Calgary Herald: Knight ready to compete for full-time spot with Flames

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Going into training camp, former UND forward Corban Knight is ready to fight for a spot on the Calgary Flames roster. It will be interesting to see how Knight does. What ever he does: one thing is for certain, Knight will have a smile on his face.

Laurence Heinen, Calgary Herald -- And the Calgary coaching staff is looking forward to seeing whether the former Okotoks Oiler can live up to his words.

“He’s got all the tools,” noted assistant coach Martin Gelinas. “He’s a good skater. He’s got a good shot. He’s a centreman that can take draws and win draws. Everything is there for him. He’s shown nice progression, so we’re excited to see him at camp.”

With a host of other players also vying to earn a coveted roster spot, Knight knows he’s going to have to be ready to compete once the players hit the ice.

“You look at the guys they’ve brought in and the guys they have returning, it’s going to be really competitive,” said Knight, who turned 24 on Sept. 10. “There’s not many spots open and there’s a lot of guys working for those spots. I think it’s good though. It’s a healthy competition where it’s going to push guys to be better. It’s definitely a good problem to have for training camp.”

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Calgary Flames: Corban Knight Scores Against Mike Smith

Snipe! Watch @CorbanKnight beat Mike Smith in the 3rd period (VIDEO) ~ http://t.co/QvalJyW1H7 #CGYPHX
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) September 26, 2013

Corban Knight and His 2013 Calgary Flames Prospect Camp

Calgary's alternate logo, 1999–2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It sounds like former UND forward Corban Knight had what some would classify as a rough prospects camp with the Calgary Flames. Here's a couple of quotes that I found from a couple of different articles.

Ryan Pike, The Hockey Writers --- Up front, highly-touted prospects Corban Knight and Sven Baertschi arguably disappointed – in that they failed to stand out from the pack during the week. Rather than distinguish themselves as head-and-shoulders above the rest, these contenders for NHL jobs are now joined by Markus Granlund, Michael Ferland, Max Reinhart and perhaps even former Red Deer Rebels captain Turner Elson in the hunt.

While the Flames GM Jay Feaster wasn't very complementry about some of his prospects play during the Flames prospect Camp. Flames coach Troy Ward was even a little more pointed in his criticisms towards some of his players. Here's what the Flames coach Troy Ward had to say about Corban Knight's play, during the Flames prospect camp, that was held in Penticton, B.C.. Yikes!

Scott CRruickshank, CALGARY HERALD --- Monday, 7 p.m. at the WinSport Ice Complex, the Flames play their fourth game in five nights, taking on the University of Calgary Dinos.

Which, apparently, would be an ideal time for Corban Knight to pick it up.

Asked about the play of Knight, Ward didn’t sugar-coat things.

Yes, the centre had scored Sunday — as did Granlund — but the coach demands more.

“To be honest, he’s got to play with some passion, some vigour,” said Ward. “This isn’t college — you’re not going to have the puck all the time. You’re going to have to go get it back. When Corban has the puck, I’m fine with that. But when he doesn’t have it, he’s going to have to play like Ferland . . . and get his nose dirty.” Knight is getting his first taste of pro after four seasons at the University of North Dakota.

Related articles

• A Look Back At 2013 Calgary Flames Prospect Camp (thehockeywriters.com)
• Rebuilding Calgary Flames Prepare For 2013-14 Season (thehockeywriters.com)

"O Captain! My Captain!" - UND picks Mac to be captain

Official Press Release

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota senior defenseman Andrew MacWilliam has been named captain of the men’s hockey team for the 2012-13 season. Senior forwards Corban Knight, Danny Kristo and Carter Rowney were each named assistant captains.

MacWilliam, who served as an assistant captain as a junior, has appeared in 122 career games, the most among returning UND players, and owns a career plus/minus rating of +24. Last season, the Calgary, Alberta, native played in all 42 games and collected two goals and five assists along with a career-best +12 rating. He was also named to the WCHA Final Five All-Tournament Team.

The 6-foot-2, 230-pound MacWilliam was a seventh-round draft pick (188th overall) of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2008.

Knight, like MacWilliam, served as an assistant captain as a junior in 2011-12. The High River, Alberta, native played in all 42 games and amassed career highs in points (40), goals (16) and assists (24). His career +40 rating leads all returning UND players. Knight was a fifth-round draft pick (135th overall) of the Florida Panthers in 2009.

Kristo, a native of Eden Prairie, Minn., is UND’s top returning scorer with 109 points (42 goals, 67 assists) in 117 career games, including a career-high 45 points last season. In 42 games as a junior, Kristo also established career bests in goals (19), assists (26), game-winning goals (3) and plus/minus (+16). He also won UND’s Virg Foss 3-Star Award after receiving the most 3-star voting points from the media following home games. Kristo was a second-round draft pick (56th overall) of the Montreal Canadiens in 2008.

Rowney enjoyed a breakthrough season as a junior, finishing third on the team with a career-high 18 goals and fourth in scoring with a career-high 33 points. Nine of his goals came on the power-play and three stood as game-winners. The Sexsmith, Alberta, native tied for the WCHA playoff scoring lead with eight points in five games, including a league-leading six assists.

UND went 26-13-3 overall in 2011-12 and captured its league-record third consecutive Broadmoor Trophy as WCHA Final Five champions. It was also the program’s league-leading 11th WCHA playoff title.

UND opens the 2012-13 season, its last as a member of the WCHA, with exhibition games against Manitoba (Oct. 6) and the U.S. Under-18 Team (Oct. 12) before opening the regular season Oct. 19-20 at the Alaska Goal Rush tournament in Fairbanks.

Calgary’s Matt Stajan scores, or does he? No goal...

I was watching this game last night and I thought from what I could see that puck appeared to be laying on Emery's inside the net, this should have been a goal in my opinion, I think the video review booth in this case blew it. I like the idea of having a chip in the puck then you would know for sure if the puck was in the net for not.

Globe and Mail --- The first blow was the goal that wasn’t. The Flames crowded Anaheim goalie Ray Emery and swiped away at the puck then began celebrating as if they had scored. Replays showed the puck was somewhere in Emery’s possession as he fell backwards into his net. Ducks’ captain Ryan Getzlaf reached in and pulled the puck away then, when asked about his handiwork during a second-period intermission, said he did nothing of the sort. “Wasn’t me,” he protested.

After a six-minute delay, referee Gord Dwyer announced the puck didn’t completely cross the line. Flames’ fans quickly let their inner most feelings known.

“I’m telling you it was in. That’s all I can say,” said Calgary’s Matt Stajan, who was in on the action. “It’s too bad they got it wrong. We can’t blame the season on that. but it was a big momentum change.”

“Everybody was scrambling,” Getzlaf said afterwards. “They did a great job taking as long as they could to get (the call) right.”