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Flames Won't Loan Monahan, Giordano Back? Hartley On "Bullying"...

December 4, 2013, 12:41 PM ET [44 Comments]
Colin Dambrauskas
Calgary Flames Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Follow Colin on Twitter!: @ColinDJD

The Calgary Flames will face the Phoenix Coyotes later tonight as each team looks to extend their recent wins to two games in a row.

With eight points in their last ten games played, Calgary has been showing a little more life to their game despite missing several key players in their lineup. With the recent news of Sean Monahan and Dennis Wideman being placed on the IR, the Flames overall team depth has been really put to the test and a few players have been doing their best to step up to the plate.

In their latest game, 24 year old Paul Byron who was only recently called up from the Abbostford Heat added a helper on the Flames first goal which was on the penalty kill against the LA Kings. He and Kris Russell were two big reasons for the win against a much stronger roster in the Kings, and the coaching staff certainly did not lose sight of this.

"We wanted energy and Paul is like that little ‘Buzz Buzz’ that always goes and he wants to do it. Just like Kris Russell, he’s not the biggest frame out there but he plays big. He’s a great competitor and I was real happy for him that he got us that short-handed goal.”

I can’t help but continue to express how impressed I have been with Russell’s play this year with the Flames. Having struggled to earn his ranks playing with the Blues, Russell took the opportunity presented to him on a rebuilding Flames team and has really grabbed the bull by the horns, as they say.

While we are on a positive note, Captain Mark Giordano may be much closer to returning that anticipated as the defenseman was skating with the group during practice yesterday and may be ready to go tonight!

“No pain in the ankle area,” Giordano boasted. “It feels pretty good, right now, but I guess we’ll see (during Wednesday’s) pre-game skate and see after that.
“I was surprised how good I felt (Tuesday).”

“He’s very close,” Hartley said. “He’ll be re-evaluated by the doctor (Wednesday), and if the medical staff gives us the green light, he could be a strong possibility.


Adding Giordano to the roster would really help the team who has missed his calming presence on the backend, despite the strong play of guys like Russell and Wideman. That said, given the amount of time he has missed, it will be a slow transition for Mark to get back into game shape and be able to fully contribute.

Also taking to the ice tonight will be goaltending Karri Ramo as he earns a back to back start for the first time in well over a month. The netminder earned a win against LA on Saturday night allowing only one goal. As I displayed on Twitter a few days ago, he has also sported a new mask which, for some goalies, indicates a hopeful change in play – and a positive one, if I need to be specific.

With respect to this season, we all knew to expect that players would be heavily tested in all game situations and it isn’t any different for the goaltending situation. Having shuffled through three goaltenders to date, it appears it is now Karri Ramo’s chance to show the organization what he has to offer as Reto Berra has done over the previous month.

“We will probably not announce a No. 1 goalie all year,” he said. “It’s going to be a battle. I’ve said it from Day 1. It’s basically a three-man battle, Joey MacDonald is part of the mix and right now we’ve been going with Karri and Reto and they’re doing good and Karri was excellent in L.A.”


The lines for tonight are not expected to be much different than what we saw on Saturday night, outside of the possibility of Giordano being ready to play. That said, here are the expected line combinations:

Cammalleri – Stajan - Stempniak
Jones - Backlund - Hudler
Baertschi – Colborne - Jones
Bouma – Byron - McGrattan

Russell - Brodie
Giordano - Butler
O’Brien - Smid

Ramo

Outside of the game time discussion, the Flames organization released its final verdict on their decision regarding whether or not to loan Sean Monahan to the World Juniors Tournament.

I have to say that I was a little disappointed that they decided against lending the rookie given the state of the current team, however all things considered it was a win/win scenario as Monahan has been an integral part of this team so far this year, and while the experience playing in the WJC would be nice, the current experience which he is receiving is likely better for his overall development as a player.

In addition to this development, I recently wrote a blog about the accusation toward head coach Bob Hartley of “bullying” previous player(s). Since, the coach and one of his current players have spoken up about the allegations.

“I was made aware of that report long ago,” Hartley told reporters after his team’s Tuesday practice at the Saddledome. “All of us, all coaches, but I’ll speak for myself since my name is there — we set expectations, we create standards. There’s not a player that I’ve coached that I didn’t try to make better. I’ve never bullied no one.

“I might be a demanding coach, but I want the best for my players. I’ll leave it at this. For me, it’s the end of the story.”


Standing up for his current coach, veteran forward Lee Stempniak says while his coach has a certain coaching style which some may find to be “harsh”, the coaches are doing their jobs as they try their best to get as much out of each players as they can.

“I think that’s a coach’s job, to wring every last bit of talent out of a player,” he said. “First, as a player, you want a coach that believes you have more and tries to help you reach your potential. I think every coach deep down wants the best for his players and is just trying to motivate them.

“I think, at the end of the day, the coaches want the same things the players want. It’s just to be the best you can be and maximizing your potential.”


There appears to be no real legs to the allegations at this point in time. While the coach appears to play favorites at times with his players, has a very serious coaching style, and will constantly sit you until you do as asked, he’s coaching the team the way that the Flames organization brought him in to do, and will continue to do so as long as he remains head coach.

Thanks for reading!
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