Jim Vandermeer

I think the first thing that needs to be said about Jim Vandermeer is that he's played the equivalent of just over 3 full NHL seasons and played for 4 teams. Granted he's made 2 stops on Broad St., but I don't think this can be construed in a complimentary way. Another thing to note is that although I've categorized him as a defenceman (as has topps trading card company) but Sutter utilized him as a forward on several occasions. Not really sure if that's a testament to Vandermeer's versatility, an insult to his defensive ability or an insult to the effectiveness of the Flames forward group.

Looking at his desjardins numbers it becomes clear that Vandermeer was sheltered by his coaches as his quality of competition rating is much lower than his quality of teammates. Now as far as I know these desjardins numbers are for the whole year and not just his time in Calgary which could explain his high ranking in GAON. Either he did a good job or benefited from playing on some decent teams with good lineups. For the moment though it looks as though if you shelter Vandermeer and give him some lower quality of competition he could do alright.

Projection: 3rd pairing defenceman
Key Stat: 4 overall in GAON