AHL: Baby Flames Rising

The Quad City Flames got off to a rough start in 2008-09. Entering December however, they were 5-2-2-1 in their last 10 games and were trending upward thanks in part to the offensive contributions of a number of veterans, the team's trademark forechecking effort, the emergence of Kris Chucko as a legitimate NHL prospect and a strong tandem in net in Matt Keetley and Leland Irving.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey had the opportunity to view Calgary's AHL prospects twice between the first two months of the season and enters notes on Irving, Chucko, and a number of other Flames prospects that have legitimate shots at playing for the big club in upcoming years.

Leland Irving (Cgy), G, Quad City

Definitely the heir-apparent to Miikka Kiprusoff in the Calgary organization .. butterfly goalie with excellent, smooth crease movements .. very adept at loading up and executing pad slides in either direction quickly .. not only loads up quickly, but gets across the crease quickly in pad slides .. stays fairly compact in his butterfly to eliminate holes .. able to go down and up quickly .. is conscientious in keeping himself orientated in his crease .. does a good job of hugging the post when the play dictates and leaves no holes .. has the flexibility to make splits saves, but rarely uses it .. AHL stats do not reflect it yet, but very technically sound .. entering December, he had played 431:34 min, over 8 games, with a 4-4-0 record, a 3.06 goals-against average, and a .851 save percentage.

Kris Chucko (Cgy), RW, Quad City

Has made significant improvements to his skating since the 2007-08 season .. employing an improved skating stride with good extension .. still leans forward quite a bit when skating, but doesn't look too awkward doing so .. showing his speed a little more often and appears to have a little more top speed than before .. criticized in the past for a lack of acceleration, now showing some speed bursts in races for the pucks .. has some speed with the puck and shows a little dangle and can make some nice plays off the boards or with drop passes .. however, offensive awareness is not high-end, as he makes questionable decisions too often .. often passes right to the opponent or shoots the puck when an opponent is right there to block it .. plays in front of and around the net a lot and can finish his chances .. seems to have better defensive awareness, as he creates turnovers on the forecheck and backcheck, intercepts passes, and sets subtle screens to help teammates break the puck out, or in .. plays with some physicality, as is expected out of Calgary prospect forwards .. plays on both Quad City's powerplay and penalty kill .. could finally be ready for full-time duty in Calgary as a third or fourth-line forward in 2009-10 if he continues to make improvements in his skating and cuts down on bad offensive reads .. entering December, he had 10 goals and 11 assists in 23 games and was 25th in AHL scoring.

Ryan Wilson (Cgy), D, Quad City

Stands out on paper due to his point production, but is actually more impressive defensively .. consistently steps up on opponents in the neutral zone or at the blueline, and can lay out some big hits doing so .. able to step up with shoulder checks or angle opponents to the boards .. has decent speed backwards and keeps crossovers to a minimum, but employs only a medium-width track .. gets a bit upright in his pivots .. does a good job of taking looks skating back for pucks, but needs to work on his passing game and/or working it up the boards once he gets to it .. on the attack, he has good offensive vision and will join the attack himself from time to time .. has a hard, crisp slapper from the point that he keeps low .. also has a hard one-timer .. plays on both Quad City's powerplay and penalty kill .. will drop the gloves if called for .. free agent signing off to a good start in his rookie-pro season and has the tools to become a two-way defenseman for Calgary .. entering December, he had 2 goals and 10 assists in 23 games.

David VanderGulik (Cgy), LW/RW, Quad City

Looks like a capable fill in on Calgary's fourth line if they need him during 2008-09 .. has good speed and puts it to use in a high-pressure forechecking game .. consistently creates havoc for opponents attempting to break the puck out, be it at even strength or when he's killing penalties .. able to employ strong speed bursts and decent top speed to beat defensemen wide, including NHL-ready defensemen .. not afraid to outwait the goaltender and then shoot after the goalie commits .. has historically put up more goals than assists, but actually is a decent playmaker off the boards .. able to thread centering passes through traffic toward the net for prime chances .. plays on the powerplay .. may be a bit undersized, but still a fine two-way player that fits Calgary's philosophy .. entering December, he had 6 goals and 4 assists in 23 games ..

