Pre Season Game 2 Flames vs Canucks

[tmac70]

10 hours ago, The_People1 said:

Another loss...

 

Goods,

Vladar - looked decent again but showing some warts

Mackay - is actually pretty steady.  No flash.  Just defends with smarts and makes a smart first pass.  Against elite talent he may get overwhelmed but against 3rd/4th liners, he's great.

Stone - way better than Gudbranson (not saying much but).  He had his moments.  if only he can hit the net with his shots.

Duehr - so much energy.  Great skating for a big guy... looking like the next Hathaway.  Plays simple hockey and hard working.  I think he's NHL ready.

Dube - played a much better game.  The Flames best player all night.

Mangiapane - had a few good rushes.  He's just getting warmed up.

Ritchie - still effective doing Ritchie stuff.

Ruzicka - he has stretches where he is great and then goes quiet.  Generally an opportunistic.  Does nothing much until there's a chance to make something happen and then he makes a great play.

Gawdin - liked his game.  Getting more involved every game.

 

Bads,

Werner - didn't have a good game.  loses sight of the puck on rebounds.  Vladar is definitely better.  

Kylington - he needs to separate himself from the pack if he wants to make the NHL and he hasn't done enough.

Valimaki - played a better game paired with Stone but hasn't shown he's someone who can be counted on in a top 4 role.  Need to see more from him.  Defensively, he's frantic at times and over plays from time to time... almost outsmarts himself kind of thing.

Gravel - not NHL material

DeSimone - not NHL material

Froese - he didn't play bad but he's been passed by the other kids

Pospisil - first kinda "meh" game.  Wasn't bad per se but wasn't noticeable for the first time.

Phillips - falls down way too much.  It got kind of annoying like you almost expect him to fall as soon as he has the puck in traffic.

Philp - not NHL material.  May have mistaken Philp for Phillips at times.

Kirkland - not NHL material

Pelletier - disappointed again.  Hasn't shown the ability to make something out of nothing like Dube or Mangiapane.  You want that out of a player with top 6 potential.  He doesn't have that level of smarts and IQ.  Doesn't understand how to move the box and make opponents miss.  No head fakes, smart hesitations, buying time for something to develop, etc.  Too simplistic of a player... just launches prayers at the net when the play seems dead and doesn't keep possession for a reset/regroup, etc.  He likes to shoot but shot isn't that accurate.  He's otherwise decent defensively and works hard using his speed to defend.  Aggressive along the boards and battles hard.  He could develop into a shut down speed guy.   

 

Ugly,

Stone looked much better than Gudbranson paired with Valimaki. That $1.9-mil cap space looks like a complete lost caused at this point.  Gudbranson is likely starting the season as the 7th D and preferably lost on waivers.  Could we not have signed him to a PTO instead?  Right now Mackay is above Gudbranson on the depth charts are far as I'm concerned.  This isn't even to say Valimaki-Stone is a good pairing because I could see them struggle against better/faster players.  Those two are slow together.

Generally speaking, our bottom 6 guys fail at generating offense and that's going to put so much pressure on our top 6 to get it done all by themselves this season.

I only got the last 2 periods. Van had a more advanced roster so the Flames group actually showed better than I thought. 

 

The Good:

Vlader to me shows more upside than Riitch. He will be a good back up for us this season

Dube best player for the Flames by a mile last night.

Mackey I thought was our best Dman, but the bar isn't that high

Duher its raw but its there, big guy skates well seemed out of sorts but not out of place, worth keeping an eye on him

Pospisil he has the potential again raw but there

 

Average

Ruziicka its like he's there than not there has some growing to do

Kylington does some good things than poof bone headed move. If one had to chose today I take him over Valimaki right now.  

Gawdin he is on the cusp, isn't bad isn't great but isn't out of place either

 

Below Average

Valimaki this kis just looks lost, over plays everything gets beat all the time, seems clueless 

Stone  he is just slow gets beat constantly 

Pelletier he is young but he is so out of his element right now, has huge growth require to play at this level

Philips and Phllp its just not there to small out of position and pushed over to much. 

 

The rest were Meh, nothing worth speaking of. I get its preseason but when one has to put forth 6 dmen from this it makes one sick to my stomach to think. Gubranson, Stone, Valimaki have been beyond horrific. Valimaki for me has been the largest disappointment in this preseason, its early but it appears he is worse instead of better. Richtie will be kep up as the 13 th forward and so far he looks to not have any competion.

