Flames hold first practice under new coach before NHL China Games

SHENZHEN, China -- The hurry-up-and-wait period is over for the Calgary Flames and coach Bill Peters.

"I've been looking forward to this day for a long time," Peters said.
Peters finally got on the ice with his new team Friday, nine days shy of five months since he was hired to replace Glen Gulutzan as Calgary's coach on April 23. He put the Flames through a two-part practice with a break to have the ice resurfaced in between at Universiade Sports Center.
It will be Calgary's lone practice in advance of playing the Boston Bruins in the first of two preseason games in the 2018 O.R.G. NHL China Games. Calgary and Boston will play here Saturday (2:30 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN) and in Beijing on Wednesday (7:30 a.m. ET; NBCSN, SN) before returning home to complete their respective training camps.

"It's been an exciting time to come to China and we're excited about it, happy to be here and our guys are enjoying it," Peters said, "but we're looking forward to getting going and playing Saturday
, Derek Ryan and
Austin Czarnik
, and defenseman Noah Hanifin all are new to Calgary.

"We've got a group of 26 guys here; when you're back home you've got three teams or two large teams, 70 players and you're running multiple practices," Peters said. "Here, we're just focused on our group."
The practice Friday was the first real peak into Peters' vision for the Flames. The most notable takeaway was where Peters slotted Lindholm and Neal.
Lindholm, who the Flames acquired in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes on June 23, was at right wing on the first line with left wing Johnny Gaudreau and center Sean Monahan. Neal, who signed a five-year, $28.75 million contract with Calgary on July 2, was on the second line with center Mikael Backlund and left wing Matthew Tkachuk.
Those lines are certainly not locked in beyond the game Saturday. Peters was quick to say Neal and Lindholm each will get time on the top line. The versatility of having moving parts available at right wing is a big reason why Calgary acquired the two players.
However, Lindholm is getting the jump on Neal for top-line duty here because Peters said he wants someone other than Monahan to take face-offs Saturday. Monahan had wrist surgery in the offseason and Peters doesn't want to test him on draws just yet.

Lindholm, a natural center, won 54.5 percent of his face-offs (432 of 793) with the Carolina Hurricanes last season. Peters was his coach in Carolina.
"Nothing is set in stone for us, so we can move around, feel each other out and get chemistry with everybody," Neal said. "That's what good teams can do."
Peters also had Czarnik on what could be considered Calgary's third line, with Ryan in the middle and Michael Frolik on left wing. Czarnik, 25, spent the past three full seasons in the Bruins' organization, playing 59 games in the NHL, including 10 last season.
Czarnik had 69 points (25 goals, 44 assists) in 64 games with Providence last season, when he was third in the American Hockey League in scoring.
"We think he's a guy who is ready to pop," Peters said.
Czarnik, Ryan and Neal were on the second power-play unit with Backlund and Hanifin. Gaudreau, Monahan, Tkachuk, Lindholm and defenseman Mark Giordano made up Calgary's first power-play unit.
Calgary was 29th in the League on the power play last season at 16.0 percent.
"We need to fix our power play," Peters said. "We want it to be in the top 10 in the National Hockey League."