Flames downed in Opener

By Derrick Newman

Watching the Flames home opener last night, you couldn’t helped be filled with a little bit of optimism heading into a brand new season where anything is possible and dreams of a playoff berth seem realistic.

After one period, everything looked great. The Flames were up 1-0 on the Penguins, despite being outshot 9-4.

Then it all went downhill – fast.

Four goals in the span of just over 11 minutes and the Flames were left wondering which way is up.

When you produce only nine shots through two periods, you don’t really deserve to be in the game anyways.

The Penguins are simply a better hockey team, and it was clearly evident last night. Even without the best hockey player in the planet on their roster, they picked apart the Flames like they were an AHL team.

Last night was simply a display of a cup contender taking on a fringe playoff team and the drastic difference between the two.

The Flames looked decent for a about five minutes of the opening period, but then came off that high very quickly and back down to harsh reality.

Sure the Flames made a valiant last ditch effort to get back in the game, but how eerily familiar was that to so many games last season?

You can say what you want about this being the first game of the season and not to worry just yet, but this was just a prime example of how far removed the Flames are from being an elite team in this league.

\Side Note: I read in Eric Francis’ column on Thursday or Friday that Brent Sutter is “one of the best most accomplished coaches in the league.” Please explain to me how a guy who has never made it out of the first round of the playoffs as a coach and missed the playoffs in back-to-back years is considered an “accomplished coach.” Sure, he has accolade for his achievements in junior, but that doesn’t always translate. Don Hay is a great junior coach, but failed miserably at the pro level. I just don’t understand why Sutter gets all this praise for being this amazing coach, yet all he’s done is lead the Flames to back-to-back early golf seasons.

Check out the latest Jersey Fouls! from last night's game HERE!
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30 Teams 30 Thoughts

By Nick Symon, Guest Blogger
Twitter: @NickSymon

1.     Anaheim Ducks- The return of age-less 41 year old Teemu Selanne has Ducks management breathing a sigh of relief, providing them with secondary scoring after their big three of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan. The bigger return to the Ducks could possibly be goaltender Jonas Hiller who has said he is full recovered from his bout with vertigo. Hiller can be an elite goalie when healthy and could be the x-factor for the Ducks to compete with the Sharks & Kings for the Pacific division.

2.     Boston Bruins- There is always the concern of a Stanley Cup hangover but the Bruins have more than enough depth to overcome that. Sophomore Tyler Seguin could be the breakout player in 2011-12 after his dazzling performance in the latter half of last year’s playoffs. Seguin will probably stay on the wing this season which should see him get top-six minutes.  

3.     Buffalo Sabres- No one made a bigger impact in the off-season then the Sabres did. Sabres owner, Terry Pegula has brought the passion and more importantly the money to Buffalo – a perpetual small market team where players develop and then leave for the bigger pay day. New faces around the Sabres locker room include, Ville Leino, former Flame Robyn Regehr and Christian Ehrhoff, who join a healthy Derek Roy, up and coming Tyler Ennis and arguably the best goalie in the league, Ryan Miller. The Sabres should compete for the top spot in the east and possibly Lord Stanley’s mug in the spring.  

4.     Calgary Flames- I hate to be a broken record but the burning question in Calgary is, will the Flames be able to continue their success they enjoyed late last season, which saw them fall just short of the playoffs? Or was it just a team on a hot streak that is continuing to age? Personally I look more at the latter, hoping they prove me wrong. Captain Jarome Iginla continues to carry the team on his back as he approaches 500 career goals (484). Mikael Backlund was in line for a breakout year as he was slotted to play in between Iggy and Alex Tanguay on the Flames top line, but now with his recent injury he won’t likely see action until sometime in November – a big loss for the team, but possibly a bigger loss for Backlund’s development. 

Mock Draft: Picks 21-30

Tyler Biggs

Nick Symon looks at the final 10 picks of the first round.

21. OTTAWA SENATORS (via NSH) - Tyler Biggs, RW, U.S. U-18


Analysis: The Senators have to continue to stock-pile young players up front and with the love of size Bryan Murray has, Biggs could be a nice choice with their second pick in the first round. Biggs stands at 6-foot-2 and projects to be a power forward. Biggs has great work ethic to go along with his physical play, but whether he will score once in the NHL, is yet to be seen.
22. ANAHEIM DUCKS- John Gibson, G, U.S. U-18

Analysis: The Ducks are another team who did very well with last June’s draft when Cam Fowler fell to them. Fowler enjoyed a very good rookie season and looks to be a top defensemen for years to come. GM Bob Murray has stock piled fire power up front and the back end in recent drafts and it’s time to add a prospect behind Jonas Hiller. Gibson, the second goalie taken with the last name Gibson, is projected to be a franchise goaltender. He is the top rated goalie in Central Scouting rankings and is compared to Dallas prospect, Jack Campbell. Gibson is said to stay poised and not get rattled.