Potential Roster

 

MT- Lindy- Coleman

JG- Mony- Mags

Dube- Backs- Pitlick

Lucic- Richardson- Lewis ( Would rather see, Gawdwin/ Ruzicka, Prospisil combination rather than Lewis and Richardson) 

Ritchie

 

Hanifin- Tanev

Zadorov-Mackey 

Kylingon- Anderson

Harvey the Hound

 

Our D is going to be a gong show. IMHO as it stands right now, I give one spot to Mackey and the other to Kylington. F me Gubranson, Stone or Valimaki are just a tire fire right now, hell the slight edge to Valimaki for the 7th guy. 

 

[jjgallow]

To be completely fair, the preseason means very very very very little.

 

I won't say it means nothing, but it's not a thing to frett over.

 

What I look for in preseasons, is exceptional improvement.    I look for players which show signs that they have raised to a new level.

From that perspective, I count:  zero players.        (Now, from rookie camp, I do Somewhat count Wolf and maybe Pospisil, Francis.)

 

I think too much attention is being placed on the support roles.    We're literally missing our first line in every position except LW.
That is 5 absent first line positions, the way I count it.   Make it 4 if you want to count Markstrom.

 

Sure our 4th line looks bad, because really if we had a first line, our 3rd line would be the 4th line and they would be more than adequate.

Adding another 4th line doesn't even come close to fixing the fundamental issue, this is just duct tape.

 

 

So the positives?   None in the preseason, but also no real negatives.  It really doesn't matter.

 

When we approach the trade deadline though, IMHO, that is a time for honesty.    Our last chance for honesty, if we want anything back for these core players.

[zima]

I hope this is not what we have to look forward to this season. I know it is only the start of the yr and we always seem to have bad starts but the fact we lost some good players and did nothing to fill those holes including Gio, I still don't understand why we gave up Gio and kept players like Kyl just to save a lousy 6 mill which we spent any way for lesser players. Could some one please explain the reasoning behind the Gio move and why most on this forum were so happy to see this play happen? I believe Gio still had a few good yrs in him so Im hoping the Gio give away was the plan to get him back next yr where he belongs. The worst thing is the fact we did very little to upgrade this team and what they did bring in is no better than the kids left standing in the wings. I am so very confused as usual 🤪

[robrob74]

34 minutes ago, zima said:

I hope this is not what we have to look forward to this season. I know it is only the start of the yr and we always seem to have bad starts but the fact we lost some good players and did nothing to fill those holes including Gio, I still don't understand why we gave up Gio and kept players like Kyl just to save a lousy 6 mill which we spent any way for lesser players. Could some one please explain the reasoning behind the Gio move and why most on this forum were so happy to see this play happen? I believe Gio still had a few good yrs in him so Im hoping the Gio give away was the plan to get him back next yr where he belongs. The worst thing is the fact we did very little to upgrade this team and what they did bring in is no better than the kids left standing in the wings. I am so very confused as usual 🤪

 

I can agree on the 6mil being spent sporadically on nothing players. The hope was to actually use some of that Cap for something more, not just Coles. I hope all of these little signings work out. 
 

we might need to look at where we are after the first week of November. 
 

I hope the Top 6 or 9 are filled well enough to withstand the 82 games. There doesn’t seem to be much depth beyond the roster players.

[sak22]

12 minutes ago, zima said:

I hope this is not what we have to look forward to this season. I know it is only the start of the yr and we always seem to have bad starts but the fact we lost some good players and did nothing to fill those holes including Gio, I still don't understand why we gave up Gio and kept players like Kyl just to save a lousy 6 mill which we spent any way for lesser players. Could some one please explain the reasoning behind the Gio move and why most on this forum were so happy to see this play happen? I believe Gio still had a few good yrs in him so Im hoping the Gio give away was the plan to get him back next yr where he belongs. The worst thing is the fact we did very little to upgrade this team and what they did bring in is no better than the kids left standing in the wings. I am so very confused as usual 🤪

These are the alternatives I see that would have resulted in keeping Gio:  selling low on Hanifin, Andersson or Tanev, for 2 of the 3 its a very bad play or giving Seattle a 1st and 3rd, also an overpay considering the player is 38 years old.  It's the nature of expansion drafts that I think people forget because of how easy the Flames got out of the Vegas draft, while the Flames got out easy that time while other teams helped gift Vegas an elite team out of the gate.  Anaheim trading Shea Theodore was pure stupidity that has helped set that team back, while giving a division rival an All-Star defenseman.  Losing Gio for nothing wasn't by design, it was the decision that made the most sense for the future of the team.

