The Flames have a good problem to have, a young player goes all the way to the very end of camp and impresses the coaching staff enough to ask the big question. Has he done enough? The answer to that is maybe. While there's still things for him to work on, he has been noticeable in preseason play, and most of the notable play has been good to great.
Gridin in preseason has scored three times, including a beauty backhand that went through reigning Hart Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck's five hole. He also provides something the Flames have lacked in recent seasons, and that is a shoot first mentality. If he feels he has a chance to score he's going to use that lethal shot that he has.
With the uncertainty of Jonathan Huberdeau's status for the opener against the Edmonton Oilers, there could be an open spot on the top line. Or at least in the top six where Gridin would be best suited to play in. There's a path for Gridin to open the season on the Flames roster.
Takeaways from the entire preseason
Backup goaltending is going to continue to be a big discussion in Calgary as the final decision came down to familiarity with Devin Cooley, but head coach Ryan Huska has mentioned multiple time as sense of fluidity within the organization.
Morgan Frost led the team in preseason points with seven and looks very much like he's back to playing the way he did with the Flyers, and more to the way the Flames were expecting when they acquired him last season. His best season with the Flyers came in the 2022-23 season where he put up a 19 goal and 46 point campaign, and the expectation for Frost this season should be to get those kind of numbers once again.
A roster spot for Zayne Parehk is no longer in question. He has shown flashes of brilliance over the course of the preseason, but like all young defencemen has also shown breakdowns in coverage. A pairing with Jake Bean seems to be the direction the Flames are going on the third pairing, protecting Parehk for now against the top lines around the league. I also expect he will be a part of the second powerplay unit alongside Rasmus Andersson.
Connor Zary, Mikael Backlund, and Blake Coleman look to be reunited for the season, at least at the beginning. They were one of the only lines that stayed together for the majority of the season and played very consistently throughout the season, and were one of the most trusted lines.
Yegor Sharangovich needs to have a bounce back season in the worst way, the funny thing is, I didn't mind him playing on the fourth line in the Flames final preseason outing against the Jets. Paired up with Ryan Lomberg and Justin Kirkland, could be an interesting forechecking line with a scoring touch from Sharangovich.
The preseason is over (finally) and the points start to matter and all the Flames are thinking about now is winning. Dustin Wolf is expected to get 55-65 starts, and could very well be in the running for the Vezina Trophy at the end of the season. The wait is almost over, the Flames season opener in Edmonton on October 8 can't come fast enough.