Yesterday we took a look at the battle going on in the Flames crease. Today we are going to continue to look at the Flames camp battles by working out way from the net outwards.
The Flames defensive corps got a huge upgrade in both the
top end, with the addition of Dougie Hamilton, as well as with the depth with
the signing of a number of players and the development of their own young
players.
The Flames have sent top prospect Rasmus Andersson back to
his junior team and have sent Oliver Kylington and several other players down to Stockton.
Ladislav Smid hasn't played hockey in almost a full season and doesn't look
like he will be ready until probably a month into the season. The Flames have
also just put T.J. Brodie on the IR with a broken hand that will take 3-6 weeks
to heal, so the Flames are looking for a couple of replacement players to start
the NHL season and the battle seems to have come down to 4 players.
Ryan Wilson, Brett Kulak, Tyler Wotherspoon and Jakub
Nakladal are the 4 “extra” defensemen who remain in camp and 2 of the 4 of them
are most likely to start the season in the NHL.
Ryan Wilson is in Flames camp on a PTO. Once considered a
solid NHL defender, Wilson has had some troubles staying healthy lately,
playing only 3 games for the Avalanche last season. The veteran defender has
come into camp and been a steadying presence on the Flames blueline. The Flames
have had some success with defenders on PTO’s, with Raphael Diaz playing very
well for the Flames down the stretch last season. I would not be surprised to
see him handed a contract with the camp he has had. You can never have too much defensive depth.
Tyler Wortherspoon was the Flames top defensive prospect
last season and was able to get himself into some NHL game action last season.
However, the Flames coaches did not seem to have a lot of trust in Wotherspoon
as he only averaged 6:51 minutes in his 6 playoff games last season. That is
not as un-expected as you might think for someone rated as the organizations
top defensive prospect though, as the Flames system demands a lot from their
defensemen and Wotherspoon is entering this season at a very young 22 years old.
He has had a strong camp but he doesn't have to clear waivers so while he may
start the season in Calgary, he will have to be playing out of his mind or rely
on other injuries to stay at the NHL level once Brodie and Smid return.
Jakub Nakladal is billed as a steadying force from the back
end with a big shot. The Flames signed the big Czech defender as a free agent
this off-season and, while many thought he would need some time in the AHL to
adjust his game, he has seemingly slid right in and not looked out of place at
all. Like Wotherspoon he doesn’t need to clear waivers so he would be a likely
candidate to head to Stockton once the injured players return. Nakladal suffered an
injury in a pre-season game against Colorado but was seen back on the ice
practising today so not a lot of time was missed.
Last, but not least, we have Brett Kulak. The young
unheralded defender has mostly slipped under the radar since being drafted in
the 4th round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Last season was his first
as a pro and he had some troubles adjusting to the pro game early on. Inconsistent play
and minor league depth at the defensive position lead to Kulak being shipped to
the ECHL so he could log more ice time. It was the right move for him as he
scored 30 points in 39 games while playing for the Colorado Eagles. He was
brought back to the AHL and played 26 games while establishing himself as one
of Adirondack’s top defenders towards the end of the season.
Kulak has carried that momentum into this training camp. The
youngest of the defensemen left in camp, he is, in my opinion, also have the
best camp of the 4 listed. He is a quick skater who can cover a lot of ground,
he has the smarts to know when to jump into the rush, and has a strong first
pass out of the zone. While he may start the season with the Flames, he would
be in tough to stay at the NHL level, especially if the Flames do sign Ryan
Wilson. No matter how the defensive battle shakes down one thing is for
certain. Brett Kulak is no longer flying under the radar.
Out of the blue: I don’t really see an out of the blue
option here. 3 of the players I mentioned have the ability to go to the AHL
without passing through waivers and the other is on a PTO. Flames management
has been preaching the need for defensive depth for quite a while and the team
is finally starting the bare the fruits of management’s labour. The ONLY thing I
could see is the team looking to add another defenseman if they don’t plan on
signing Ryan Wilson, but Wilson has had a pretty good camp so I don’t know if
that would be the best use of assets unless it was for a player the management
really believed in.
Tomorrow we will wrap up the Flames Camp Battles by looking at the Flames forward group,
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