Brodie Fever Hitting Calgary?
TJ Brodie in CHL SUBWAY Super Series vs. Russia - Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images
The Calgary Flames blueline once looked like an all-star team in the making. Goodbye Dion Phaneuf in a trade to Toronto, and in the NHL draft craziness this year, goodbye longtime Flames stalwart Robyn Regher who was shipped to the Buffalo Sabres. This in addition to three regulars from the Calgary blueline last season currently sitting as free agents, and the door is open for Dresden’s TJ Brodie.
This is the kind of chatter that has been filtering through Calgary news sources and hockey blogs since the NHL Draft and the Regehr trade. That theory is now under the microscope as TJ Brodie took to the ice for the first time Monday as a part of the Calgary Flames 2011 Development Camp.
Brodie, who stunned the hockey world last year with an exceptional training camp and preseason, struggled in his first few NHL regular season games and was sent to the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat for the remainder of the season to learn the professional game.
“I didn’t know what to expect out of training camp,” Brodie said about his brief time in the NHL, “Being a kid you always hope to play in the NHL, and having the opportunity to play a few games was a great experience.”
Now, with a thinner depth chart of blueliners ahead of him, the door appears to be open for the offensively gifted Brodie to take another shot at full time duty in the NHL. Even if Brodie is assigned to the AHL again this season, most analysts expect he won’t remain their the entire season as he did last year.
The lone question mark for Brodie, remains the progress on his ankle, which he injured at the end of last season, shortening his season and haulting his offseason training for weeks following the season.
In terms of legitimate NHL defenders, the Flames have Cory Sarich, Jay Bouwmeester, and Mark Giordano, with a plethora of young prospects, inlcuding TJ Brodie, waiting for their opportunity.
The Calgary Flames development camp continues this week with 37 players taking to the ice for a series of conditioning drills, power skating, and other activities to familiarize young players with the Calgary Flames organization.