[robrob74]

58 minutes ago, sak22 said:

These are the alternatives I see that would have resulted in keeping Gio:  selling low on Hanifin, Andersson or Tanev, for 2 of the 3 its a very bad play or giving Seattle a 1st and 3rd, also an overpay considering the player is 38 years old.  It's the nature of expansion drafts that I think people forget because of how easy the Flames got out of the Vegas draft, while the Flames got out easy that time while other teams helped gift Vegas an elite team out of the gate.  Anaheim trading Shea Theodore was pure stupidity that has helped set that team back, while giving a division rival an All-Star defenseman.  Losing Gio for nothing wasn't by design, it was the decision that made the most sense for the future of the team.

I also wonder who the Ducks would keep now if they could use hindsight. Surely they’d keep Theodore over a few of their other guys. 
 

I agree, I’m not bent over losing Giordano. It’s a gamble whether he’ll be effective in a year or two. And if he’s still effective enough, he can always sign a new deal with the Flames next year. But do we want an aging player like that? Maybe. 
 

the ask would mortgage too much of the future after Gio has retired. So it’s a question you gotta ask yourself in the situation (for BT), are we a contender now? Is it a year to win, and how many

pieces away are we to

justify the cost of keeping the player?

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, robrob74 said:

 

I can agree on the 6mil being spent sporadically on nothing players. The hope was to actually use some of that Cap for something more, not just Coles. I hope all of these little signings work out. 
 

we might need to look at where we are after the first week of November. 
 

I hope the Top 6 or 9 are filled well enough to withstand the 82 games. There doesn’t seem to be much depth beyond the roster players.

 

My beef with BT is his tendency to bring in role players at a high cost.

Pitlick and Gudbranson are both role players, but only Pitlick is a good player.

Ritchie was signed to meet exposure requirements, but is not anything more than a part time player.

I'm not as high on Lewis or Richardson, but they are very minor.

They are doing squat to hurt the cap.

You waive them and bring in a AHL guy, it's net zero almost.

 

Let me sum it up.

Gio out, Zadorov and Guddy in is basically a wash cap wise.

That's not a great cap tradeoff.

And not a skills tradeoff.

Bennett + Nordstrom + Ryan + Big Save out and Coleman + Pitlick + Vladar in, is a bit closer to a win.

Both in cap and skills.

[bosn111]

Watching much of the game last night, there was little that impressed me. As others have mentioned, the final results are unimportant, it is what individual players do that is the point of these games, especially for the prospects.

 

The only players that had positive moments in the game for me at all were Dube, Mangiapane and Vladar consistently, Kylington had some flashes as did Ruzicka, Mackey and Duehr.  Pospisil had a couple minor flashes as well.
 

The biggest disappointment for me in the game was Valimaki. On one goal, he chose to drop to his stomach and slowly slide to the side of the goal as a player was pushing to the outside. Said player just skated by him, passed to the slot and goal scored. Admittedly Stone lost the goal scorer, but Valimaki leaving his feet was pointless. Later in the game he did the same thing on the other side of the net with zero effect on the play, luckily no goal. I just didn’t see anything all that impressive from Valimaki.

 

What I liked most from Kylington was PP QB. He moves the puck very well, good vision and moves the pocket around as well. I was surprised at how well he did this. Defending was a bit more of an adventure but with the right D partner to cover for him, he may be fine. 
 

Mackey getting his feet back. I don’t see top 4 from him right now, but could be a solid bottom pair in the next few years.

[jjgallow]

2 hours ago, bosn111 said:

Watching much of the game last night, there was little that impressed me. As others have mentioned, the final results are unimportant, it is what individual players do that is the point of these games, especially for the prospects.

 

The only players that had positive moments in the game for me at all were Dube, Mangiapane and Vladar consistently, Kylington had some flashes as did Ruzicka, Mackey and Duehr.  Pospisil had a couple minor flashes as well.
 

The biggest disappointment for me in the game was Valimaki. On one goal, he chose to drop to his stomach and slowly slide to the side of the goal as a player was pushing to the outside. Said player just skated by him, passed to the slot and goal scored. Admittedly Stone lost the goal scorer, but Valimaki leaving his feet was pointless. Later in the game he did the same thing on the other side of the net with zero effect on the play, luckily no goal. I just didn’t see anything all that impressive from Valimaki.

