Follow Colin on Twitter! Follow @ColinDJD While writing blogs throughout the regular season, I began to notice a certain trend develop within fans toward their captain Mark Giordano.
Here is a guy who, perhaps outside of last year was much underrated. Not drafted into the NHL, Giordano has proven that he has what it takes to not only earn a full time spot on an NHL roster, but also that he possesses a certain skill-set to captain a team. He has now played eight seasons with the Flames and has registered 197pts in 449 games as a member of the organization.
I suppose where the concern for some fans is toward the uncertainty of what to expect down the road from their captain. You can’t take away his drive, commitment, and work ethic; however there is debate as to whether or not he can uphold similar numbers as displayed last season.
Playing at a 0.73 point per game pace last season with a struggling Flames group was Giordano’s most productive season of his career so far. In fact, his previous three seasons saw an average production of 0.44 points per game. There’s a significant jump in offensive production there, no doubt.
And that's not even getting into the "fancy stats" either, as Mark was found playing against the oppositions toughest lines, playing tough minutes, and would often be placed in defensive situations. All this and he still managed a very respectful points total and impressive +/-, as well.
That being said, I believe what we’ve seen from Mark Giordano who is still only 30 years of age, is a matured defenseman who has taken very well to his new responsibility, and continues to have something to prove. Mark isn’t your typical top pairing NHL defenseman – at least to me. When I look at the way he composes himself, takes interviews, works with his team, there appears to be a different level of respect or humility which emits from the player. I’m not sure how to describe it beyond that, really…he’s just a special type of player.
What I would expect moving forward is a slight decline in offensive production from Giordano, but not by much. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes very close to maintaining last season’s production rate and turns some more heads. The team, however, should be expected to have slightly more difficultly scoring goals with the loss of a player like Mike Cammalleri, however the impact which the young up-and-comers could have, is rather difficult to predict.
With the leadership of Giordano and the team’s willingness to battle every night, I can only imagine that this team will secure several close games and depending on goaltending, perhaps win an extra game or two over last year’s results. Of course, you must always have realistic expectations given that the Flames play in a very strong conference…so don’t set your expectations too high.
With respect to Mark – well I truly feel that last year was a breakout season for the defenseman, over an anomalous, non-repeat one. Defenseman are known to be late bloomers, and with the proper coaching and system put into place, we may see a lot more “breakout… seasons from some of the players who have been shy of good/great in their careers so far.
Provided that the above holds true, who do you think will be the next “breakout… player for the Flames?
Thanks for reading!