Jakob Pelletier's injury has opened a door that Zary hopes to skate through
The shoulder injury that has sidelined Jakob Pelletier indefinitely and requires surgery not only impacts his opportunity to make the Calgary Flames roster for the season opener.
Pelletier’s absence has created an opportunity for someone else to grab a spot which had the rookie’s name pencilled into it.
Someone, such as Connor Zary.
The 2020 first-round pick helped his case with the game-tying tally that forced overtime in Calgary’s 3-2 shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday.
Zary, 22, showed his offensive capabilities in the third period when gained the puck at the top of the left circle, used a toe-drag to elude a defender and gain a better scoring lane and made no mistake with a wrist shot just inside the far post.
Zary took a big step forward a year ago with a strong training camp and then followed it with a 21-goal, 58-point season for the AHL Calgary Wranglers.
Whether Zary, who can play center or left wing — which happens to be Pelletier’s position — has plenty to prove and plenty of competition vying for roster spots, but appears to have taken another step forward.
Bounce-back outing for Wolf
The debate about the back-up goaltender position is back on after Dustin Wolf stood tall with a 19-save outing in Winnipeg.
Wolf, who surrendered five goals in his previous pre-season outing a couple of days ago, came up with the big saves when they were needed most, notably denying Rasmus Kupari on an overtime breakaway.
Wolf was also perfect in the shootout, with saves against Nino Niederreiter, Parker Ford and Vladislav Namestnikov (who was also stymied on a key third-period opportunity), and punctuated it with a emphatic celebration — a windmill using his left arm and then pointing to the heavens.
Wolf, the two-time top goaltender in the AHL and last year’s league MVP, will have a tough time overtaking Dan Vladar for the post, but more and more calm and composed performances like the one in Winnipeg will make things interesting.
ICE CHIPS: Adam Ruzicka spent last season on the Flames roster, but his status going into the season had to be tenuous with a weak camp. His effort in Winnipeg was every bit as good, if not better, than the three-assist opening game against the Vancouver Canucks. Ruzicka has the skill and size to be a middle-six player, but could also be a strong fourth-line center if he can find consistency to his game … Speaking of players making a strong case for a NHL gig, Dryden Hunt has done himself plenty of favours so far in the pre-season, beyond just having scored in consecutive games … Ilya Solovyov continues to make a quiet case for being a call-up should the Flames need a defensive defenseman. Solovyov is likely outside the top seven right now, but he has quietly served notice he is pushing for a big-league job down the road … For what it’s worth, the Flames have a 3-1-0 record in the pre-season … The Flames have won both games that went to a shootout … Calgary has four more pre-season games, with the next clash Friday at home to the Edmonton Oilers.