 

What I liked most from Kylington was PP QB. He moves the puck very well, good vision and moves the pocket around as well. I was surprised at how well he did this. Defending was a bit more of an adventure but with the right D partner to cover for him, he may be fine. 
 

Mackey getting his feet back. I don’t see top 4 from him right now, but could be a solid bottom pair in the next few years.

 

I know a lot are focused on the bottom 6 as that was the big Sutter upgrade, I personally don't care, they effectively did nothing over the offseason other than lose Gio.   Support players like that can be bought and sold as the season progresses, as needed.   And by the looks of it, they will be.

 

In terms of this upcoming season, I think your two most important things to watch for are Vladar and Valimaki.  Valimaki especially.   That goes back to losing Gio.  

 

If Valimaki raises his game to a level that compensates for the loss of Gio, then every negative word I ever said on here, I could have to eat.   If he doesn't, well then, it's going to be a great draft year.   It can be boiled down to that.   (because the Flames are far too busy looking for a center to upgrade their D any other way).     Having said that, it's far too early to dismiss him.   But he's yet to show the difference he would need to.

 

[conundrumed]

Camp and scrimmage don’t mean much. Fun to watch, but no real takeaways.

Just experienced players getting their timing back, younger players trying to understand it. I missed both games but will try to watch for fun. Just nothing I’d be looking for yet. Noticed Pitlick is out with an LBI and BT lied about Zary being in camp.

[robrob74]

4 hours ago, jjgallow said:

 

I know a lot are focused on the bottom 6 as that was the big Sutter upgrade, I personally don't care, they effectively did nothing over the offseason other than lose Gio.   Support players like that can be bought and sold as the season progresses, as needed.   And by the looks of it, they will be.

 

In terms of this upcoming season, I think your two most important things to watch for are Vladar and Valimaki.  Valimaki especially.   That goes back to losing Gio.  

 

If Valimaki raises his game to a level that compensates for the loss of Gio, then every negative word I ever said on here, I could have to eat.   If he doesn't, well then, it's going to be a great draft year.   It can be boiled down to that.   (because the Flames are far too busy looking for a center to upgrade their D any other way).     Having said that, it's far too early to dismiss him.   But he's yet to show the difference he would need to.

 

I don’t think you’re going to see Gio levels from Valamaki, which probably what you’re getting at. But I think definitely not this season. Maybe this year is a growth year for him. Would it be better to play him AHL? Is it too late for that? They should have played him AHL last year. I just don’t see an NHL player in him right now. I think he could be like Kylington, cusp. But at his age, I’d prefer him to play and learn on the job than sit most of the night and play 8min 

[The_People1]

16 hours ago, jjgallow said:

 

Great synopsis, thank you.   I don't think you'll get a lot of thanks for this but you're keeping it real.   This is the prospect pipeline that "Win Now" generates.   But our time will come.    And, good to see Dube look strong.

 

Extra thanks for:

 

"Phillips - falls down way too much.  It got kind of annoying like you almost expect him to fall as soon as he has the puck in traffic."

 

Again, I may have mistaken Phillips for Philp and vice versa.  Announcer wasn't very clear saying their names either.  But still, both guys are small and neither stood out.

 

The pipeline doesn't have many high end prospects.  Zary looked good for a top 6 eventually.  Outside of that, we have a bunch of bottom 6 guys.  Duehr and Pospisil stand out as bottom 6 players.  Very good bottom 6 players.  I think both are NHL ready.  Gawdin and Ruzicka both had their moments too and I think can play 4th line if asked upon.

 

It makes signing Richardson and Lewis feel like a waste.

 

I haven't seen enough of Pitlick but it looks like his spot on the roster could be given to one of the kids.

[The_People1]

14 hours ago, travel_dude said:

 

Ritchie can't shoot worth beans.  Equivalent to topping the ball in golf.  He's not an everyday NHL player and should never be.  

I would like to see Ruzicka with NHL players.  He should be looked at for a line with Backlund and Dube IMHO.

Gawdin needs to show that he can score at the NHL level; his game is okay, but I don't see him doing much as a 4th liner with guys like Lewis.

 

I get the Ritchie hate.  Yes, he has no finish and weak shot.  But at the same time, he finds himself on partial breakaways and open in the slot for shots.  That suggests to me he is doing something right.  He gets more scoring chances than many of the other players.

