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Buzz around Flames, city of Calgary as training camp looms

Brad Treliving Brad Treliving - The Canadian Press
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Jonathan Huberdeau felt excited with a renewed sense of purpose at the airport when he first arrived in Calgary. For MacKenzie Weegar, the same feelings overcame him while he was shopping at one of the city’s malls. Nazem Kadri felt it immediately after signing his seven-year deal. 

After an unprecedented off-season where they lost stars Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary’s newest roster additions are feeling the excitement from fans as the team heads into training camp for the upcoming season with arguably a better roster than the one that shocked the hockey world in winning the Pacific Division in 2021-22 before bowing out to Edmonton in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“I’m excited,” the 29-year-old Huberdeau said.

“I was in Florida for 10 years. It wasn’t obviously a hockey market…you go around town, you get recognized. In Florida, it wouldn’t really happen.”

Huberdeau did sneak in a Costco run without getting recognized very much, but those days are likely now few and far between for the native of Saint-Jerome, Que., and his teammates in Calgary.

“A lot of people have come up to me in the city,” Weegar said.

“They’re really excited for this season with Johnny, and I and Naz and a couple of new faces…I’m excited just as much as they are.”

Over the past two seasons, the 28-year-old Weegar is 15th among all NHL blueliners with 80 points. His plus-69 rating is second only to Devon Toews of the Colorado Avalanche. He is one of the league’s more underrated blueliners, and will now showcase his abilities in front of one of the more passionate fanbases in the league.

“I think I’m sort of like a hybrid defenceman,” the Ottawa product said.

“Play strong defensively but can also get up in the rush and contribute offensively. My game is defence first. I don’t like getting scored on, and then just try and help out the forwards as much as I can.”

While Kadri and Huberdeau are going to be Flames well beyond this season after signing long-term contracts this summer, Weegar’s status beyond 2022-23 is still up in the air given he is a pending unrestricted free agent.

“We’re trying to get something done and hopefully we’ll get something done soon,” he said.

 

3 intriguing storylines heading into training camp

1. Where will the new guys play?

Huberdeau seems destined to start as the top line’s left winger, but who will his centre be? Elias Lindholm is one of the most defensively responsible pivots in the league. The 31-year-old Kadri provides sandpaper and grit. Will head coach Darryl Sutter keep Lindholm as the No. 1 centre, or will it be a 1A-1B setup?

2. Which wingers will step up?

If there is one area of weakness on the Flames roster, it is right-wing depth. Several forwards can play either side, but Calgary still needs at least one more legitimate top-nine winger. Andrew Mangiapane is a fit to replace Tkachuk on the top line. Beyond that, options include Tyler Toffoli, Blake Coleman, Dillon Dube and rookie Jakob Pelletier.

“I think I can bring speed, be good on the forecheck, be good in both zones,” said Pelletier, Calgary’s first-round pick (26th overall) in 2019.

“For now, I’m focused on the three games we have at the YoungStars showcase, and it’s to win those three games. After, it’s on me to force their hand to play me in the NHL.”

3. Who stays and who goes on the back end?

Right now, Calgary might have the best defensive depth in the NHL and there are eight blueliners who could crack their opening night lineup: Weegar, Chris Tanev, Oliver Kylington, Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Andersson, Nikita Zadorov, Juuso Valimaki and Connor Mackey, as well as Michael Stone, who’s in town on a professional tryout. Might the Flames flip a blueliner to shore up that wing depth?

SPARKS OFF THE FIRE

- Pelletier certainly appreciates that the Flames brought in fellow Quebecois Huberdeau. The veteran has already reached out to the rookie to introduce himself.

"For me, it's kind of good to have a French guy, too, who I can kind of look up to and see that he's one of the best players in the league and learn from him,” the 21-year-old Pelletier said of Huberdeau.

- During his dinner with Flames general manager Brad Treliving and Don Maloney, senior vice-president of hockey operations, in Montreal in August, Huberdeau spoke highly of Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and his will to win. Huberdeau clearly looks up to his former Battle Of Florida rival and will bring some of those lessons to Calgary this season.

“I don’t have a lot of experience in the playoffs and I think the past couple of years I learned a lot from that,” he said.

“Your best players need to play defensively and that’s how you’re going to win the Stanley Cup. And blocking shots, the guys have to look at you and be like, ‘This guy wants to win.’ You’ve got to do the sacrifices. That’s why I was talking about Stamkos, because he was doing that during our series, so I think that’s the thing I want to focus on and that’s what the best players need to do to win the Stanley Cup.”

- Medicals are on Wednesday, Sept. 21, before the first on-ice sessions begin Sept. 22.