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The Flames are closing in on the first quarter pole of the season and are about to see their first round of real Western conference competition. Their current record of 11-6-2 has them firmly entrenched near the top of the conference, and securely in the playoff race right now.
I think it’s completely fair to say that no one saw this coming from a team that is largely lacking in star power, and admittedly on a rebuilding track.
Many of us have been looking at the upcoming stretch of games as a true indicator of exactly where this team stands as the Flames will face Anaheim twice, along with Chicago, San Jose, and New Jersey over the next 5 games.
Does this team have what it takes to stack up against the best of the west? We’ll have to wait and see, but the good news is that the Flames have built themselves a bit of a cushion right now, and I’d like to take a look at exactly how they’ve managed to do it so far.
We’ve already spoken extensively about the impact of Jonas Hiller’s goaltending through the early part of this season. While his performance has cooled off a little recently, he’s still among the league leaders with a .922 SP and a 2.30 GAA. While Flames fans are obviously happy with his performance, I’m not sure that it still qualifies as shocking.
The real surprise has been the goal scoring ability of this young group.
Brodie and Giordano continue to gather accolades around the league for their outstanding all around play, including a spectacular offensive output. Their contribution has obviously been vital, but I’d like to spread the praise and point out some of the truly pleasant surprises on this roster so far.
For me, there are 4 players on this team that have truly elevated their game beyond expectations so far this season:
David Jones
Jones was injured in the game against Ottawa, and for the first time since he came to Calgary, I’m actually really hoping that he doesn’t miss much time. Jones has been consistently strong in his 10 games of play this season. His minutes have grown as Bob Hartley has grown to trust David in all zones and situations. He’s using his size and his speed effectively, and he has truly established himself as an effective power forward. His production hasn’t been lights out, but his 3 goals and 2 assists have been timely and important for a team that has truly been generating offense by committee.
Markus Granlund
In 8 games since his recall Markus Granlund has managed to put up 3G and 3A, admirably filling in as the team’s 2nd line center. Granlund has established himself as a true NHLer, killing penalties, providing spot duty on the powerplay, and continuing to develop his 200 foot game. The one area where I’d like to see some improvement is in the number of shots that he’s taking. I’d like to see more plays like his goal against Ottawa where he went hard to the net with confidence, making the most of his size and speed.
Sean Monahan
There has been absolutely no sophomore slump with Monahan, as he has taken a tremendous step forward so far this year. Sean is the only opening-day center that is still healthy and playing on this roster, and he has assumed the role of top-line-shut-down-go-to-whatever-else-you-need-me-to-do center with style. He continues to score at a good clip with 7G and 5A for 12 points in 19 games played, but he is no longer putting those numbers up based on sheltered minutes and soft zone starts. Whether it’s out of necessity or not, Monahan is effectively playing the Flames toughest minutes and toughest competition. His progression since last season has been unbelievable.
Paul Byron
Byron entered this season on a one-year “prove it… contract, and since opening day puck drop he has done exactly that. Byron’s speed, energy, and tenaciousness has been on display with each and every shift, and in the past few games he’s finally been rewarded. For those of you who appreciate the advanced side of things, Byron has been Calgary’s most consistent forward so far this year. Like Monahan, he has been facing tough competition and less than favourable zone starts, but it just doesn’t seem to matter. With Mikael Backlund struggling and eventually being sat down due to his abdominal injury, it has been Byron who has picked up the slack, generating significant and positive possession and scoring opportunities with regularity. Watching him as he actually scored on a breakaway feed from Baertshi has to have been my favourite moment of the season so far. How could you not love a player like Paul Byron?
These four gentlemen have elevated their games, and also their team over the opening weeks of this season. While they’re not big names, they’ve absolutely been star players for the Flames so far this year. For a young core that has been absolutely decimated by injury, it will be up to these players, and others like them to continue to pick up the slack for one another.
If they can continue to do so, I think we could be very surprised by the results over these next 5 games.
Thanks for reading!