 

I would like Sutter to sit Ritchie down and tell him, "no more shots.  You protect the puck, get down low, and drive the puck towards the front of the net."  I'd rather every Ritchie shot turn into a crash play in front of the goalie.  It's a low percentage play but so is his shot.  But at least if he drives the net then he makes it very uncomfortable for the other team to play against him.

[The_People1]

14 hours ago, robrob74 said:

The problem is, Valamaki has been bad too. That whole 3rd pairing and others have been not that great. I knew this about Gudbranson already. It's a head scratcher of a signing, probably not a BT deal, but BT has been known to make these boneheaded deals for players that are barely league players. Hopefully it just takes some of these guys some time to get their legs moving, but not really anyone is knocking on the door to get a spot. Are the vets confident they're going to play? THey're playing a bit lacks out there.

 

maybe valamaki needs someone better to play with. But the times I saw him out there, he looks like a fish out of water, scrambling. 

 

14 hours ago, travel_dude said:

Valimaki makes poor decisions at times.  I would prefer to see him playing with a vet that actually knows how to play defense.

Unfortunately, we don't have a safe 3rd pair guy for him, so his mistakes will be forced (due to his partner leaving him less options).

Would prefer to see him take the puck up the ice instead of panic passing.

Dutter has to settle him down and get him to play to his strengths.

 

14 hours ago, tmac70 said:

Below Average

Valimaki this kis just looks lost, over plays everything gets beat all the time, seems clueless 

 

9 hours ago, bosn111 said:

The biggest disappointment for me in the game was Valimaki. On one goal, he chose to drop to his stomach and slowly slide to the side of the goal as a player was pushing to the outside. Said player just skated by him, passed to the slot and goal scored. Admittedly Stone lost the goal scorer, but Valimaki leaving his feet was pointless. Later in the game he did the same thing on the other side of the net with zero effect on the play, luckily no goal. I just didn’t see anything all that impressive from Valimaki.

 

I agree about Valimaki.

 

He's okay 90% of the time but that 10%, yikes.  Those belly slides when a centering pass wasn't even coming.  Why would you defend like that?  When he has the puck, it's just as bad.  He's over confident and tries risky passes.  When he's getting swarmed and about to get checked, he's still doing the whole "cool as a cucumber" thing... and you're screaming at TV for him to get rid of it quick.  There's clearly no play but to chip it off the boards but what is he waiting for?  Hangs onto the puck to the very last millisecond.  Can't cut it so close against high end talent because they will strip him of the puck easily.

 

He's still young, yes.  Has lots to learn.  Maybe starting in the AHL and logging #1 minutes isn't the worst thing for him.  He has a lot of tools.  Size, hitting, skating, shot, etc.  If he can put it all together then he's going to be a top pair guy.

 

In comparison, Mackey has almost no tools.  He's just a simple player keeping it simple.  Just be in position.  Have a good stick.  Make the safe play/pass.  Nothing fancy.  And for that, he's playing the right way.  Sutter likes simple and effective so I would guess Mackey is scoring high on his chart right now.  I would be okay starting the season with Mackey-Stone as the 3rd pair.

[The_People1]

9 hours ago, travel_dude said:

 

My beef with BT is his tendency to bring in role players at a high cost.

Pitlick and Gudbranson are both role players, but only Pitlick is a good player.

Ritchie was signed to meet exposure requirements, but is not anything more than a part time player.

I'm not as high on Lewis or Richardson, but they are very minor.

They are doing squat to hurt the cap.

You waive them and bring in a AHL guy, it's net zero almost.

 

Let me sum it up.

Gio out, Zadorov and Guddy in is basically a wash cap wise.

That's not a great cap tradeoff.

And not a skills tradeoff.

Bennett + Nordstrom + Ryan + Big Save out and Coleman + Pitlick + Vladar in, is a bit closer to a win.

Both in cap and skills.

 

Absolutely.  BT's downfall is going to be over paying during free agency.

 

I'll hold out commenting on Coleman until we see how he fits with our group.  To me, there's so much Troy Brouwer potential here that I know I'm going to cringe if it goes poorly.  We also had guys on the verge of a breakout like Mangiapane and Dube.  All BT has to do is have some faith the kids in the farm are going to take the next step.

