Practice Notebook -18.10.24

Ahead of Saturday’s battle in Seattle, the Flames hit the ice at WinSport Friday for some final prep.

The following lines and pairings were used during practice:

FORWARDS

Andrei Kuzmenko - Nazem Kadri - Matt Coronato

Jonathan Huberdeau - Martin Pospisil - Anthony Mantha

Connor Zary - Mikael Backlund - Blake Coleman

Ryan Lomberg - Justin Kirkland - Adam Klapka

Kevin Rooney

DEFENCEMEN

Kevin Bahl - Rasmus Andersson

MacKenzie Weegar - Tyson Barrie

Jake Bean - Brayden Pachal

Joel Hanley - Daniil Miromanov

GOALTENDERS

Dan Vladar

Dustin Wolf

Defensive Depth

Friday’s practice saw a new look pairing with Tyson Barrie skating alongside MacKenzie Weegar ahead of Saturday’s divisional bout.

Barrie made his official Flames debut against his former club Sunday in Edmonton, which saw him pair up with Brayden Pachal.

The defensive depth has given the Flames flexibility to mix and match for games, as they look to not only create chemistry but also keep the internal battles going.

“If you want to be a good team, you have to have depth on the backend,” Barrie said. “I think we certainly have that, a lot of good guys and guys who understand the situation. We’re deep on the backend.”

The veteran rearguard has been waiting patiently to hear his number called again as the squad look to keep the perfect start intact tomorrow night against the Kraken.

“We don’t know officially what our lineup is going to be tomorrow,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska said. “But we do feel like we have eight defenceman who are capable of playing. I like it because its competition and it forces guys to be at their best.”

“He (Barrie) is mature. He understands how to play the game, we all know he has a special skill set. He helps the power play however that may be, whether that’s brining the puck up the ice or moving it around the offensive zone. That’s one of his strengths so we want to make sure we take advantage of that for sure.”

Bison On The Rise

Opportunity is knocking for Matt Coronato.

The 21-year-old had himself a night on Tuesday, buzzing and creating chances which resulted in him scoring twice during the 3-1 win over the Blackhawks at the ‘Dome.

Fresh off that performance, he’s now getting a look alongside Nazem Kadri and Andrei Kuzmenko.

“They’re both so skilled and so smart,” Coronato said on skating alongside them. “I just want to keep playing the same way, keep playing hard, turning over pucks. Playing with guys like that, you play the right way and the offence will come.”

The 2021 first-rounder has looked quicker on the ice from a year ago, evident when he beat out Connor Bedard for a loose puck in the Hawks zone to fire into an empty cage to seal the Flames’ fourth straight win to open the season.

“I definitely spent a lot of time with Danielle (Fujita), she’s great and felt like she’s helped me out a lot. With the other parts of the game, it’s always something you can always improve on.”

Rooney Recovering

Kevin Ronney hit the ice with the squad again today but this time, was sporting regular practice threads.

The centreman took part in drills as he continues to works his way back from an injury sustained during the season opener in Vancouver.

There is no official timeline for his return as of yet but Huska confirmed he’s getting closer.

“We had him out of the non-contact jersey so he’s checking all the boxes right now,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll see him back sooner rather than later.”