A few days ago we asked our readers to fill out report card grades for the Flames based on the opening 61 games of 2018-19 season. We got a super strong voter turnout and are quite happy with how everything ended up.

We’ll be including the player’s stats this season, and how they fared since our last report cards. We’ve included their current grade, along with their previous grades at the ¹⁄₄ and ¹⁄₂ point of the season.

A reminder again that grades were 100% fan driven, so please don’t yell at us.

³⁄₄ Report Cards

Forwards

#10 - C Derek Ryan 60 GP, 6 G, 18 A, 24 Pts, 20 PIM, +3

Last Quarter: 20 GP, 2 G, 10 A, 12 Pts, 6 PIM, +6

Ryan has been arguably the best Flame since the All-Star break and has led some great performances by the fourth line. He’s showing that the Flames made the right move in getting him last summer as he’s provided excellent depth for the Flames in all situations.

Current Grade: B-

¹⁄₂ Grade = C, ¹⁄₄ Grade = D+

#11 - C Mikael Backlund 57 GP, 15 G, 21 A, 36 Pts, 40 PIM, +30

Last Quarter: 20 GP, 7 G, 9 A, 16 Pts, 22 PIM, +16

Backlund may get overlooked by some of the ridiculous production the other top forwards have put up this season, but he’s on pace for one of the best seasons of his career. Coupled with his fantastic play in the defensive zone, he’s one of the most important players on the ice on a nightly basis.

Current Grade: B+

¹⁄₂ Grade = B, ¹⁄₄ Grade = B

#13 - LW Johnny Gaudreau 61 GP, 30 G, 49 A, 79 Pts, 18 PIM, +15

Last Quarter: 20 GP, 8 G, 12 A, 20 Pts, 8 PIM, -2

Things have slowed down for Gaudreau along with most of the other top Flames forwards since coming out of the all-star break. Of course he’s still at a point-per-game over his last 20 so it’s not like he’s fallen off a cliff, but he isn’t produced at the ridiculous pace he was in December and January.

Current Grade: A+

¹⁄₂ Grade = A+, ¹⁄₄ Grade = A

#18 - RW James Neal 55 GP, 5 G, 10 A, 15 Pts, 24 PIM, -10

Last Quarter: 15 GP, 1 G, 7 A, 8 Pts, 6 PIM, +1

For a stretch James Neal was probably playing his best hockey of the season, although that’s not saying much after his slow start. He had a three game point streak at one point before the merciless hockey gods felt that they should take eight of his teeth. That was followed shortly by a shoulder injury that’s week to week. And oh yeah his replacements are now scoring regularly. No luck for this guy this year.

Current Grade: D-

¹⁄₂ Grade = D-, ¹⁄₄ Grade = D

#19 - LW Matthew Tkachuk 61 GP, 24 G, 35 A, 59 Pts, 52 PIM, +9

Last Quarter: 20 GP, 6 G, 6 A, 12 Pts, 5 PIM, +/- 0

Things have been slowing down for Tkachuk lately as he seems to be off his game. Something just doesn’t look right when he’s playing, perhaps trying to play through an injury or maybe it’s just a slump.

Current Grade: A-

¹⁄₂ Grade = A, ¹⁄₄ Grade = A+

#21 - RW Garnet Hathaway 55 GP, 7 G, 3 A, 10 Pts, 31 PIM, +6

Last Quarter: 19 GP, 3 G, 2 A, 5 Pts, 14 PIM, +5

Hathaway has been a big factor on the new look fourth line that has been really performing well over the last 5-7 games. He’s living up to his billing as a pest and has even chipped in a bit offensively as well.

Current Grade: C+

¹⁄₂ Grade = C+, ¹⁄₄ Grade = C

#23 - C Sean Monahan 61 GP, 29 G, 38 A, 67 Pts, 10 PIM, +7

Last Quarter: 20 GP, 7 G, 10 A, 17 Pts. 4 PIM, -4

Okay I’m getting tired of saying this but the Flames top forwards have been struggling and Monahan is no different. On the bright side, he’s one goal away from the third 30 goal season of his career. He’s only already set a career high in points.

