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Thursday, September 16, 1999
Mad Russian missed
He's 6-ft. 5-in., 234 lbs. with a reputation as one of the game's dirtiest players.
The Flames traded for him last season but he's been a no-show ever since.
Andrei Nazarov, aka, Nasty Naz, the Nazinator, has been conspicuous by his absence since arriving in Calgary and there are quiet concerns over his unwillingness to play a physical game.
The big Russian has become a pacifist, and on a team dominated by smaller forwards, it's a role the team simply can't afford to have him play.
"Sure, we'd like him to play bigger, meaner," said coach Brian Sutter.
"But he had that bad reputation when he came here, that he was the kind of guy who would flip out if you looked at him wrong.
"He took a lot of penalties just because of his reputation, but no question we need him to become a guy who is tough to play against. But he's also a highly-skilled guy who can help us out."
In camp he's been hit hard, challenged and has refrained from getting his nose dirty. Look for that to change -- soon ...
Who's impressed at camp? Oleg Saprykin, Rico Fata, Daniel Tkaczuk and to a lesser extent, Steve Begin, have all shown they deserve a shot at an NHL job.
Who's not impressed at camp? Wade Belak has been slow and beaten often. Dave Roche has been non-existent and is in real danger of losing his job. Clarke Wilm gives you everything he has but that may not be enough to keep a job with some of the young talent coming along. Lee Sorochan has struggled ...
The unfortunate part about Saprykin's great showing is that even as a rookie, this team may not have the budget to sign him to a contract this season ...
With all the premature talk about the Flames' lack of offence, it should be noted that they have been good defensively. Last night, the Leafs had just 10 shots through two periods ...
Question. Why is it that all the Flames staff who wanted to draft Sergei Samsonov are gone while those who didn't want the eventual Calder Trophy winner are still with the club? Still, it may be that in a couple of years we'll talk about the wisdom of getting Tkaczuk. He's looking much better now than a couple of years ago ...
Rocky Thompson was the recipient of an old lesson from the old pro Tie Domi last night. It takes two to tango. Thompson, seeing his first game action in eight months after suffering a concussion/inner ear problem from a fight, sought out Domi for a little fisticuff action their first shift of the game. Domi, who obviously has nothing to prove in pre-season, declined, but not until Thompson had already started swinging, drawing a four-minute minor that very nearly cost the Flames an early goal. Later, he showed good discipline in not rising to Domi's bait after the Leaf took a double-minor of his own. That's OK, preseason is about learning ...
With Fred Brathwaite the only goalie other than Grant Fuhr on a one-way contract, he'll have to play himself out of the back-up role. He's been good so far, but so has Tyler Moss ...
Got to wonder when the NHLPA will issue the cone of silence to its members over the Alexei Yashin holdout. The Flames players' comments in the Sun this past week surely ruffled a few feathers in the PA office. Too bad no one there in leadership has the guts of their members to call Yashin for the unconscionable greed he has displayed all too often ...
Former Flames Jonas Hoglund is slowly but surely getting a look at all of Canada. He was moved to Montreal with Zarley Zalapski for Val Bure and this season is struggling to win a spot with the Leafs. A good skater and great shooter, Hoglund has lacked the intensity to become a good NHLer. But how 'bout that Montreal trade in hindsight. Kudos to Al Coates. Hoglund and Zalapski are no longer there (Zarley was released on a tryout with Tampa) while Bure has developed into the Flames' best player ...
Leafs are still looking to part with Yanic Perreault, but only if Alyn McCauley remains healthy. Flames are interested. Look for Calgary to make a trade before the Sept. 27 waiver draft. They're looking for help up front and have depth on defence to move. Best bet of who gets moved -- Cale Hulse.
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