Ferland earns praise for play on top line
Micheal Ferland’s WASHINGTON own boss has plenty of good things to say about the bruising forward, especially with his performances of late.
But this comment from one of Glen Gulutzan’s behind-the-bench brethren is perhaps more telling.
“I had a coach from another team say to me about Ferly: ‘I didn’t realize how skilled he is and how fast he is,’” the Calgary Flames skipper revealed, nodding his head in agreement. “So then combine that with the fact that he’s tough. He’s legitimate tough, and he can hit hard and he hits clean. I mean, he hits haaarrrd. He has all those attributes.
“He should play with the confidence that he’s playing with now more often, and when that comes out of him, I think the sky is the limit for him, because he has all the tools to be a high-level player. He can shoot the puck. He can skate. He can hit. He’s tough. He’s a great teammate and a great person, so we’re fortunate to have him.
“But the biggest thing right now is he’s playing confident.”
It doesn’t hurt, of course, that Ferland is playing with the Flames’ dynamic duo of superstar leftwinger Johnny Gaudreau and sharpshooting centre Sean Monahan.
Gaudreau is producing at an incredible clip, currently riding a nine-game point streak. He leads the Flames — and leads them by a lot — with 29 points, third-best on the NHL’s leaguewide charts.
Monahan notched his first career hat-trick in Saturday’s 5-4 overtime thriller against the Flyers in Philadelphia. He’s tops on the team with 11 tallies.
Ferland, though, isn’t just a warm body on the right wing.
Heading into Monday’s clash with the Washington Capitals (5 p.m., Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan), the 25-year-old thumper is on a six-game point streak of his own, and we’re not talking about a pile of secondary assists.
Prior to Saturday’s matinee, he had scored in five straight. Although he didn’t bulge twine in Philly, his backhand breakaway pass to Gaudreau was a thing of beauty.
“He’s brought some energy to our line,” Gaudreau said after Sunday’s spin at the Capitals practice facility in Arlington, Va. “We’ve kind of just taken off since he got back on it.”
With a dozen points already in 18 skates so far, Ferland is nearly halfway to his previous career-high of 25, his count in 76 appearances last season. (He collected 10 of those points after being promoted to the top unit in late February.)
His eight goals is third-best among Flames this fall, trailing only his star linemates.
Ferland, not surprisingly, is Calgary’s leading cranker with 37 hits.
“Ferly definitely does not get enough credit,” Monahan said. “He creates room. Guys, when they see him on the ice, I’m sure they don’t want to be going back for pucks because he hits hard. Guys know that throughout the league. He’s a physical presence.
“But people don’t know that he’s actually got really good hands. In tight, he can make those little plays and he has great offensive instincts, and that’s what I don’t think he credits enough for.” Gaudreau agreed. “But if he keeps playing the way he’s playing, he’s not going to fly under the radar too, too much anymore,” he added.
Ferland, who credits his scoring splurge to “just having a lot of fun and being confident with the puck,” doesn’t seem to be losing sleep over the lack of headlines.
His teammates are certainly aware — and appreciative — of his impact.
Gulutzan’s coaching counterpart apparently noticed the six-foottwo, 208-pound right-winger is not just a runaway train on skates.
His boss believes that Ferland might still be discovering the same.
“That’s half the thing for him — I don’t think he quite realizes the potential he possesses. And once he does.… ” Gulutzan said. “I think he’s starting to realize it now, through the 20 games last year (with Gaudreau and Monahan) and now this year, that he can really be a difference-maker nightin and night-out. But like anything else in this league, it’s consistency, right?
“What’s good about Ferly is that he still has some of that ‘I’ve gotta scrap for my position’ in his mind, which is a good thing. I don’t think he feels 100 per cent comfortable in himself, and you don’t want him to feel that. But at the same time, you want him to know that at his level, he can play with the top guys on our top line and be effective there.
“You don’t want him to take it for granted, but you want him to know he can do it.”