A few quick thoughts on last night’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Jets in Calgary’s first game of the 2024 Penticton Young Stars Classic.
Elephant
If you didn’t see how the game concluded, here it is. Courtesy of Robert Munich of FlamesNation.
With that sequence, the hype of Parekh impressing enough to fight his way on to the NHL roster at 18 died a little. As it should. Zayne has an abundance of talent, but the relaxed style to approaching the play that he brought out last night was a huge wrinkle. He’s going to have a rough first few seasons to his pro career if he can’t adjust his level of urgency to match up against faster, stronger players.
Above & Beyond
By far the greatest standout last night was
Sam Morton. The 25-year-old contributed on two goals to rally a 2-0 deficit. The first a strong individual play, and the second an assist.
The Lafayette, Colorado product also looked strong on faceoffs. It’s early, but Morton is making a strong case for himself between last night and the prospect camp scrimmage.
Load Up
A few rapid fire notes.
Parker Bell didn’t play his best hockey last night. He threw a few hits, but generally looked awkward. Nagging injuries are usually the explanation, but the 20-year-old simply looked slower and less tenacious compared to last year’s tournament.
2023 third round pick,
Jaden Lipinski, on the other hand, took a major step forward with his game. Much stronger on the puck. Cleaned up a loose puck out front for a goal. He had the speed last year, now he has a presence to go with that.
Luke Misa is just so good at finding time with the puck. A joy to watch play hockey.
Of similar stature, 25-year-old
David Silye played a compelling game. He certainly leans into his identity as a playmaker. Graduating from the University of Wisconsin last season, the 5-foot-11 natural center signed an amateur tryout last year with the Wranglers and got into two games.
Silye, at one point, saucered a backhand pass through the slot and, despite a bounce off a defender, still found his target on the far side. He’s the oldest of the skaters on this Flames squad by around four months. Sam Morton is the second oldest.
Hunter Brzustewicz brought both urgency and timing. His ability to change directions or stop up to make space on the breakout is noticeable. Check out this pinch.
One last one.
Eric Jamieson is going to be an NHL defenceman. Just a hunch.
Battle of Alberta
Here is the projected lineup today in an 8:30 p.m. clash between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. Courtesy of Pat Steinberg.
@Fan960Steinberg
Honzek-Morton-Stromgren
Ciona-Misa-Basha
Battaglia-Lipinski-Gridin
Bell-McNamara-Laing
Grushnikov-Brzustewicz
Jamieson-Parekh
Hurtig-Mews
Ignatjew
Radomsky
Keep an Eye On
After training with Martin Pospisil this offseason,
Samuel Honzek needs to show better. Not all development is linear, but Sam hasn’t lived up to the hype of being picked 16th overall in what was considered one of the stronger drafts in the past few years.
This will be a first look at free agent signee,
Waltteri Ignatjew. The 24-year-old Finn posted a .918 save percentage in 45 games last season with Mora IK in the Allsvenskan (the AHL of the Swedish Hockey League).
Matvei Gridin had a real Bambi vibe to him in game one. He drew a penalty at one point after getting slashed, but it appeared he would have fallen on his own.
Parekh and Eric Jamieson work as a pairing tonight. It's certainly worth paying attention to how those two look together.
Projected Oilers Lineup
Courtesy of edmontonoilers.com.
Game time is 8:30 p.m. MST.
Stats courtesy of nhl.com and eliteprospects.com.
Trevor Neufeld
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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