Current Grade: A-

¹⁄₂ Grade = A, ¹⁄₄ Grade = A

#27 - RW Austin Czarnik 33 GP, 5 G, 4 A, 9 Pts, 2 PIM, -6

Last Quarter: 10 GP, 3 G, 0 A, 0 PIM, +/- 0

Since returning to the lineup four games ago in place of the injured James Neal, Czarnik has really elevated his play compared to what was seen earlier in the year. He was rewarded with three goals and has looked consistently more dangerous in this most recent stretch. Time will tell if it’s just a hot streak, or something that’s here to stay.

Current Grade: C

¹⁄₂ Grade = C-, ¹⁄₄ Grade = D+

#28 - RW Elias Lindholm 61 GP, 25 G, 44 A, 69 Pts (nice), 16 PIM, +29

Last Quarter: 20 GP, 6 G, 16 A, 22 Pts, 8 PIM, +4

We’ve already mentioned countless times to recent struggles of the top six, but Lindholm has been the key exception as he’s continued his fantastic play all season long. He’s recently seen some stints with Mikael Backlund and look just as effective with him. What an acquisition!

Current Grade: A+

¹⁄₂ Grade = A+, ¹⁄₄ Grade = A+

#67 - RW Michael Frolik 44 GP, 13 G, 9 A, 22 Pts, 20 PIM, +17

Last Quarter: 20 GP, 5 G, 7 A, 12 Pts, 6 PIM, +11

Despite some off-ice question marks after comments from his agent, Frolik’s play on the ice has been remarkably solid as he’s on one of the best point paces of his career. He’s exactly the kind of player the Flames will need in the playoffs.

Current Grade: C+

¹⁄₂ Grade = N/A (injury), ¹⁄₄ Grade = C-

#77 - C Mark Jankowski 58 GP, 10 G, 14 A, 24 Pts, 8 PIM, +6

Last Quarter: 20 GP, 4 G, 4 A, 8 Pts, 2 PIM, +1

He definitely hasn’t been blowing anyone away with his play this year, and he could very well end up as part of a return package if the Flames buy big now or next summer. He’s fine at what he does, but may be the team’s fourth best center right now with Ryan’s emergence.

Current Grade: B-

¹⁄₂ Grade = B-, ¹⁄₄ Grade = C-

#88 - LW Andrew Mangiapane 23 GP, 3 G, 2 A, 5 Pts, 4 PIM, +2

Last Quarter: 16 GP, 3 G, 2 A, 5 Pts, 2 PIM, +6

It’s pretty unfortunate for Mangiapane that I had the grades close almost immediately after his game-winner against the Ducks. Probably would have been bumped up a letter grade as a result. Since finally scoring his first NHL goal, Mangiapane has really taken off on the fourth line and has been consistently creating high quality chances over the last 7 games. It’s been a very promising few weeks for a prospect that had struggled before.

Current Grade: C

¹⁄₂ Grade = N/A (Not Enough Games), ¹⁄₄ Grade = N/A (Not Enough Games)

#93 - LW Sam Bennett 59 GP, 11 G, 12 A, 23 Pts, 81 PIM, -2

Last Quarter: 20 GP, 5 G, 5 A, 10 Pts, 11 PIM, -3

Bennett has stayed pretty consistent this year since defining his role as a physical player with a touch of offense. Of course he stills gets multiple glorious chances that he can’t finish, but Bennett has managed to make other impacts on the game using his body. He fills a role for the team, which is all you can ask of him once you let go of his high draft billing and accept him for what he is.

Current Grade: B

¹⁄₂ Grade = B, ¹⁄₄ Grade = B

Defence

#4 - RD Rasmus Andersson 58 GP, 1 G, 11 A, 12 Pts, 23 PIM, +10

Last Quarter: 20 GP, 0 G, 9 A, 9 Pts, 5 PIM, +8

Andersson has continued to show a steady progression all season long which culminated with him getting time on the top pairing with Mark Giordano after some line juggling was required. He didn’t look lost whatsoever in his increased role and gives Flames fans hope that he could be a Top 4 D as soon as next year (maybe even sooner).

