Having actually watching the game with mine own eyes, my observations of last nights game are more fulsome than the Florida affair.
The Bad:
Dion Phaneuf - Was simply awful. He looked to me like a young man who had been reading his press clippings all summer. He was at both lax and over-courageous with the puck, frequently forcing passes into risky areas. His first shift was a disaster where he gave the puck away at his own blueline, lost his check in front of the net and then fell onto Keetley, just to fully ensure the goal against. Thank god it's pre-season.
Brandon Prust - Two nights of Prust now and I can't fathom why this guy has a one way contract. I expected to notice the him a lot this pre-season, given he's billed as a pest, but he's been pretty much invisible. His other skills (skating, passing, etc.) are obviously AHL quality.
Wayne Primeau - Looks like a veteran among rookies sometimes. However, all the other issues with Primeau are apparent, even against this level of competition. The play frequently dies on his stick and he isn't particularly good at anything. There was a sequence last night where his line (Prust and Armstrong I think) was working the cycle in the offensive zone. The puck trickled to Primeau behind the net where he proceeded to lamely fish for it with one hand on his stick. One one thousand...two one thousad...Primeau still doesn't have control (he's standing still mind you) annnnddd now the puck's been taken away and the attack is over. In the regular season, the play would have lasted half as long but the result would have been the same.
Craig Conroy - Struggled to my eyes last night. A lot. Gave up a bunch of neutral zone and offensive zone turn-overs. The thing that strikes me about Connie is his legs are still going like he's 28, but his hands are 37. Handles the puck like it's a tennis ball.
Andre Roy - Obviously a more capable hockey player than Godard, but that isn't saying much. Got one punched in his lone fight and will still likely be a 5-7 minute/night player.
The Good:
Dustin Boyd - Has probably been the best Flame player so far in the pre-season. He was forcing low percentage plays early on in the game, but settled down as the night wore on. Besides his offensive flair, which is on display thanks to the ice and line mates he's getting so far, Boyd looks a lot stronger on his skates. For example, a nameless Coyote player tried to squeeze Boyd out of the play along the boadrs twice in one shift. Both times, Boyd shrugged him off like he was a nuisance. Great to see.
Adam Pardy - Was saddled with Chaos Dion all night, so he looked at little scrambly at first. Still, ended up leading the Flames in ice-time for the second night in a row and looks really, really comfortable at both ends of the ice considering he's rookie. Not spectacular at anything, he does tend to get around and frequently makes the right plays. I think the org is giving him a long look for injury call-up, 7th D duties.
Mark Giordano - Reminded me of why I like him. Gio has a unique set of skills that aren't replicated on the roster; particularly when it comes to his penchant for grabbing the puck and rushing it through traffic up the ice. He was also full value in the defensive zone last night, breaking up plays and was positionally sound.
Matt Pelech - May have to ratchet up his mobility a bit to be an everyday player, but I liked what I saw otherwise. Seems to make a lot of safe plays and reads the play well. Big guy with an active stick, he also made a nice read/play for his goal (although no way that shot goes in on an NHL goalie).
Rene Bourque - Bourque has impressed me so far. Guy is a big, fast, rangy skater and you can see defenders start to panic when he's coming at them in full stride. Not afraid to muck it up, either. He probably had the most scoring chances last night.
Daymond Langkow - Obviously the best Flames forward in terms of ability and savvy. Langkow was going at half speed and still looked more than comfortable.
David Moss - Quietly so effective. Moss looks bigger and faster to me this year and always seems to make the right play. Made a nice deke at the blueline for what would have been a scoring chance but for an unlucky offside call. Moss will be one of those under appreciated yet invaluable assets who can play on any line effectively.
Commci Commca:
John Armstrong - WI really likes him and I can sometimes see why. Other times, he looks like a kid struggling to keep his head above water. And his big, awkward skating stride kind of bothers me. Still, he gets around and seems to have his head on his shoulders in the offensive zone. Needs some seasoning for sure, as his decision making and hands are still going at Junior speed.
Rhett Warrener - I have to hand it to the old warrior, he's come to camp with a chip on his shoulder. Just mean and fierce all night, handing out hits and snark. Looked very comfortable and capable until real competition (ie: Shane Doan) stepped on the ice.
David van Der Gulik - Made a nifty head-fake to generate scoring chance in the second I believe. Still, didn't notice him all that much (although he kinda looks like Langkow with his choppy, compact skating style). No major errors to speak of though.
Matt Keetley - Can't really fault him on either of the goals, although he was flopping around on the second one. Looked fairly capable but didn't have to make any mind-blowing saves either as the Coyotes didn't offer up much of a fight after the first period.
Kyle Greentree - Big guy who isn't afraid to make power moves down low and take the puck to the net. He almost stuffed a couple through last night. When he wasn't doing that, however, I didn't notice him at all.
Both teams dressed highly suspect line-ups featuring mostly kids and bottom 6 players, so the level of play was decidedly low last night. The ice was also pretty bad, which complicated things further. Still, I think there was further wheat/chaffe separation one looks for in the pre-season.
Find Matt's take here.
UPDATE - Looks like Illegal Curve's Richard Pollack was at the game last night. He evaluates Flames players here. His take on Giordano, whom he was unfamiliar with:
You can see why the Flames brought him back after a year in Russia. He is a slick-skating defenseman who is very, very good with the puck. That is precisely what the Flames lacked on the back-end last year and I think some may be understating the importance of his return on the blueline.
