Last

year the Adirondack Flames’ season was nothing to write home about, but it did

reveal the sheer amount of depth the Calgary Flames organization truly has.

Adirondack’s

rookies made up approximately

45% of the team’s goals by the end of the season. Those are staggering

numbers and by no means a regular occurrence in the American league.

Among

those rookies are a handful of players who fans should start directing their attention,

because as soon as next season, these prospects could be looking at breakout

seasons.

#1:

KENNY AGOSTINO

What.

A. Season.

And

who expected it? Agostino is what we might consider a second or even third tier

prospect. He wasn’t up there with Gaudreau and Bennett, and he wasn’t up there

Poirier or Granlund. Now, I think we can start talking about him as one of the

organization’s most well-rounded prospects.

Agostino’s

run to the end the season was nothing short of remarkable. Something just clicked.

After

just 17 points in his first 44 games, he went on a ridiculous tear scoring 26

points in his last 23 games. This is around the same time he earned top line

minutes, ample power play time and even penalty killing time due to increased

trust in his defensive and offensive capabilities.

Beyond

that, Agostino possesses the type of play that will earn huge points in a Bob

Hartley system. He’s got a non-stop motor, he’s physical without crossing the

line and can play in a multitude of scenarios. He’s the AHL version of an NHL Josh

Jooris or Paul Byron… with more offense.

The

former Yale star’s growth as the season wore on showed a trend that instils

confidence in future growth, which is why Agostino is the most likely to break

out this season. If he continues what he did last year, he won’t just be a name

the hardcore fans know.

#2:

EMILE POIRIER

Like

any rookie, Poirier went through a number of dry spells throughout the season,

but also showed something that most rookies don’t – resilience. His ability to

work himself out of dry spells is

impressive on two fronts.

First,

he didn’t have help. He didn’t have veteran forwards to lean on to help rack up

secondary assists or gift wrap open net goals. He worked his own way out of the

dark mines of his rookie slumps. Secondly, he didn’t just end slumps, he ‘tombstoned’

them. He’d go through three, four, sometimes five game slumps, but when he left

those slumps, he’d go for four or five point stretches.

Inconsistency,

yes, but when April rolled around, Poirier was a poster boy for consistency in

Adirondack. That’s what you want to see from a prospect as he leaves his rookie

season (much like Agostino did). It remains to be seen if Poirier will work his

way onto the Flames this season (probably not), but if he continues to trend in

the right direction and develop consistent scoring, he’ll have a right wing

spot locked down as soon as the 2016-17 season.

#3:

BILL ARNOLD

Arnold

is only this far down the list because Agostino and Poirier were that good last

season. If he hadn’t sat out nearly two months due to a shoulder injury, we

might be talking about him as the team’s scoring leader. Heck, as it is he was

either the leading scorer or second leading scoring up until his injury.

That

scoring ability combined with his masterful defensive game is where Arnold

caught lightning in a bottle last year and is what will get him into the NHL at

some point.

There

are a number of reasons Arnold is on this list. First, as previously mentioned,

his skill and defensive game are a perfect combination for today’s NHL.

Secondly, physically he’s had the frame of an NHL third- or fourth-liner since

joining Boston College. Thirdly, there are more aspects of his game that will

get him into the NHL than not. He has few weak spots in his game. Perhaps the

only one (and his may even be a stretch) is that his speed is first step and

acceleration needs marginal improvement. Even then, it takes an electron microscope

to find an obvious flaw in his game. Did I mention he might be the organization’s

best faceoff man?

So

why isn’t he in the NHL then, Mike? On most other teams, he might have half a

season of NHL hockey under his belt by this point. Unfortunately, he’s stuck

behind Sean Monahan, Sam Bennett and Mikael Backlund. So the way I see it, one

man is standing in his way to break onto the Flames: Matt Stajan. When and if

Matty Franchise is no longer in the fold, it’s Arnold’s spot for the taking.

#4:

RYAN CULKIN

What

a pleasantly surprising season for Culkin.

The

Montreal native went into the season with absolutely no expectations placed on

him from fans or management and he used that to his advantage. He earned a spot

in Adirondack right out of camp while his comparable, Brett Kulak, was sent to

the ECHL. As a fan, you’ve always had the sense that Culkin and Kulak, while

playing in different junior leagues, would eventually (and perhaps inevitably) go

head-to-head for organizational spots since they’re nearly identical

defensemen.

Now,

after a full season, it appears Culkin has taken an edge organizationally over

Kulak. It could also be argued that he’s only a step behind Tyler Wotherspoon for

an NHL spot.

Culkin’s

unfortunate (and gruesome) injury where he suffered sliced tendons in his wrist

ended his season short, but prior to that he was on pace for a 37 point season

as a rookie. His minutes were managed to approximately a third- or

second-pairing level, but within a month he was receiving a great deal of

praise from head coach Ryan Huska.

Huska

regularly commented on his abnormal maturity and steadiness that’s not typically

seen in a 20-year-old defender fresh out of the QMJHL. That trust earned him

more minutes and more responsibility as he embraced his increased roles.

With

John Ramage now out of the picture, don’t be surprised to see Culkin alongside

Wotherspoon to start the season in Stockton. Culkin already has his coach’s

trust – it’s simply a matter of picking up where he left off.

#5:

BRETT KULAK

Kulak’s

progression is about as textbook as you can get for a young defensive junior

star.

Coming

out of Vancouver, Kulak was the guy

on the Giants. When it came to the team’s offense, power play, and tempo, most

of it went through him. As you could imagine, when a player is relied upon

almost exclusively for such integral parts of the game there’s a tendency for

that player to be allowed to get away with certain things.

I’m

not saying Kulak developed bad habits, because he didn’t. I’m saying he had freedom

and a lot of lack on his leash in Vancouver. Former Abbotsford Heat head coach

Troy Ward commented on numerous occasions that Kulak would be a good player one

day if he can learn to reel in his self-confidence and selfishness just a tad.

It’s

that confidence and cockiness (in a good way) that Kulak brought down Highway 1

to Abbotsford. In 10 games to finish the 2013-14 season with the Heat, it was a

common occurrence to see his smooth skating on display, taking the puck out of

his zone by himself and attempting to lead the rush into the other end. This

time, however, he wasn’t playing against kids, so he often turned the puck over

or got caught too deep.

This

is completely normal for a player like Kulak.

More recently, however, Kulak’s taken that

slight selfishness down a notch and has become quite a TJ Brodie-lite. He’s

learned when and when not to do it all himself and has become steadier in his

own zone. That’s the type of progression you want to see and the type of

progression that could see Kulak have his best season yet as a staple on

Stockton’s blue line.