Current Grade: B+

¹⁄₂ Grade = B, ¹⁄₄ Grade = B+

#5 - LD Mark Giordano 59 GP, 13 G, 45 A, 58 Pts, 59 PIM, +29

Last Quarter: 20 GP, 7 G, 13 A, 20 Pts, 26 PIM, +2

Can’t really say much more about Giordano this season other than “Wow”. The Flames captain has already had the best season points-wise of his career despite only being 59 games in. He’s arguably the frontrunner in the Norris discussion and his team leads the Western Conference. Simply outstanding.

Current Grade: A+

¹⁄₂ Grade = A+, ¹⁄₄ Grade = A+

#7 - RD T.J. Brodie 60 GP, 8 G, 23 A, 31 Pts, 20 PIM, +25

Last Quarter: 19 GP, 4 G, 12 A, 16 Pts, 8 PIM, +6

Brodie has had a strong season overall, but has taken a bit of a dive in the last few games with some sloppy defensive zone turnovers that resulted in goals. With Brodie recently being put on the third pairing with Dalton Prout as the Flames juggled their lines, you ahve to start wondering what his future is with all the Flames defensive prospects making significant jumps.

Current Grade: B-

¹⁄₂ Grade = B+, ¹⁄₄ Grade = B-

#24 - RD Travis Hamonic 50 GP, 5 G, 9 A, 14 Pts, 23 PIM, +11

Last Quarter: 17 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 Pts, 8 PIM, +/- 0

It’s been a rough year for Hamonic in terms of injuries, but he’s performed really well on the second pairing and given the Flames what they had been expecting when they originally acquired him.

Current Grade: B+

¹⁄₂ Grade = B+, ¹⁄₄ Grade = A

#55 - LD Noah Hanifin 61 GP, 5 G, 23 A, 28 Pts, 12 PIM, +13

Last Quarter: 20 GP, 2 G, 7 A, 9 Pts, 4 PIM, +8

Hanifin is steadily closing in on his career high of 32 points set last season, and seems to be making up for most of the offense lost on the blue line in last summer’s trade. His defensive zone performance has been leaky lately, so hopefully that can tighten up before the playoffs.

Current Grade: B

¹⁄₂ Grade = B, ¹⁄₄ Grade = B

#58 - LD Oliver Kylington 34 GP, 3 G, 4 A, 7 Pts, 10 PIM, +3

Last Quarter: 17 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 Pts, 6 PIM, +2

I really hope he’s not traded by the time this article is posted. Even if he is I’m leaving it in out of respect for the strong progression his game has shown this year. He’s gone for a good prospect to a very good full time NHLer.

Current Grade: B-

¹⁄₂ Grade = N/A (Not Enough Games), ¹⁄₄ Grade = N/A (Not Enough Games)

Goaltending

#33 - David Rittich 20-5-5, 2.66 GAA, .911 SV%

Last Quarter: 7-1-2, 3.19 GAA, .893 SV%

While his record may not indicate it, Rittich has gone through a rough stretch of games as he faced some good competition and saw his overall numbers start falling back. After a loss to the overpowered Lightning, he’s gone five games without a start so hopefully the plan is to re-incorporate him soon.

Current Grade: B+

¹⁄₂ Grade = A, ¹⁄₄ Grade = A

#41 - Mike Smith 18-11-2, 2.95 GAA, .895 SV%

Last Quarter: 6-3-1, 2,86 GAA, .904 SV%

Five straight starts and four straight victories for Mike Smith shows that things have been turning around for him in the Flames net, even if he’s still not posting amazing numbers. He’s looked a lot more confidently lately and this stretch has likely put off the Flames adding a netminder at the deadline.

Current Grade: C

¹⁄₂ Grade = C-, ¹⁄₄ Grade = D-

FLAMES ³⁄₄ MVP

For the third time this year, we have a new player being name the Flames MVP for the season. It was really a two horse race with a respectable third place finisher, while some other skaters garned a few votes here and there. Here’s the breakdown:

Mark Giordano was named the Flames MVP at this point in the season and rightly so, accumulating 48% of votes and being right at the top of Norris discussions.

Johnny Gaudreau was in the running as well and finished with a respectable 34%. Elias Lindholm wound up third with 15%.

Thank you again for taking the time to submit your grades and read this piece. As always, Go Flames Go!

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports