Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
With training camps beginning to open up league-wide the Calgary Flames have released their finalized camp roster.
As you would expect the vast majority of players are Flames' property but there are several players joining the team in camp on a tryout basis.
That list includes Chris Higgins, Jamie Devane, Nicklas Grossman, all of whom we previously knew about, as well as Lauri Korpikoski, Luke Adam and Matt Frattin.
Some notes on each:
Chris Higgins
Higgins is one of the better players signed to a PTO by the Flames. Last season was a disaster for him (he had four points in 33 NHL games and was sent to the minors as a result) but he had consecutive 36+ point campaigns in the two seasons prior to last.
Higgins shot just 5.9% last season (his career average is a hair below 10%) so perhaps he was just unlucky and can find his touch again. Should that be the case he could be a nice bottom-6 option on a team that doesn't feature many of them. If last season was simply age catching up to him, and his body wearing down, that's fine, too, because the Flames have made no commitment to him. Either way it can't hurt to give him a look and find out.
Jamie Devane
Devane has a history with Brian Burke from their days together in Toronto and I think that's pretty much the only reason he'll be joining the Flames in camp.
Last season in the AHL he had 11 points and 82 penalty minutes in 62 games with the Milwaukee Admirals. He didn't bring anything but a physical presence to the table playing weak competition so it'd only be worse against NHL players. I think he'll be an early cut.
Nicklas Grossman
With the game getting faster and faster by year players that can't really skate have struggled to be effective. That was certainly the case for Grossman last season as he brought nothing to the table offensively (seven points and 42 shots in 57 games) while the Coyotes were routinely out shot, out chanced and out scored with him on the ice. The bottom half of the Flames defense isn't good, which will help his cause, but I'd be pretty surprised if Grossman broke camp with the team. I think stop gap kids like Brett Kulak and Tyler Wotherspoon would be much better options.
Lauri Korpikoski
On the surface Korpikoski had a pretty good year with the Edmonton Oilers last season. He scored 10 goals and tallied 22 points - good numbers for a depth player - while appearing in 71 games.
When you dig a little deeper, though, it's not hard to see why he was forced to accept a PTO.
With Korpikoski on the ice last season the Oilers controlled 43% of the shot attempts and 34% of the goals at 5 v 5. Without Korpikoski those numbers improved drastically to 49% and 43.7%. The Oilers were a very bad team, obviously, so Korpikoski putting up awful numbers relative to the team is not a good look.
I honestly wouldn't be shocked if he made the Flames roster but that wouldn't be a good thing. They have added enough players who struggle in possession this off-season in Troy Brouwer, Alex Chiasson and Linden Vey.
Luke Adam
Adam has an ideal NHL frame at 6'2' and more than 200 pounds. That's about where the appeal ends. He has averaged less than .50 points per game over the last three seasons and has registered just two points in 19 NHL games during that span. Again, there's no harm in bringing him in for a look but I think earning an AHL deal would be the best case scenario for him.
Matt Frattin
Frattin was a decent bottom-6 player when he broke into the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs but his career has gone downhill since. He struggled after being traded to Los Angeles and never really got a chance in Columbus.
Over the last couple years he's been a solid scorer with the Toronto Marlies but he's probably nothing more than a good AHLer who can play a couple NHL games here and there if injuries build up.
I don't think any of these guys are useful NHLers at this point in their careers but I wouldn't be surprised if one of them ends up making the Flames roster out of camp. Time will tell if that's the case.
Recent posts:
Flames will wear retros as 3rd jerseys beginning this season
Dougie Hamilton's debut season in Calgary better than given credit for
Pacific Division bold predictions
Hotstove: Pacific Division breakout players
A look at how Flames' players are rated in NHL 17
Three question marks for the Flames heading into the 2016-17 season
Michael Ferland should score more next season
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»