Player Discussion Oliver Kylington

[Lunatik]

Post this everywhere.

No I'm not being sarcastic, this is great for Oli

 

[KodakGinger]

Makes Zadorov trade not look so bad, getting Kylington back will be huge.

 

[Rubi]

Does Kylington still become a UFA at the end of the season?

 

[Rubi]

Skating again

Hopefully this isn't the first time he's been on skates in a year and a half. Ideally it would be nice if he kept in shape during his time off.
However, just because he's skating doesn't mean everything is ok. We all thought everything was ok at the start of training camp.
Sorry but I'm going to be a little skeptical here until proven otherwise.

 

[Lunatik]

Does Kylington still become a UFA at the end of the season?

Yes

 

[Rubi]

Yes

That sucks. Glad I'm not the GM that has to decide on whether or not to offer him a contract extension.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Yesterday:

All I want for Christmas is for Kylington to come back.

Our left side is going to look real ugly if/when Hanifin is traded.

Today:

Skating again

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

So I’m glad he is skating but has there been more info released about this? Do we know if he is actually trying to return to playing in NhL this season?

 

[Yepthatsme]

That sucks. Glad I'm not the GM that has to decide on whether or not to offer him a contract extension.

“Yes”
-Every GM in the league who has seen him skate on whether they’d offer him a contract or not.

Seriously though, this signing is a no brainer once he’s confirmed back and playing. Sign him to a 1-2 year prove it deal, which should be at a discount from his previous contract given the uncertainty around him. If we haven’t earned his loyalty with how we have handled the situation I really don’t know what would.

Obviously unfortunate for Kylington having to go through what he has had to, but even more unfortunate for him timing wise. This year was supposed to be the year he probably signed his long extension that paid him through his prime. Following the aftermath of this I highly doubt he ever gets a contract over 5 years in his career.

 

[Figgy44]

Hopefully this isn't the first time he's been on skates in a year and a half. Ideally it would be nice if he kept in shape during his time off.
However, just because he's skating doesn't mean everything is ok. We all thought everything was ok at the start of training camp.
Sorry but I'm going to be a little skeptical here until proven otherwise.

He was obviously in shape for training camp. The odd part was that he cleared all tests except for the team's medical tests. It wasn't reported that he suddenly took a step back. IIRC it was the team's doctors that said he failed the medical. Kylington is also such a smooth skater that he can slot in around at 60-80% his normal skating speed and be OK if he sticks to a simple game + is insulated by his partner for the first little bit.

“Yes”
-Every GM in the league who has seen him skate on whether they’d offer him a contract or not.

Seriously though, this signing is a no brainer once he’s confirmed back and playing. Sign him to a 1-2 year prove it deal, which should be at a discount from his previous contract given the uncertainty around him. If we haven’t earned his loyalty with how we have handled the situation I really don’t know what would.

Obviously unfortunate for Kylington having to go through what he has had to, but even more unfortunate for him timing wise. This year was supposed to be the year he probably signed his long extension that paid him through his prime. Following the aftermath of this I highly doubt he ever gets a contract over 5 years in his career.

It depends if they think the mental health stuff is controlled or not. I don't know how to objectively measure this, but I believe it was the team medical staff that said he failed, and not purely his own decision to step away? This unlike last year where I believe it was his decision.

Agreed I'd hope for some lower AAV deals or a long term low AAV deal thank you deal that works for both sides (ie:... 7 years 2.5 million). But who knows.

 

[Felidae]

Interesting reading through this thread while he was playing. Seems like you guys were higher on him than any other defenseman on the team. A few calling him "elite" others saying he's the only one other than Gaudreau with the "it" factor.

But then I see his stats and.. they are decent. But not exactly amazing since he was considered an offensive defenseman. I understand he didnt get much PP time but still, also outproduced by Hanifin who is the same age.

I guess I'm just wondering what made you guys so hyped for him when statistically he doesn't stand out even among the flames dman at the time.

 

[deleted user]

There was a very healthy expectation that he was going to continue progressing. He showed some slick stuff on the ice that was akin to water starting to bubble up right before a good sustained boil hits.