Mock Draft: Picks 11-20

Continuing from yesterday's look at the possible top 10 picks in this weekend's draft. TSR Guest blogger Nick Symon looks at the middle of the first round and what the Flames might do with their 13th overall pick.


11. COLORADO AVALANCHE (via STL) - Christopher Gibson, G, Chicoutimi (QMJHL)


Analysis: With the Avalanche’s second pick in the top 12, they need to address their other glaring hole, goaltending. The Avalanche did select Calvin Pickard, 49th overall in last June’s draft but with the slow development of goaltenders, it’s never bad to have more than one. Gibson, who is half-Finnish, half-British, has said to be a big game goalie. He led an offensive weak Chicoutimi team into the playoffs. Gibson has good size and is projected to be a starting goaltender.



12. CAROLINA HURRICANES - Joel Armina, RW, Assat (FIN)

Analysis: The Draft was very good to the Hurricanes last year, as 18-year old Jeff Skinner was a phenom in his first season and led all rookies in scoring. What can Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford do for an encore? That’s a tough question but I have heard he doesn’t like selecting defensemen with a high pick, so Armina could be his guy. Armina, a big (6-3, 191) right winger has the makings of a pure goal scorer. Armina uses his size well and throws a lot of pucks on net. He could complement the 3 S’s down the middle, Skinner, Staal and Sutter, very well in the Hurricanes future.

Mark McNeill the next Flame?

13. CALGARY FLAMES - Mark McNeill, C, Prince Albert (WHL)

Analysis: Our home town Flames have been filled with disappointment when it comes to the Entry Draft in recent seasons (beside Backlund). It continued this summer as top prospect, Tim Erixon refused to sign with the Flames, handcuffing GM Jay Feaster and forcing him to trade Erixon to the Rangers. It was a tough spot for the organization but I will hold my opinion back about that for now. In my eyes, this draft becomes even more important for the Flames. The Flames need to add some size and offensive potential up front. McNeill has been compared to Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan. He can play either centre or wing and from watching him play in P.A, he is what the Flames need.

Mock Draft: Picks 1-10

TSR welcomes a guest blogger, Nick Symon, to the fold to talk about the upcoming NHL entry draft. So without further ado...

The NHL season has come to an end but the fun is about to begin. Friday, the NHL Entry Draft will take place in St. Paul, Minnesota. With Mock Draft’s and trade rumours flooding the internet, I thought it would be fun to put together my own mock draft. These things are virtually impossible to predict, as I have done a mock draft for every draft since 2007 and have got a whopping 18 of 120 picks correct. I can’t believe I’m admitting that but here we go again:

Ryan Nugent-Hopkinn: soon to be Oiler?

1. EDMONTON OILERS - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C, Red Deer (WHL)

Analysis: The Oilers will pick first overall for the second straight season and so far so good (excluding his injury) for last year’s pick, Taylor Hall. Not much argument here with Nugent-Hopkins, as the majority of mock drafts has him going first as well. The one argument that can be made is the Oilers lack of depth on defence. To that I say, in my opinion from watching him play, as I help cover the Calgary Hitmen, Nugent-Hopkins is the real deal. I don’t think the Oilers can pass on him and when him and Hall fully mature, they will complement each other very well and could be a lethal duo. Keep in mind the Oilers also hold the 19th pick in the first round and have a couple solid prospects on the back end with Jeff Petry and Martin Marincin in their system.



2. COLORADO AVALANCHE - Gabriel Landeskog, LW, Kitchener (OHL)

Analysis: The Avalanche has done very well in recent drafts. Matt Duchene looks to be a budding super star after his first couple of seasons in Colorado. Looking at the Avalanche roster and prospects, they are filled to capacity down the middle and are fairly solid on the back-end. With Chris Stewart being dealt to the Blues before the deadline for defensemen Eric Johnson, the Avalanche has some holes on the wing. Landeskog is the unanimous choice here. Compared to Mike Richards of the Philadelphia Flyers, Landeskog along with Duchene could make the Avalanche perennial contenders. Landeskog was captain of the Rangers at the young age of 17 and with the recent retirement of Adam Foote, could be groomed to be the Avalanche’s next captain in a couple seasons.