Flames players eager to learn in preseason games
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By Craig DeVrieze | Wednesday, September 26, 2007 |
Matt Pelech can’t be certain he even will be in the lineup tonight, but he is eager for his first test run in a Quad-City Flames sweater.
“I think you learn a lot,” the rookie Flames defenseman said of the value to a 7 p.m. preseason game against American Hockey League Western Division rival Peoria at the Peoria Civic Center.
“In a game like this, you get to set your bearings,” Pelech said. “You don’t go into the season blinded by the pace and the skill of the players you are playing against and with. You get used to gaps, d-zone coverages and opposing speed.
“It’s really good to gain a little bit of experience quickly.”
Pelech might get that chance tonight. He is one of 11 defensemen in camp and one of 24 players on the Flames’ camp roster.
By agreement of the two head coaches, each team will dress one extra player tonight than will be allowed in the regular season, meaning a total of 18 skaters plus two goalies.
Q-C coach Ryan McGill and assistant Scott Allen will make a final decision as to who will dress and who will sit after a morning skate today at the Quad-City Sports Center in Davenport.
In setting a lineup, McGill said he first will eliminate injured players, and then will assess position numbers.
“And then we will move into who we want to see the most,’’ he said. “If there are a couple of defensemen we want to see, we will move them ahead of a guy we know a little more about.’’
Along with forwards Kris Chucko and Eric Nystrom, Pelech is among three first-round draft picks competing in the Quad-Cities camp. He is among nine rookies, including goalies Kevin LaLande and Matt Keetley.
With two more preseason games on the docket — Saturday at the Sports Center vs. Iowa and Monday at Iowa — every healthy player in camp can expect to get a look at some point in the next six days.
The NHL Flames must set their roster by Monday, meaning additional players will be dispatched here after the preseason schedule is complete. That makes setting line and defensive combinations impractical right now, but McGill said the early tests can help get a head start on establishing team chemistry.
“It gives you an opportunity to put some players together at certain times in the game and just see how they go with each other,” he said.
Second-year Flames forward Chucko said that is no small advantage.
“Hopefully, we get a little bit of a chemistry,” he said. “We can only practice so much, so the games really help that way.
“Secondly,’’ he said, “you get comfortable with the speed of the game, get back into game shape, get your legs.”
McGill said he will use the preseason tests to measure his players’ competitive instincts and “just to see where they are at compared to Peoria’s group.’’
The final score won’t count for a thing.
“It’s all about watching and making sure we see where guys fit and how they compete,’’ said McGill.
Craig DeVrieze can be contacted at (563) 333-2610 or cdevrieze@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com
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