Oliver Kylington didn’t make the roster this year, which given his youth was no surprise. However, he did impress during the Calgary Flames pre-season and would be a great youngster to promote.
The Calgary Flames clearly saw something in Kylington, as they traded to move up the draft order to ensure they took him in last year’s NHL Entry Draft.
Related Story: Calgary Flames Move Up To Pick Oliver Kylington
In analyzing his talent, Hockey’s Future has this to say about the young Swede:
"Defensively Kylington remains a work in progress and doesn’t care to be brought to a standstill while defending in his own zone. Heads up and very forward-thinking, much of his progress will be determined by how quickly he manages to hone his skills while gaining a stronger mental focus in the tasks at hand."
Based on that analysis alone, he’s probably not quite ready for NHL ice-time. However, that isn’t the whole story as Oliver has been quietly impressing people with the improvements in his game with the Stockton Heat.
In a Calgary Herald article, Stockton Heat head coach Ryan Huska remarked “I think he’s come a long way early in the season.” This alone suggests that the improvement is visible and that sort of visible improvement is sometimes deserving of reward.
Should the Calgary Flames really want to go their prospects something to aim for, they should look to reward Oliver for improving his game this year, even if it’s a few road-trips to be around the team and maybe a couple of games so as not to burn his rookie year.
Kylington is clearly a bit of an outsider, a wildcard if you like to move up to the Calgary Flames blueline, but stranger things have happened.
Next: The Obvious Option: Ladislav Smid