The Calgary Flames have made consistent roster moves this past week as training camp has gone on. It’s been a much tougher year in terms of roster decisions, which is a very good thing. Several players, many unexpected, have made considerable pushes in camp to make the opening night roster, and quite a few who were arguably some of the best in camp have already been sent down to the AHL Calgary Wranglers.
As it stands, the Flames have 27 players in camp, which means they have just four more cuts to make to get to a compliant 23-man roster.
Let’s break down who’s left in camp, and handicap who the final four cuts will be.
Who is left in camp?
The 27 players left in camp are:
Forwards:
- Mikael Backlund
- Blake Coleman
- Matt Coronato
- Sam Honzek
- Jonathan Huberdeau
- Nazem Kadri
- Adam Klapka
- Andrei Kuzmenko
- Ryan Lomberg
- Anthony Mantha
- Jakob Pelletier
- Martin Pospisil
- Kevin Rooney
- Cole Schwindt
- Yegor Sharangovich
- Connor Zary
Defencemen:
- Rasmus Andersson
- Kevin Bahl
- Tyson Barrie
- Jake Bean
- Joel Hanley
- Daniil Miromanov
- Brayden Pachal
- MacKenzie Weegar
Goalies:
- Devin Cooley
- Dan Vladar
- Dustin Wolf
Roster Locks
Of these 27 players, 19 are absolute locks to make the team:
- Backlund, Coleman, Huberdeau, Kadri, Kuzmenko, Lomberg, Mantha, Pospisil, Rooney, Sharangovich, Zary
- Andersson, Bahl, Barrie, Bean, Miromanov, Weegar
- Vladar, Wolf
The only players on this list worth discussing are Rooney and the goalie. There is a sentiment that Rooney should just be waived and sent down to the AHL, but the Flames have a severe deficiency at centre and Rooney helps on the penalty kill as well. He’s going to be on the team whether we like it or not.
The goalie situation is interesting because there is a legitimate chance the Flames carry all three goalies to open the season, but the most likely scenario is that the Flames keep Wolf and Vladar on the roster and send Cooley to waivers and hopefully the AHL.
It’s safe to assume these locks are accurate.
With these picks, the Flames have 11 forwards, six defencemen, and two goalies on the roster. That leaves four spots open, ideally three forwards and one defenceman.
Remaining forwards
At this point, it’s probably safe to say that Honzek and Klapka will be on the opening night roster. Both have had incredible camps and definitely deserve to make the team. Regardless of whether they are ready to play a full NHL season, they’ve earned a spot and should get one on opening night. There are some issues with where they would play, but lines be damned, they’re making the team.
That leaves us with one more forward slot. The remaining candidates are Coronato, Pelletier, and Schwindt.
Schwindt has had a better camp than he’s getting credit for, but ultimately he’s not ready to play in the NHL and will likely be waived. The final decision is between Coronato and Pelletier. Both have a similar profile: first-round picks made by Brad Treliving, both on somewhat of an underwhelming growth trajectory, and both not easy locks to make the team.
Unfortunately, it looks as though Coronato has run out of steam and has really slowed down in the second half of training camp. He looks like he’s a step behind, hasn’t generated nearly enough as the games have gotten closer to NHL level, and has probably played himself off the opening night roster.
Not to say that Pelletier has been better—because—he hasn’t, but he has the benefit of being waiver-eligible this season. I can’t see the Flames waiving him because a number of teams would likely have interest—the Montreal Canadiens at the top of that list.
Out of pure logistics, Pelletier likely fills that final roster spot.
Remaining defencemen
That leaves one spot on defence between Hanley and Pachal. This one is easy: Pachal is the choice. He’s had a great camp, is only 25 years old, and provides actual value as a steady stay-at-home defender.
Final roster
That completes our final roster.
- Backlund, Coleman, Honzek, Huberdeau, Kadri, Klapka, Kuzmenko, Lomberg, Mantha, Pelletier, Pospisil, Rooney, Sharangovich, Zary
- Andersson, Bahl, Barrie, Bean, Miromanov, Pachal, Weegar
- Vladar, Wolf
The toughest omission is Coronato, who should dominate the AHL again and push hard to be the first call-up. After these tough decisions in camp, the pressure shifts from Craig Conroy to Ryan Huska, where he’ll have to decide where everyone will play and what his line combos will look like.
Best of luck to the coach because that’s not going to be easy at all.
