Preseason game #6 is on the menu for later tonight at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Let’s take a quick look at the lineups before we get around to a few things to keep an eye on.
Calgary Lines via Pat Steinberg
@Fan960Steinberg
Huberdeau-Lindholm-Mangiapane
Ruzicka-Kadri-Dube
Sharangovich-Backlund-Coronato
Coleman-Schwindt-Hunt
Weegar-Andersson
Hanifin-Tanev
Zadorov-Oesterle
Markstrom
Wolf
Winnipeg Lines via John Lu
@JohnLuTSNWpg
Iafallo - Lambert - Namestnikov
Neiderreiter - Perfetti - Appleton
Toninato - Kupari - Ford
Jonsson-Fjallby - Gustafsson - Viel
Morrissey - DeMelo
Dillon - Pionk
Stanley - Heinola
Hellebuyck
Delia
Season Openers
Both Calgary and Winnipeg are dressing close to what they will be rolling out to start their season on defence. Winnipeg’s
Nate Schmidt is the only exception. The Jets aren’t dressing some of their bigger guns —
Kyle Connor, Gabe Vilardi and
Adam Lowry aren’t in the lineup,
Nic Ehlers has neck spasms, and a circulating flu bug made
Mark Scheifele and
Morgan Barron game day scratches. A few players may be playing through the flu as well.
Luckily for Calgary, the season starts in nine days, so hopefully, any illness in this game can circulate and move on before October 11th when the Jets return to Calgary to get the ball rolling.
Is This the Defence?
It’s hard to be too upset about this defence group.
Weegar-Andersson
Hanifin-Tanev
Zadorov-Oesterle
The third pairing being the only exception. Last season we saw an entertaining, but ultimately underperforming pairing of Zadorov-Stetcher deployed down the stretch drive. The two were outscored 6-11 over roughly 165 minutes of ice time. That’s a goal against every 15 minutes, or one or occasionally two goals against per game.
Troy Stetcher and
Jordan Oesterle don’t play the exact same game, but they are fairly similar in play styles. Offensive defenceman, strong passer, below average defender.
Rounding out the top four with Hanifin-Tanev is a nice luxury, but may spell trouble as more talented forward groups start lining up against a one-dimensional third pairing.
Matthew Cinderella
20 year old
Matthew Coronato continues his search for the ideal forward line to play on. Tonight he’ll get reps on the right side of
Yegor Sharangovich and
Mikael Backlund. A strange combination, but certainly an interesting unit to keep an eye out for.
Cuts Made
While
Dryden Hunt and
Cole Schwindt start on the fourth line tonight, a handful of players were assigned to the Wranglers.
Clarke Bishop, Ben Jones, Colton Poolman and
Oskar Dansk will report to the AHL squad to start preparing for the regular season. The biggest surprise was Jones. The 6’0”, 190lb center plays a hard game.
The 24 year old center made a strong case to slot in on the fourth line at camp this time around. The former Niagara Icedog put up a respectable 17 goals and 54 points in 71 games last season on the Flames’ affiliate.
Also on waivers today is former Flame
Glenn Gawdin. The 26 year old had a nice setup a few nights ago.
Gawdin hasn’t gotten much of a look since leaving Calgary. He got into three games with the Ducks last season. The 6’1” pivot has the tools to be an NHL regular, but hasn’t found the right environment to flourish. He would be a more polished option than the 22 year old Cole Schwindt.
Game time is 7:00 pm MST. Catch the broadcast on calgaryflames.com.
Trevor Neufeld
@Trevor_Neufeld
Stats via eliteprospects.com.
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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