. The Heat are 3 good lines deep and the best part is they are stacked with legit NHL prospects and they don’t stack their team with AHL vets. I’ve been pretty happy with what I’ve seen on the Heat so far. Phillips should really be with the Flames and Ruzicka is starting to make a case too. Is there a star down there no but teams sitting on stars in the AHL is pretty rare. I'm also really liking what I’m seeing and hearing from Cail Maclean. It looks like the Heat have a real solid coaching staff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted February 27, 2021 Report Share Posted February 27, 2021 9 hours ago, robrob74 said: to me, I wonder how deep is our farm? They’re young, but are we drafting enough to say we have hope? we have a couple of pieces to be excited about, and one is a rookie on D not on the farm. I wish we’d draft more D, more RW and so on. I can’t honestly say there’s a Heat player destined for the NHL. But let’s hope a few can. The best chance seems to be another small guy. Sounds like a BeeGees song. How deep is out farm? Seriously, we have at least one player who should be in the NHL right now, plus a couple other guys that could make an impact. There are reasons why they aren't playing, and a lot of it has to do with how we have designed the bottom 6. Mangiapane has developed the right way, and for the most part so has Dube as well. We have a couple of prospects on D that aren't even playing in the league. Unless we plan on trading our current D, their development lines up ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zima Posted March 2, 2021 Report Share Posted March 2, 2021 Ok so we have a few ready for the NHL but tell me how many NHL players should be playing in the AHL right now? Because the way there playing right now I think an AHL team could clean there clocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTech780 Posted March 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2021 Missed the start of this game, but Zary has his first two professional goals, both assisted by Ruzicka. Ruzicka has 8 points in his last 3 games. The stream from Belleville is absolutely horrendous, almost unwatchable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted March 4, 2021 Report Share Posted March 4, 2021 25 minutes ago, JTech780 said: Missed the start of this game, but Zary has his first two professional goals, both assisted by Ruzicka. Ruzicka has 8 points in his last 3 games. The stream from Belleville is absolutely horrendous, almost unwatchable. I found that sometimes the streams are poor internet broadcasting, so it looks like it's blury. Glad the Ruzicka is still keeping it up. Maybe they should really consider playing him in CGY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTech780 Posted March 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2021 Ruzicka with a goal, make that 9 points in his last 3 games. He is now 10th in league scoring. Zary picked up the assist, he is up to 5 points in 5 games with the Heat. Sounds like he could be headed back to the WHL soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTech780 Posted March 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2021 And here you have the bad with Ruzicka. Love the points, but he still has some things he needs to clean-up in his game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted March 4, 2021 Report Share Posted March 4, 2021 What is Cali's ability to teach the game? I mean Ruzicka does improve with good coaching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieselmarble Posted March 4, 2021 Report Share Posted March 4, 2021 On 3/2/2021 at 12:46 PM, zima said: Ok so we have a few ready for the NHL but tell me how many NHL players should be playing in the AHL right now? Because the way there playing right now I think an AHL team could clean there clocks. I agree and would love to see an AHL team play an NHL team. Some of those NHL players are getting big bucks for nothing or one season they played well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cross16 Posted March 4, 2021 Report Share Posted March 4, 2021 17 hours ago, JTech780 said: Ruzicka with a goal, make that 9 points in his last 3 games. He is now 10th in league scoring. Zary picked up the assist, he is up to 5 points in 5 games with the Heat. Sounds like he could be headed back to the WHL soon. I didn't get to see the whole game, but Zary has been really impressive for an AHL rookie. He thinks the game at such a high level he never looked out of place. I'm not suggesting his has huge upside, still unsure on that, but i think he plays in the NHL at some point. He's just too intelligent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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