Brett Sutter (Cgy), LW, Quad City

Same two-way player as in 2007-08, just a little more confident with the puck after a season of AHL experience .. has decent speed with the puck and makes some nice moves from time to time, but still needs to be stronger on the puck .. is knocked off the puck too easily when engaged physically or mishandles it on occasion when not pressured .. effort does allow him to recover the puck on some such occasions, though .. does make some nice plays .. combination of speed bursts and effort allows him to win races for the puck on the forecheck or create pressure down low .. a regular on the penalty kill and successfully plays a higher-pressure forechecking game with the man down .. plays a physical game on the forecheck, the backcheck, and in the defensive zone .. will come across the zone to make a big hit on an unsuspecting opponent .. plays the kind of game one would expect of the Sutter progeny and seems to be on track to eventually play for Calgary as fourth-liner, although probably after his entry-level contract expires .. entering December, he had 1 goal and 6 assists in 21 games.

Daniel Ryder (Cgy), C, Quad City

Previous McKeen's report on Daniel Ryder by correspondent Max Giese was dead on regarding his intensity level compared to Quad City teammates .. high-energy games and efforts of teammates makes it appear that he isn't "all in" in terms of his return to hockey .. invisible for periods of time but then becomes noticeable with a nice play .. able to use his agility along the boards to protect the puck .. a threat to make a play off the half boards or to skate it in himself .. has a nice wristshot .. needs to become stronger on the puck when engaged physically, as he was knocked off it far too easily on a couple occasions .. plays on Quad City's powerplay, to no surprise .. may lack the intensity to thrive in the Calgary system, but certainly has talent .. entering December, he had 3 goals and 6 assists in 17 games.

Matt Pelech (Cgy), D/LW, Quad City

Played forward in the November viewing and was injured for the October viewing .. actually looked okay as a fourth-line forward .. was aggressive on the forecheck and finished his checks .. able to pick up a good head of steam skating the puck and looked fairly confident with the puck as a forward .. even if the plan is to keep Pelech at defense, he proved he could play as a forward in a pinch .. entering December, he had 1 goal and 2 assists in 21 games.

Brad Cole (Cgy), D, Quad City

Split time between Las Vegas (ECHL) and Quad City in 2007-08, but appears to be full-time AHL in his second pro season .. plays on the Quad City PK and puts in a good effort, but must avoid running around and chasing, including getting to high in the defensive zone .. engages physically, but with only moderate success .. able to angle opponents to the boards, only for them to be able to fight through the check .. too often finds himself as the one falling to the ice when he attempts to make a hit .. needs additional work on his passing game .. able to make some hard passes, but they could be crisper .. also needs to improve the precision and accuracy of his passing .. offensive awareness is also a work in progress, as he doesn't always spot the open man to advance the puck while skating it .. also stops moving his feet when he passes the puck while skating it .. sees some icetime on the Quad City powerplay, though .. appears to be aiming to play a two-way game, but definitely a ways from playing for Calgary .. entering December, he had 1 goal and 1 assists in 23 games.

Adam Cracknell (Cgy), RW, Quad City

Third-year pro actually an AHL rookie after spending the bulk of the past two seasons with Las Vegas .. getting a chance to play an offensive role for Quad City and seeing some time on the powerplay .. able to use his size to establish position for the puck and to shield the puck .. not uncommon for him to make a play off the half boards and then crash the net .. also able to skate the puck off the half boards himself for scoring chances .. could afford to make his passes a bit harder .. like almost all Quad City forwards, he finishes his checks .. Calgary is not afraid to utilize their ECHL affiliate, and Cracknell looks like he'll be a bit of a success story, at least in moving to the AHL level and contributing .. entering December, he had 3 goals and 9 assists in 23 games.

Aki Seitsonen (Cgy), C, Quad City

Third-year pro an AHL rookie, as he's spent the bulk of the past two seasons with Las Vegas .. must improve speed .. has little separation with the puck because he lacks both acceleration and top speed .. tries making some moves with the puck, but too easy for defensemen to stick with, and he loses the handle at times .. plays on the penalty kill and sees some success there .. has an active stick on the PK and can strip opponents of the puck or deflect or intercept passes .. needs to do whatever he can to improve his acceleration and top speed, as he's currently a Double-A caliber player with his limited speed and quickness .. entering December, he had 1 goal in 13 games.

John Armstrong (Cgy), C, Quad City

Limited viewing, but impressive in that viewing .. notable for his long, long strides on the forecheck .. had only a modest major junior career offensively, but contributing to Quad City's offense .. plays on the powerplay .. puts in an excellent effort along the boards in the offensive zone and able to find open teammates with passes off the boards .. looking forward to future viewings for a more-detailed read .. entering December, he had 2 goals and 7 assists in 13 games.