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Calgary Flames: Training Camp Thoughts |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
The Calgary Flames took the ice for the first time on Friday and were experimenting with some interesting line combos.
The most interesting, perhaps, had Sam Bennett centering 6th overall pick Matthew Tkachuk as well as free agent acquisition Troy Brouwer on the 2nd line.
I think there are a few noteworthy aspects of this unit. First and foremost Bennett is starting out down the middle. He has played a lot of wing in his young career but the Flames have continually said they drafted him as a center and see him as one moving forward. Playing center from the get go appears to be the plan this season.
Based off these combos it seems like Tkachuk will be given a legitimate shot to make the team out of camp. There are a couple things he needs to work on - most notably explosiveness in his stride - but he is highly skilled and may very well be NHL ready right now. The totals he put up last season in London suggest at the very least he isn't far off. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he made the team and that's probably the ideal scenario for Calgary given their lack of secondary scoring and offensive depth on the wings.
Brouwer starting out on the 2nd unit tells me the Flames may be comfortable rotating players alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. That's probably a safe assumption given they're the two most offensively gifted players in the lineup. I'm sure one of Michael Ferland, Hunter Shinkaruk, etc. can step in and hold their own in that spot.
As it stands the Flames top three units probably look something like this:
Gaudreau - Monahan - X
Tkachuk - Bennett - Brouwer
X - Backlund - Frolik
That's an ideal setup, or close to it, for the Flames. This allows them to have an elite scoring line, a solid secondary scoring unit that can be cushioned a bit with softer minutes, and a high-end 3rd line that has the ability to not only defend against top competition but chip in offensively in the process.
Maybe I'm reading a little too much into camp lines but the coaching staff has had months to think about possible line combinations so I doubt they're blindly just throwing players together here.
Obviously the Flames can and will experiment throughout the preseason but I wouldn't be surprised if they open the season with the units I mentioned above assuming Backlund is healthy and Gaudreau gets signed.
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Michael Ferland should score more next season
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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