Before moving ahead with my latest blog, I would like to thank Eklund and his team for giving me the chance to write full time for the Calgary Flames.

I am excited for this opportunity to share my knowledge and views towards the Flames organization with fans across the website, as well as any new readers. I’ve much appreciated all the feedback I have received from my first few blogs here, and would like to thank everyone for their support so far.

My intentions are to provide my readers with as much information as possible with respect to game time decisions, possible trade discussions, future plans or directions of the team etc. I welcome all discussions within my blogs provided each poster respects own another’s opinions and understands how passionate a fan may be about their respective team.

Now enough about me, and back to why you’re here!
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The main topics of debate for the past few months have all focused on trade scenarios and “Why Iginla and Kiprusoff” should be traded. Calgary fans have taken an ear full from armchair GM’s who have decided to stop by and express how poorly the team is being run by Jay Feaster and company.

The consensus from opposing fans is that the team needs to blow it all up and get into rebuild mode. Furthermore, rival fans have expressed that Calgary has no real prospects or have anything to cheer about.

Rather than further expressing my sentiments on the Iginla debates, I feel its time to discuss the team as it stands, and not as it could be given possible trades or transactions.

This week marked the beginning of the Flames 2012 development camp which many fans and media personnel were anxious for. Many, if not most Flames fans, were a little more anxious than normal to get feedback from this camp after a rather controversial draft pick in Mark Jankowski, as fans have seen little of his play or abilities to date.

In addition to Jankowski, there were a few other draft picks or players that many were looking out for, most notably: Gaudreau and Baertschi.

Gaudreau – Jon is certainly not intimidating with his size, but boy does he have some skill. Many have been saying Gaudreau is a young Theo Fleury with his ability to skate and be flashy. In the first two days of camp, Gaudreau has been rather impressive in his skating, but most noticeably his ability to score goals. He has a goal scorer’s instinct and with his speed has no problem skating around defenders creating offensive rushes. The only criticism so far is something Jon can’t really improve upon, and that’s his size. Just like any other young prospect he will certainly need to fill in. Many wonder if his size will hold him back, or if he could be another Nathan Gerbe type player.

Baertschi – Sven is by far the most NHL ready player out there and has been working very hard in all drills. Not much needs to be said about him other than to expect him to start with the big club and turn some heads. There will no doubt be a spike in jersey sales for the young budding star.

There is still more to expect out of development camp this year, and there has already been a bunch of interviews with players and coaches, however I do anticipate writing some concluding remarks about the camp as a whole in the next few days. For the time being, what should be noted is that the Flames certainly have some young talent that may break into the NHL much sooner than many have projected. There is no real debate that the team isn’t loaded with young talented assets, but there are a few gems moving up the ranks.

As mentioned, I’d like to focus this particular blog on how the team is, as of today, and perhaps what we can expect with the current rosters. As things stand, here’s what I anticipate as the opening roster.

Offense:
Baertschi/Tanguay – Backlund – Iginla
Hudler – Cervenka – Cammalleri
Glencross – Stajan – Stempniak
Jackman – Jones – Comeau

Aliu, Bouma, Kostopoulos

Defense:
Bouwmeester – Wideman
Giordano – Babchuk
Butler – Sarich

Hannan, Brodie, Smith

As you may have noticed, there is a log jam on the left side as Baertschi makes his way up, and a severe need down the middle. I won’t get into trade rumors today, however I would anticipate a few moves being made before the roster starts to allow a permanent spot for Baertshi as long as he continues to impress. It will be interesting to see how the Czech mates handle the second line, as I believe Cammalleri could help them out.

This is Stajan’s final chance to prove his worth. He is still a younger centerman who once showed promise, and has very small competition for top line minutes. Matt will have to make the best of his current situation or he may spend much of this year watching ridding the bench. New coaching and a few new faces may help the struggling center.

The rest of the current prospect list are still a full season or two removed from the NHL as they need time to develop their bodies and games.

Thanks as always for reading!

Follow: @noename09

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