He's a great puck mover and very smart passer.

 

[Rubi]

Interesting reading through this thread while he was playing. Seems like you guys were higher on him than any other defenseman on the team. A few calling him "elite" others saying he's the only one other than Gaudreau with the "it" factor.

But then I see his stats and.. they are decent. But not exactly amazing since he was considered an offensive defenseman. I understand he didnt get much PP time but still, also outproduced by Hanifin who is the same age.

I guess I'm just wondering what made you guys so hyped for him when statistically he doesn't stand out even among the flames dman at the time.

What made him stand out to me was his speed. He could cover a lot of ground, offensively and defensively with his skating ability. Points wise he was always a bit snake bit. Just bad luck in a lot of cases IMO.

 

[deleted user]

He would be a boon to any team with the way he was showing. It's been a long lay off.. but he looked in tremendous shape, physically speaking. If he got some time back he'd likely be back on that trajectory.

 

[Rubi]

Do the Flames practice often at Max Bell? I would love to drop by and watch... one of the perks of retirement

Also, just saw this...



Nice to hear he's been skating for weeks.

 

[Figgy44]

Interesting reading through this thread while he was playing. Seems like you guys were higher on him than any other defenseman on the team. A few calling him "elite" others saying he's the only one other than Gaudreau with the "it" factor.

But then I see his stats and.. they are decent. But not exactly amazing since he was considered an offensive defenseman. I understand he didnt get much PP time but still, also outproduced by Hanifin who is the same age.

I guess I'm just wondering what made you guys so hyped for him when statistically he doesn't stand out even among the flames dman at the time.

He had an elite tier skating and movement with slightly below average other skills.

Like he'd make an insane speed move most other dmen could only dream of, and then fire a whiffle puck that weirdly pinballs through a crowd and just past the net. You'd think, "Wow, if that shot had the tiniest extra force behind it, it could have been a goal or it might have deflected to one of our guys". Shots are easy to improve, so we thought he'd put it together.

He'd follow known speedsters with relative ease and attempt to wrangle them behind the net, then get bumped off with relative ease or slip and fall to little consequence for high risk shot against our team... and you'd think, "If he had the slightest extra strength and didn't fall down, on that play he might have been able to strip the puck and make a good play up the ice or skate it out of our zone himself." Strength isn't too hard to improve to the level required, so again, it's thought he'd put it all together.

His skillset is really rare, but with major flaws. I said that he seemed like he was a motor cycle out there in a sea of cars. Super fast acceleration, great edges and maneuverability. It seemed like we had ourselves a guaranteed Karlsson/Dahlin lite. But like a motorcycle, he was a little unstable and often seemed to suffer from the wobbles or would lose the sideswipe contest with minor contact with other players. Those were things that were non-IQ related that seemed easy to fix, so the assumption was that with his elite movements and no change to IQ, minor tweaks in shooting and strength would upgrade him from being a 4 to a 2/3 or even #1.

See if AC has made a highlight reel of Kylington. It'll give insight into the reasoning many Flames fans had of him.


EDIT:

Here's one AC made of the rookies. I don't know if he ever made a Kylington only one later because I can't find one right now, but you'll see combinations of elite with weirdly pedestrian skillsets. The thing that's good about AC highlights is he puts in some good plays that aren't necessarily goals.

 

[JPeeper]

Hopefully we see him play this year, I'm hoping he gets in before Christmas.

If he can come back permanently he is Hanifin's replacement offensively even if defensively he isn't quite there. The guy never popped offensively, but under Huska we've seen what Weegar has been able to do and Kylington is twice the skater and has more raw skill and Weegar is a stud.

 

[Felidae]

He had an elite tier skating and movement with slightly below average other skills.

Like he'd make an insane speed move most other dmen could only dream of, and then fire a whiffle puck that weirdly pinballs through a crowd and just past the net. You'd think, "Wow, if that shot had the tiniest extra force behind it, it could have been a goal or it might have deflected to one of our guys". Shots are easy to improve, so we thought he'd put it together.

