Ten Thoughts From Flames Vs. Dinos (Plus Interviews!)

September 16, 2011

Flames 4, Dinos 0

Ten Thoughts

-The Flames had a lot of issues sustaining pressure over long periods of time-the goals they got were either weak or off of quick rushes. There were a few new offensive lines (Holland-Baertchi-Horak, for one) but it shouldn't have impacted the game as much as it did.
-The Dinos just dominated the Flames physically. Bancks in particular took a couple pretty hard shots right in front of us. I'm not too worried about it though-the Dinos, on average, are a bigger and older (read: more physically mature) team, so it was sorta expected.

-Man oh man does Joey Leach have some work to do. He skates like a lug out there-it’s almost stunning how immobile he is. Truth be told, I can’t even really tell if he’s a good hockey player or not because he can’t move at a pace conducive to an AHL-level of play. He got beat wide at least 4 times and had his pocket picked a couple more. Not impressed.

-Similarly, Greg Nemisz still really struggles with his first stride. Especially on crossover starts-it takes an eternity for him to bring his leg over and go. When he’s in open ice, he can move pretty well because of his size and power-but the acceleration and agility still aren’t there.

-Not much to report on in terms of special teams as Coach Troy Ward seemed to be rolling lines in an effort to get everyone out there for evaluation.

–Joni Ortio looked great. He didn’t have much work (14 saves for the shutout) but the Dinos had a couple of excellent opportunities, espically off of rebounds-and he stopped them all. Two saves in particular that stood out to me were a glove save on a breakaway about 10 minutes in and sprawling across the net to stop a rebound with about 5 minutes left in the second. My only complaint was that he seemed to be over playing a little bit-too much push or slide when getting from side to side in the net.

-People were saying that Roman Horak looked…not awful (?) in Pentiction, but I’m not sure what changed because he sucked ass last night. Like at Development camp, the only times I noticed him is when he was screwing something up or missing an assignment.

-John "If He Can Stay Healthy" Negrin impressed me last night. Can I point to one example where he was stunning? No, but he was consistent, stayed in a safe position and had a couple of good outlet passes. Really nice to see that. Probably the best performance last night aside from Ortio.

-A bit of a bi-polar effort from T.J. Brodie. There were definitely a couple of spots where he was fighting the puck and getting caught out of position, but he also had a couple nice defensive plays on the PK and looked comfortable anchoring the PP.

-Of course, no prospect article is complete without Sven Baertschi. He had a geno and an apple playing on the top line with Horak and Holland and created a couple of nice breakaway chances almost by himself. I’m trying not to overrate the kid…but holy fuck. He is good.

Notes

Keep your eyes on Michael “Sick Dangles” Ferland. Liked what I saw last night…Blake Gal has some disgusting helmet hair…Flames were 1/3 on the PP, Dinos were 0/3…Shots were 32-14 in favour of the Flames…former Calgary Hitmen Tyler Fiddler was on the ice for the Dinos…1133 people were in attendance last night…wi loves Staios.

Three Stars

1. Joni Ortio, 14 Saves, Shutout

2. Sven Baertschi, 1G, 1A

3. John Negrin, +2

Interviews (Sorry for the quality, my camera died)

Baertschi Interview

Kosterman Interview

by Richard Hammond