There hasn’t been this much hype around a 19 year old player in a Flames uniform since…well Dion Phaneuf. But before that…not for a long time (no offence Fata, Saprykin et al). No question, Mikael Backlund has a lot of people watching him, and some high expectations to live up to. Which is why we have this debate…where does he play this year? Calgary or Sweden?

Backlund is too young to play in the American Hockey League, so there really is only the 2 options. He can make the big club and play in the NHL this year, which of course is his goal. Or, the Flames will decide he’s not quite ready for big time, and return him to Sweden for, presumably, a final year. So where do you weigh in on what the Flames should do?

I know how I feel. If Backlund can prove that he’s a top 6 forward right now, he needs to stick. If Backlund proves he’s a 3rd or 4th line guy for this season (and that’s all I’m talking about, THIS season, not beyond that), I feel there is more value for him to play in Sweden.

To me, no question Backlund has the tools to be an impact player on this team for years to come. And if it’s this year, then hell yeah, he better be in the lineup. If Backlund can prove that he’s a top 6 forward, then this is a good problem to have. For me, I’ve always thought of it one way…for this year, Backlund has to force Calgary’s hand to keep him. Otherwise, it’s more beneficial for him to play in Sweden.

I say that only because I believe Backlund has more of a chance to further develop more in Sweden than he does getting limited minutes on the 3rd or 4th line here. Some would disagree, thinking NHL experience is valuable regardless of the role you’re playing. But because Backlund is as skilled a forward as he is, 1 more year to really develop in an impact role in Sweden seems more valuable than a limited role in Calgary, regardless of the competition of who he’ll be playing against.

So, long story short for me…if Backlund forces Calgary’s hand, it puts them in a dilemma every team wants to have. If he doesn’t make the decision for Calgary, I think it’s best for Backlund to return to Sweden for 1 more year. Your thoughts?

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2008 at 3:35 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.