We are now just two weeks away from the first game of the year for the Calgary Flames. They have played three preseason games, and while they mean nothing, the Flames have won all three and have looked like a lot of fun while doing it.
There have been some standouts in training camp early on, but I don’t think any player has been more impressive than Matthew Coronato. He has looked a step quicker, is shooting the puck with more velocity, and seems to have a better grip on the NHL game with his physicality early on. He looks like a player that is ready to take a major step forward in his development.
The question is, with all the wingers the Flames have, where will Coronato find himself playing when the regular season opens up for the Flames on October 9?
The Flames have a logjam of wingers
The biggest issue the Flames will face when trying to finalize their roster to start the year will be the logjam they have created on the wings. Last season, the Flames were incredibly winger-heavy. They added to that when they traded for Andrei Kuzmenko, and this summer, they went out and signed Anthony Mantha and Ryan Lomberg. The Flames have too many wingers at their disposal right now.
If the top three lines that they have been running throughout training camp stick with Yegor Sharangovich, Kuzmenko, Connor Zary, Blake Coleman, Jonathan Huberdeau and Mantha all holding down spots on the wings, it is going to make it incredibly difficult for a guy like Coronato to carve out a spot for himself in the top-nine.
Craig Conroy and the rest of the management team unfortunately did not really leave any room for any of the younger players to take advantage of. When you really look at it, there is only one spot on the wing up for grabs since we know Lomberg will be in the opening night lineup. You can understand why they brought in the guys that they did, but these are crucial years of development for some of these players. You need them playing top minutes on the NHL team as opposed to being buried on the fourth line or in the minors.
What should the plan be for Coronato?
There is going to be a lot of talk on this topic in the next few weeks, where should Coronato start the year? Well, that is an easy answer; with the way he has performed thus far in preseason, he has to be a shoo-in for a spot on the opening night roster. Unfortunately it is not that easy.
As I mentioned above, the Flames have way too many wingers on their roster. So unless one of them is being moved between now and October 9, Coronato would likely begin the year on the fourth line if he were to make the team. Simply put, it would be a disaster if that was the case. He spent a good chunk of his time in the NHL last season on the fourth line. He needs to play higher in the lineup to make an impact, and it would be bad for his development to be stuck barely playing.
When it comes down to it, Coronato is waiver-exempt, while a guy like Jakob Pelletier would need to clear waivers to play for the Calgary Wranglers. I don’t think that would happen and I don’t think that Conroy is going to risk losing a player like Pelletier for nothing to a waiver claim.
What does this all mean? Well, I believe Coronato is going to start the year in the AHL and will make his way back up if a guy gets hurt or if someone gets traded, which will likely be down the line. It makes more sense for him to play huge minutes in the AHL instead of being buried in the NHL. Now, I don’t think that is the best choice as I really do believe that the Flames should be making whatever room necessary to get Coronato playing top minutes. It just doesn’t look like that will be the case. Maybe things change down the line in camp, but with how the top three lines have clicked early on, I don’t see changes being made yet.
Coronato has to continue to dominate
There is only one way for Coronato to prove he belongs in the NHL, and that is to continue to dominate. Not only the way he has in training camp but also going back to last season when he dominated at the AHL level.
Even at the NHL level a season ago, Coronato was one of the top-scoring chance-creators when he was up with the Flames and his shot frequency was also near the top on the team. If he can continue to do those things, the puck will go in a lot more for him. In my opinion, there is no doubt that Coronato will be a staple on this Flames team in no time.
