Gulutzan earns Brouwer’s praise as ‘players’ coach’
Troy Brouwer was quick to offer his first impressions of new Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan. Observation No. 1?
He’s definitely not Ken Hitchcock, and he means it in the most endearing way possible.
“Polar opposite,” said Brouwer with a chuckle. “(Gulutzan is) easy going, easy to talk to. Hitch was awesome, he was a great guy but a very intense individual though. A very smart hockey mind.”
Gulutzan was barking uptempo orders bright and early on Friday morning — Day 1 of Flames training camp.
But as a coach, from a player perspective, his demands are reasonable.
“With Gully, he seems like he’s going to be a little bit more of a friend, as a coach, a players’ coach,” explained Brouwer. “A guy that wants to talk to you, know how your family is doing, know how life away hockey is doing.
“And if he knows that things are good away from the rink, he knows that your mind will be clear and he knows that you’ll be a much better player.”
WORLD CUP
In the coming days, the Flames should have a handful of players trickling in from the World Cup of Hockey.
Among the eliminated are Michael Frolik (Czech Republic), Jyrki Jokipakka (Finland) and PTO Lauri Korpikoski (Finland).
Team North America darling Johnny Gaudreau is, of course, punted from the tournament too but his contract-status (or lack thereof ) means he is a training camp holdout.
Mikael Backlund, playing for Team Sweden, is still at the tournament but his concussion is raising question marks around his playing status — locally, it’s worrisome for the Flames if they’ll have their No. 3 centreman in the lineup when the seasons starts Oct. 12.
Heading into the tournament, bumps and bruises were always a potential. But for Brad Treliving, the reward outweighs the risk.
“You know that going in,” he said as the Flames’ training camp kicked off on Thursday with physicals and fitness testing followed by Friday’s on-ice sessions.
“Listen, (potential injuries) go with the territory. We’ve been treated to some tremendous hockey. When you have players that participate in these type of events, I think it’s a tremendous honour for the players.
“The manager just holds his breath every time they’re on the ice. We hope he’s going to be fine. There’s a risk for all those players that go. You hope for the best.”
HAMILTON SIGNED
Freddie Hamilton finally inked a deal with the Flames, a two-year one-way pact reportedly worth $1.225-million (and a cap hit of $612,500).
The 24-year- old played four games with the big club last year, scoring one goal and one assist.
He played the majority of the year with the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Stockton, scoring 18 goals and 25 assists in 62 games.
Prior to joining the organization last fall, he played 29 NHL games between the Colorado Avalanche and the San Jose Sharks, the club that drafted him in the fifth round (129th overall) of the 2010 NHL draft.
FITTEST FLAME
Mark Giordano topped the team’s fitness testing.
No surprise there.
The 32-year-old Flames captain prides himself on being in top-notch shape each fall and has picked up where former captain Jarome Iginla left off since he’s been wearing the ‘C.’
Also among the fittest Flames: Garnet Hathaway and Brandon Bollig.
The fittest rookies? Morgan Klimchuk, Keegan Kanzig and Dillon Dube.