When folks in Calgary talk about “Sneak-a-Peek” they are usually referring to the night before the Calgary Stampede starts when amusement rides are open to the public.
The 101st version of the Stampede is three months away but the Flames are staging their own version of “Sneak-a-Peek” these days as they head into the final three weeks of their season.
Last Wednesday, it was centre Roman Horak coming up from the AHL farm team in Abbotsford. Friday, defenceman Brett Carson joined the big team, while Saturday in Vancouver centre Max Reinhart played LW in a 5-2 loss in his Vancouver hometown. Finally Monday in Colorado, the team’s leading prospect, LW Sven Baertschi, rejoins the fold from his latest stint in the minors.
Trades and injuries have prompted the promotions, but it also gives first-year coach Bob Hartley an opportunity to make some assessments for the future.
The last time the Flames won a game, Jarome Iginla was still captain on March 27 when the club defeated Colorado 4-3 at the Saddledome.
Monday, with all four recent recruits playing, the Flames look to end a five-game losing streak in the final game of three-straight on the road. The Avalanche are the only team in the Western Conference with fewer points than the Flames. They have one less point and are riding their own four-game win streak.
Horak has taken a regular shift in all three games he’s played. Carson has been on the third defence pairing for the last two games and likely the same tonight with Derek Smith still out with a leg injury. Reinhart made his NHL debut playing just over 16 minutes against the Canucks with his father, Paul, who played defence for both the Flames and Canucks during his career, in attendance.
Baertschi will be under a large microscope come Monday. The club’s first round draft pick from 2011 was slated to play the entire season in the NHL. However, with his own injury and lack of production, the native of Switzerland, who played two seasons in the Western Hockey League with Portland, went back to Abbotsford on March 9.
Baertschi played with the Heat during the lockout and netted 18 points in 21 games while missing a month with an upper-body injury. He started the NHL season with Calgary before a hip flexor put him out for 11 games. In all he played 10 games with the Flames notching one assist, a far cry from last season were he collected three goals during a five-game emergency call up. During his most recent stint in the AHL, he compiled four goals and seven points in 10 games.
The Flames are hoping this time he’s in the NHL for good.