Hockey Talk

Training Camp Answers: Calgary

What is the focus for the Calgary Flames during training camp before the season starts?

Will guys step up in the permanent absence of their captain?

In the expansion draft the Seattle Kraken selected former captain Mark Giordano from the Flames. Giordano played 15 seasons (his entire career) with the Flames and was their captain for the past eight years. With the title captain comes the leadership skills, the ability to communicate and put the team first, and the experience. Now the flames do have other forwards, none with as much experience but forwards none the less. 

There are veteran and key players who can step up in the absence of a captain and there is also players who have made their career in Calgary.  Matthew Tkachuk being the most prominent.  This past season was the least amount of points scored for the for the 23 year old forward, but it was only a 56 game season and he had 43 points. Even with Giordano with the team Matthew Tkachuk still showed exemplary leadership skills, on and off the ice. He wears his heart on his sleeve and does whatever it takes to win.  He is the team's best all around player which seems to be the favorite when it comes to who is wearing the C. The only worry is some of the on ice instances that he has been involved in this past season that put his maturity under a microscope. 

Another likely choice would be Mikael Backlund who has played all 13 seasons with the Flames. He is a very solid two way player for the team. He can play in all positions and do just about everything, from scoring goals, playing on the PK and the PP, and performing well in the faceoff circle. 

This one may surprise people but it was actually the first person that came to my mind. Chris Tanev. Now I know he only has one season under his belt but his one season has made a huge difference.  He has a very high compete level and plays solid hockey night in and out. He is a shutdown defender that does the dirty work needed to win. 

I don't think the team will  collapse because their captain is gone. I just want to see which guys step up and take the leadership role to build the team in hopes of making it to the playoffs.