Burke deflects pressure from Gaudreau, Arnold

With Johnny Gaudreau and Bill Arnold set to make their NHL debuts Sunday, Flames president of hockey operations Brian Burke is taking some pressure off the young players for the first game.

“I don’t expect much,” said Burke, via The Calgary Herald. “They are going from one level of hockey to a completely different level of hockey.

“I won’t be surprised if they’re standing around looking at traffic and trying to figure out how to merge. It’s not unusual for a kid to be star-struck in his first game and wait too long to do things. We’re not putting a lot of pressure on these guys.”

Of Gaudreau in general though, Burke says, “He’s been on a prolonged tear. He kind of ran away with the scoring title. He’s been playing at a real high level. He had three points (Thursday). He’s been on a tear for six or seven weeks now. (The NCAA) is a really good league, a big league. This is a guy that’s managed to produce despite being small at that level.

“He’s obviously going to have to take a step to jump to the next level. This is a guy when he has the puck, all four of his teammates are dangerous. He knows how to get open. He knows how to utilize small areas on the ice. He has really good hands and vision.”

Source: Kristen Odland, Calgary Herald