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Oil Fires: Battle of Alberta still exist? And Development Camp Notes |
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Fans are always anxious for games between divisional rivals which typically deliver entertaining bouts. The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers are such rivals where fans from each side love the heated battles, whether they are on the ice or in the stands.
This begs the question, is there still a “Battle of Alberta” or has it been lost?
Fans on each side will always contend that their team is the greatest, but as of late it appears the teams have been on different levels; one rebuilding and the other competing for playoffs. Will the 2012-13 season reignite the Battle of Alberta, or will the teams remain apart in the standings?
While the Flames have done better than the Oilers have in the last couple seasons, each team has missed the playoffs. Nonetheless, most will tell you the Oilers are a much better team as they have drafted the first overall selection at the NHL draft three years running, where as the Flames have drafted limited first round talent. In addition to their high ranking lottery picks, the Oilers have landed Justin Shultz through free agency, which essentially gave them an additional first round selection for nothing but money.
The hockey analysts will tell you that Edmonton is but a few years away from being a power house with the talent they’ve been drafting, but when does this power start? Last year Edmonton had some dominant talent on their roster, mainly younger guys, however they did also have some vets to balance things out. With the talent throughout their current roster, is it finally time for them to start climbing up the rankings? The consensus seems to be that another bottom 5 finish for this young club would be a disaster.
The Flames have made a few moves so far this off season by bringing in guys like Hudler and Wideman. They did however lose one of their bigger centermen in Jokinen who could be relied upon for around 55-60pts. By choosing not to sign Olli they became much weaker up the middle than they already were. Did they get any better? Well this all depends on what the definition of better is. Did the team’s roster get any stronger with the moves so far? No, not really.
So far this off season Feaster has moved a few older contracts which were not in his future plans, and brought in a few younger players. Many are expecting more moves from Feaster. He will likely bring in some even younger faces, as he’s expressed the need for more youth on his roster. It’s left to be seen if Feaster can upgrade the roster with more youth while remaining competitive, but it may finally be time for these rival clubs to once again battle next to each other in the standings.
As their star players are getting older and more experienced, Edmonton is due to start winning more games. Calgary’s roster still has some elite talent and a nice balance of scoring. If the Oilers can climb out of the basement and the Flames can improve upon last years results, perhaps the 2012-13 season will hold some heated rivalry games which haven’t been present over the past couple seasons. The question will be, which Albertan team will oust the other?…Garth Brooks recently held that the Flames were the best, so…
As promised, I have a few notes on the overall development camp for the Flames this year.
Fans and coaches alike cannot wait to watch their shinny new draft pick hit the ice for the first time while wearing their team colors. This was certainly the case for the heavily debated first round pick Mark Jankowski.
The tall and thin 17 year old showed a lot of promise in the camp with his speed and hands. He has some exceptional talent with the puck and can make defenders look silly at times. Although there seems to be a lot of promise for this young player, he still has a lot to improve upon and needs to start putting on muscle and size as he was often thrown off the puck rather easily. He certainly stood out with his skill, but he also stood out as being one of the few players who may be 2-3 years removed from the NHL.
There is nothing new to discuss about Baertschi, as again he is the most NHL ready prospect for the Flames organization. He looked strong and comfortable playing against the rest of the kids and has brought excitement to many. But just with any other rookie, transitioning into the NHL can be difficult and this will be Sven’s year.
As previously discussed, one of my favorite prospects was Jon Gaudreau. Like Jankowski he stood out with his level of skill, but also caused concern due to his lack of size. Gaudreau is a highly skilled player with the puck who can shift gears and take off creating many offensive rushes. His stick handling and ability to confuse goaltenders placed him atop many of the prospects out there. For Jon, more than anyone out there, his career will depend on his ability to play with men in the NHL, who are often twice his size.
There were a few injuries that left certain players out of camp which was disappointing, but for the most part the “bottom of the barrel” prospects (as noted by many) that the Flames hold may certainly change the minds of some NHL scouts. Calgary seems to be getting better with their draft selections, albeit a risky one in Jankowski, and it may begin to pay off for Feaster in another two or three years. Most noticeably, for me, is their goalie depth as I believe they have some promising talent moving their way up. And what perfect time but with the constant rumors of Kiprusoff possibly being moved.
The Flames and their GM certainly have some work to do if this team wants to compete in the playoffs for years to come, but it appears things may not be so bleak. There are constant rumblings that Bouwmeester is as good as gone. I will do my best to update the blogs with any news concerning such trade scenarios.
Expect the Flames to battle hard for the playoffs this year, while doing their best to keep Edmonton in the basement.
Thanks as Always for reading!
You can follow me on Twitter: @noename09
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