Afternoon Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 21)

The 3-goalie system that was lingering in Calgary was a fairly constant question, as the Flames were not doing so well and they were only using two of the three goalies on a regular basis. That may have come to a head, as the team has placed Karri Ramo on waivers on Wednesday, likely with the purpose to assign him to the AHL, but there is still a shot that he could be claimed and be a part of a tandem elsewhere in the league.

Brenda & Seward took a chance on Ramo in the 2nd round of the draft this year, thinking he would end up being the starting goalie for the Flames, but it is looking more and more that he will be the starting goalie for the Stockton Heat for the time being.  This could be a devastating blow, unless Ramo is claimed by another club.

It appears that defenseman Jake Gardiner is going to be in the press box for tonight's game between the Maple Leafs and the Sabres in Buffalo tonight, but it is because of an undisclosed injury, instead of a healthy scratch. There have been no details released on the injury, it has just been reported that he will miss the game. We will consider him out day-to-day for right now.

Not good news for John R., who desperately needs some help from his blueline, only having picked up 4 points thus far, 2 of which from Gardiner.  John picked up the blueliner in the 11th round, which was thought to be a pretty good pick at the time, but since has panned out to be about right for the production levels.  Hopefully, for John's sake, it's a short-term injury.

There was some good news from the Tampa Bay camp on Wednesday, as they expect their rookie back-up goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy to return to practice next week, as he is now off of blood thinners, which he needed to get past the blood clot in his system.  There is no word as to when he will return to game action, but at least this is a step in the right direction for him.

Mike's team is just starting to work its way to being healthy, which is good news, since his team is in last place and in dire need of some points.  His team is only 25 points out of 1st place, so all is not lost... yet.  They'll need to go on some kind of run though.

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