He'd follow known speedsters with relative ease and attempt to wrangle them behind the net, then get bumped off with relative ease or slip and fall to little consequence for high risk shot against our team... and you'd think, "If he had the slightest extra strength and didn't fall down, on that play he might have been able to strip the puck and make a good play up the ice or skate it out of our zone himself." Strength isn't too hard to improve to the level required, so again, it's thought he'd put it all together.

His skillset is really rare, but with major flaws. I said that he seemed like he was a motor cycle out there in a sea of cars. Super fast acceleration, great edges and maneuverability. It seemed like we had ourselves a guaranteed Karlsson/Dahlin lite. But like a motorcycle, he was a little unstable and often seemed to suffer from the wobbles or would lose the sideswipe contest with minor contact with other players. Those were things that were non-IQ related that seemed easy to fix, so the assumption was that with his elite movements and no change to IQ, minor tweaks in shooting and strength would upgrade him from being a 4 to a 2/3 or even #1.

See if AC has made a highlight reel of Kylington. It'll give insight into the reasoning many Flames fans had of him.

Thanks for the detailed response.

There's been many guys that have incredible physical tools but maybe looked better than they were because their hockey IQ wasn't necessarily top tier. But it looks like Kylington's issues were more physical in nature (weak shot, lack of strength)

So im guessing hockey IQ wasn't an issue with him?

AC is one of the best hockey channels for how lengthy highlight videos were for a single player and including plays that werent on the statsheet. I think I watched all his Gaudreau highlights. Unfortunately there is no Kylington video. And he hasn't posted in over 2 years :/

 

[Figgy44]

Thanks for the detailed response.

There's been many guys that have incredible physical tools but maybe looked better than they were because their hockey IQ wasn't necessarily top tier. But it looks like Kylington's issues were more physical in nature (weak shot, lack of strength)

So im guessing hockey IQ wasn't an issue with him?

AC is one of the best hockey channels for how lengthy highlight videos were for a single player and including plays that werent on the statsheet. I think I watched all his Gaudreau highlights. Unfortunately there is no Kylington video. And he hasn't posted in over 2 years :/

I added the rookie one that has lots of good stuff for Kylington. You'll see him do jaw dropping moves and be like, "He made it look so easy and it's obviously so unrefined." Like he'd do a defensive play in our d zone and then be fast enough to be one of the first in the offensive zone.

Ah, memory lane. It included our good friend Lomberg immediately after Kylington.

No, IQ wasn't an issue. He'd get some insanely weird opportunities that you'd only get if you knew how to find rare gaps. That was another facet. I wouldn't say he's oozing with hockey IQ, but it seemed obvious enough it was more than adequate.

 

[Mobiandi]

Interesting reading through this thread while he was playing. Seems like you guys were higher on him than any other defenseman on the team. A few calling him "elite" others saying he's the only one other than Gaudreau with the "it" factor.

But then I see his stats and.. they are decent. But not exactly amazing since he was considered an offensive defenseman. I understand he didnt get much PP time but still, also outproduced by Hanifin who is the same age.

I guess I'm just wondering what made you guys so hyped for him when statistically he doesn't stand out even among the flames dman at the time.

He plays kind of like Weegar but he has a much better shot.

Very exciting player who will make very high-risk plays when his team has the puck because he can skate with anyone in the league.

That second goal against Toronto… how many Dmen in the league can create that kind of separation for a breakaway? 1 or 2?

 

[TheHudlinator]

Yesterday:


Today:

Ask for a cup, please.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

I credit @OvermanKingGainer with manifesting this



Nikita who?

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

If he returns this season, is he likely to start on a conditioning stint in the AHL?

 

[Ace Rimmer]

If he returns this season, is he likely to start on a conditioning stint in the AHL?

Would make sense to give him a few games in the A. Not like he has to travel to another city.

He's been skating and training though so may not be needed. It's possible he starts in the NHL with lower minutes.

 

[Volica]

Good to see Oliver back on the ice.
I hope all is well in his life, and that he plays again.