Rookie Intrasquad Game Notes

I managed to catch most of the scrimmage between the hopefuls for the coming season last night. In many cases, it was my first live and up-close observation of the player in question (in other cases, it was the first time I'd even heard of the guy - Chris Neiszner?).

Initially, the experience was a little overwhelming - trying to diligently follow two full teams of nameless players during a game is akin to counting grains of sand while the tide's coming in. Thankfully, the Flames provided a sheet detailing each players team affiliation (Red or Black) and their jersey numbers. Unfortunately, trying to match number to player through the roster sheet while keeping on eye on play at all times proved to be a bit of challenge. Of course, as the game progressed, certain stand-outs became familiar to me, negating the need to glance at the RS every other time they touched the puck.

For those interested few that were unable to attend, follow the link to some brief youtube material provided by "Furnaceface" from the Calgarypuck.com messageboards:

Link.

(Thanks FF)

Also, the official Flames site has notes on the game here.

My Thoughts:

The Good

- The best goalie of the evening was Leland Irving. He was flawless during the third period, which included a very impressive cross-crease pad save on Eric Nystrom. All the other tenders I saw were roughly equal to each other.

- Justin Taylor (C) was surprisingly good, especially in the 2nd period. He seemed to have decent offensive instincts and made a couple of notable plays down low. Also scored Team Black's second goal.

- Andrei Taratukhin (C) was fairly decent, though he seemed to fade in the third period. He scored a snap-shot-through-the-legs goal in the second period and was an active participant in either end of the rink. He tended to get winded faster than the other players and took shorter shifts, though.

- Eric Nystrom (LW) was decent all around, but was especially effective along the boards. He probably should have scored on the 2on1 against Irving (mentioned above), but he was still clearly one of the better players there.

- Dustin Boyd (C) while being one of the smaller guys was also one of the faster ones. He seemed a little "manic" at times - quick and panicy - but he asserted himself well overall. He managed to make some nice moves breaking in against defensemen.

- Daniel Ryder (C) impressed me throroughly. One of the younger and, like Boyd, more diminuitive players, Ryder still managed to score a goal and was part of one of the best forward trios on the ice near the end of the game (Ryder, Germyn, Prust). He made smart, crisp passes and often seemed to be in the place at the right time. I can't wait to see him here again next year.

- Adam Cracknell (RW) scored with a laser beam to the top corner in the 3rd period, and generally seemed dangerous in the offensive zone most of the night. May be a late, late round steal should he do well in the AHL this season.

- Richie Regehr and Tim Ramholt (D) formed a pretty steady duo for Team Red. Ramholt managed to stand up two advancing forwards in sequence during one play. Regehr was just plain solid all over the ice.

- Mark Giordano (D) popped up here and there. I would go for long stretches without noticing him and then suddenly a d-man would make a great first pass or decent rub-out and I'd have to look up his number again.

- Brandon Prust (LW) was both fast and hungry. I think he had two assists on the night, the best one was a two-on-one feed to Carsen Germyn. Differentiated himself well from a lot of the other hopefuls I thought.

The Bad

- Kris Chucko (RW) was completely unremarkable. To the degree that I had to specifically look for his jersey number to ensure that we was, in fact, playing. I can't remember a single Chucko shift or even play.

- Matt Pelech (D) was similar to Chucko; didn't really stand out. The one time I really noticed him he was "unleashing" a puck at curling speed from the point. Will most assuredly be returning to Junior this year.

- Myles Rumsey (D) was clearly over his head. I doubt you will ever hear his name in the big league.

- John Armstrong (C) was pretty much invisible as well. He has a bunch of years ahead of him, however, so that's not a big concern.

- I expected to see to see more of last year's AHL guys Tomi Maki (LW) and Cam Cunning (LW), but neither of them made any kind of lasting mark.

The final score in the game was 4-2 in favor of Team Red. Cracknell, Germyn, Taratukhin and Ryder scored for the victors while Taylor and Van Der Gulik replied for Team Black.

For those of you that missed last night's tilt the re-match is set for tonight at the saddledome. If guys like Chucko and Pelech assert themselves with some kind of authority, Team Black might be able to avenge Sunday night's defeat...