Short Flames camp leaves little room for auditioning
The higher-ups at the Saddledome have had months to ponder and plan, to brainstorm and break down all of the what-ifs and what-thens.
As general manager Brad Treliving teased during a virtual news conference: “If I flipped this camera around, it looks like that scene from A Beautiful Mind when all the equations are on the board. That's what the board looks like about now, with all the different scenarios.”
Thing is, there is now precious time to actually prepare.
The Calgary Flames will hit the ice Monday for their first training-camp sessions. Just a week and change later, they'll hit the road for a Jan. 14 opener against the Winnipeg Jets.
This cram session will, by the numbers, feature only six practice days, a pair of intrasquad scrimmages — complete with a morning skate for each side to mimic the regular routine — and zero exhibition dates against another opponent before the puck drops on a 56-game sprint.
There are 41 hopefuls on the Flames' initial camp roster, and yet there are really just one or two question marks about the opening night cast. The line combinations could be another story.
“We have a lot of young players that I'm excited to see … but this is going to be a different camp,” Treliving acknowledged. “I mean, you're getting ready to play a game that counts in 10 days versus going through a month-long camp where you really get to see players and test a bunch of guys in pre-season games. There is none of that.”
That doesn't leave much opportunity for an on the cusp up-and-comer like Glenn Gawdin, Matthew Phillips or Connor Mackey to show they are ready for prime time (It leaves even less for first-round picks Jakob Pelletier and Connor Zary, a pair of teenage forwards who will be late arrivals because they're still busy representing Canada at the world juniors).
That also doesn't give Calgary's two tryout invitees — goalie Garret Sparks and defenceman Michael Stone — a lot of time to make a case for a contract offer (Stone has been on the Flames' payroll for the past four seasons, so he is already a known commodity).
That means head coach Geoff Ward will be hoping for hints of instant chemistry as he fiddles with forward trios and defence pairings.
Ward, now without the “interim” tag after taking over as bench boss midway through the 2019-20 campaign, wants to simulate game-like scenarios over the next week and a half but also stressed there is a fine line between being prepared and being pooped, saying “you might set yourselves up for a little bit of early failure if you do too much in training camp, if you drive them too hard.”
“This is going to be a work in progress for all the teams,” Ward added. “In no way, by no stretch of the imagination, do we feel like we need to be complete by the 14th (of January). We're not going to be complete.”
On Monday, after months of pondering and planning, after all that bellyaching about another early playoff exit and all that excitement about the signing of star puck-stopper Jacob Markstrom, the on-ice crunch will officially begin.
While the abbreviated auditions won't allow for a lot of surprise stories, Treliving reminded Sunday of one general rule that hasn't changed.
“What I've found consistently with all coaches is when you play well, they seem to like you more. If they feel that you can help them win, they seem to like you more,” Treliving said. “So what can you do as a young player? Go play well.
“Is it different for them than it would be at a normal camp? Yeah. But go play. Go play well. Go show that you're ready to play … I hope we don't have a lot of injuries but I would look at this and say I'm anticipating that we're going to need a lot of players over the course of 56 games in 115 nights.”