[conundrumed]

Worth noting was Valimaki-Stone were the 1st pairing. Sutter had noted how he was breaking down camp, hence not many of our NHLer's have seen game action yet.

All is not lost just yet. Let's see how it plays out rather than make decisions already.

[travel_dude]

6 hours ago, The_People1 said:

 

I get the Ritchie hate.  Yes, he has no finish and weak shot.  But at the same time, he finds himself on partial breakaways and open in the slot for shots.  That suggests to me he is doing something right.  He gets more scoring chances than many of the other players.

 

I would like Sutter to sit Ritchie down and tell him, "no more shots.  You protect the puck, get down low, and drive the puck towards the front of the net."  I'd rather every Ritchie shot turn into a crash play in front of the goalie.  It's a low percentage play but so is his shot.  But at least if he drives the net then he makes it very uncomfortable for the other team to play against him.

 

In a pre-season game you would expect him to be able to be part of a rush.

He also played with creative players, so I don't think he was anything more than ok

[robrob74]

On 9/28/2021 at 3:30 PM, travel_dude said:

 

My beef with BT is his tendency to bring in role players at a high cost.

Pitlick and Gudbranson are both role players, but only Pitlick is a good player.

Ritchie was signed to meet exposure requirements, but is not anything more than a part time player.

I'm not as high on Lewis or Richardson, but they are very minor.

They are doing squat to hurt the cap.

You waive them and bring in a AHL guy, it's net zero almost.

 

Let me sum it up.

Gio out, Zadorov and Guddy in is basically a wash cap wise.

That's not a great cap tradeoff.

And not a skills tradeoff.

Bennett + Nordstrom + Ryan + Big Save out and Coleman + Pitlick + Vladar in, is a bit closer to a win.

Both in cap and skills.

 

Good Comparisons. 

Easy to focus on the first tradeoff than the 2nd. 

[robrob74]

15 hours ago, The_People1 said:

 

I get the Ritchie hate.  Yes, he has no finish and weak shot.  But at the same time, he finds himself on partial breakaways and open in the slot for shots.  That suggests to me he is doing something right.  He gets more scoring chances than many of the other players.

 

I would like Sutter to sit Ritchie down and tell him, "no more shots.  You protect the puck, get down low, and drive the puck towards the front of the net."  I'd rather every Ritchie shot turn into a crash play in front of the goalie.  It's a low percentage play but so is his shot.  But at least if he drives the net then he makes it very uncomfortable for the other team to play against him.

 

I saw somewhere posted that he actually has decent corsi stats, or advanced stats. So people are cherrypicking stats to their benefit. I haven't looked at them as I am just not a stats guy. I am an eye test guy who looks for actual effort over skating around with the puck fancily. 

[robrob74]

15 hours ago, The_People1 said:

 

 

 

 

I agree about Valimaki.

 

He's okay 90% of the time but that 10%, yikes.  Those belly slides when a centering pass wasn't even coming.  Why would you defend like that?  When he has the puck, it's just as bad.  He's over confident and tries risky passes.  When he's getting swarmed and about to get checked, he's still doing the whole "cool as a cucumber" thing... and you're screaming at TV for him to get rid of it quick.  There's clearly no play but to chip it off the boards but what is he waiting for?  Hangs onto the puck to the very last millisecond.  Can't cut it so close against high end talent because they will strip him of the puck easily.

 

He's still young, yes.  Has lots to learn.  Maybe starting in the AHL and logging #1 minutes isn't the worst thing for him.  He has a lot of tools.  Size, hitting, skating, shot, etc.  If he can put it all together then he's going to be a top pair guy.

 

In comparison, Mackey has almost no tools.  He's just a simple player keeping it simple.  Just be in position.  Have a good stick.  Make the safe play/pass.  Nothing fancy.  And for that, he's playing the right way.  Sutter likes simple and effective so I would guess Mackey is scoring high on his chart right now.  I would be okay starting the season with Mackey-Stone as the 3rd pair.

 

 

I feel like maybe that's Valamaki's weakness, not being in position. Everyone talks about how good he skates and I think he is a slow player. And it's possibly that he's just slowing the game down too much or isn't in the right position. I'd like him to be faster as an NHL player. And I guess that means making decisions quicker, making the outs, being in a position to get a pass and then get rid of it right away. He has a lot of upside, but he's quickly looking like a Gustaffson/Kylington than the Top4 D we thought he was. Tough gamble by BT to put all of our D prospect eggs in his basket.