Pachal receives high words of praise from Flames coach Huska
In what is a battle on the Calgary Flames’ back end, Brayden Pachal seems to have pulled ahead of the pack.
The 25-year-old, who was claimed off of waivers last season from the Vegas Golden Knights, scored the Flames’ opening goal of the game in what ended as a 4-3 overtime victory versus the Vancouver Canucks. After registering just six points in 33 games as a Flame last season, he finds himself with two goals and two helpers through just three preseason outings.
Pachal with his second of the pre-season ties this game at 1-1 #Flames pic.twitter.com/oBrIcajhTt
— Mackenzie Grafton (@mgrafton37) October 1, 2024
While the offence has been a nice surprise, it’s the work ethic that Pachal brings each and every day that has earned him a ton of respect from head coach Ryan Huska.
“He’s a little quicker. I think he’s continued to be physical for us, for sure. I think he’s taken that up another step,” Huska said. “For me, Pachal is always having to prove himself. I remember Deryk Engelland way back when here. He got a chance later on in his career. For Brayden, waiver pick up, all that stuff, he’s had to prove his way all the way along. He’s one of those guys that comes to the rink every day fighting for that opportunity. That’s his mindset, and I think it always will be.”
Huska did, however, admit that there is quite a competition, with just one week remaining in training camp.
“We have some guys that have pushed really hard for jobs, and they’ve made us have some interesting conversations in the coaches office. I’m quite happy that we’ve had so many guys that have really pushed to try and make this team.”
While he may not be pencilled in just yet, Pachal’s performance to this point indicates he will be a part of the roster when the regular season gets underway. His chances of doing so were boosted this afternoon, as it was announced that Ilya Solovyov had been placed on waivers while Artem Grushnikov and Yan Kuznetsov were assigned to the Calgary Wranglers.
With today’s transactions, the Flames now have 10 defencemen who remain in camp. Five are locks to make the roster: MacKenzie Weegar, Rasmus Andersson, Daniil Miromanov, Jake Bean, and Kevin Bahl. Others who remain are Jarred Tinordi, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joel Hanley, and Tyson Barrie.
As impressive as Brzustewicz has been in camp, his lack of experience may result in him spending some time in the AHL to begin his pro career. Hanley, who at age 33 has less than 200 NHL games under his belt, also feels like a long shot to crack the opening night roster.
That means Pachal is likely competing against Tinordi and Barrie, and two of them are likely to stick if the Flames start the season with seven defensemen.
Barrie is currently on a professional tryout offer (PTO), though many believe he will sign a contract in the near future. Should that be the case, it may wind up being Tinordi, who draws the short stick and finds himself with the Wranglers to begin the year.
The Flames have two preseason games remaining, one tomorrow and the final on Friday. Expect many of the defencemen mentioned, such as Pachal, Barrie, Tinordi, Hanley, and Brzustewicz, to be given a look so that Huska and his coaching staff can identify who they will go with to begin the regular season.
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