Follow Colin on Twitter! Follow @ColinDJD Given that there’s no real news to discuss and that I believe we’ve covered a ton of material so far this off-season, I thought it would be interesting to lay out what the Calgary Flames roster could look like to start their 2014-15 season.
What I would like to offer is my opinion on the players who I feel will crack the lineup to start the regular season, and further, who will likely play beyond 9 NHL games. That said, those who aren’t listed below I do not feel will play out this upcoming season with the team and will likely be sent down either to the AHL or back to minors for further development.
And here’s the interesting thing, the Flames actually have more than a few players who should, all things considered, be sent back down given their age, experience level, and or size, but who have a strong chance of making this squad.
Now I know what you’re thinking – that’s not really a good thing, is it? Well, yes and no. Of course we all understand that this organization is still amidst a rebuild which typically means that experienced and or “star… players won’t stick around (I’m looking at you, Cammalleri). That said, this group still has in my opinion, a strong enough supportive group of vets who will help the younger players in the lineup develop.
So here it is – my best educated guess at your opening night roster.
Curtis Glencross – Matt Stajan – Jiri Hudler Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – David Jones Joe Colborne – Mikael Backlund – Mason Raymond Brian McGrattan/David Wolf – Lance Bouma – Brandon Bollig
*Sven Baertschi, Paul Byron, Bryce Van Brabant, David Wolf
Mark Giordano – TJ Brodie Ladislav Smid – Kris Russell Dennis Wideman – Deryk Engelland
*Tyler Wotherspoon
Jonas Hiller Karri Ramo
Those highlighted below the offensive and defensive pairings would be the order of call-ups. I struggled a little with the 2nd and 3rd line combinations, only because I feel that Johnny Gaudreau will make the team out of camp however playing with another rookie in Sean Monahan, who isn’t very physical, could be too easy to shut down.
Therefore, I feel that the added presence or nature of David Jones could help in that regard. I would have liked to place Mason Raymond on that line as the speed and scoring abilities would be quite impressive…however all three are simply too soft to play together in my opinion.
There is of course a good chance that Gaudreau doesn’t make the team out of camp, and in that case I would change the lines by swapping his spot with Mason Raymond, shifting David Jones back down the 3rd, and replacing him with Baertschi if he’s healthy. I do think that Sven will be just slightly on the outside looking in this summer, and in the case of anyone getting injured or struggling to perform, he’s the first guy to jump in.
What do you think?