Calgary Flames winger Jonathan Huberdeau wants to speed it up. In his summer training, he put an emphasis on trying to push the pace, working to be more explosive on his skates.
If this line combination sticks, Huberdeau might also need to do more mixing it up. His new centre is Martin Pospisil, who may have set a record for Enemies-Made-Per-60 as an NHL rookie last winter.
“I was messing around out there, saying, ‘We might have to jump in there a couple times for Pospy,’ ” Huberdeau grinned after a practice at WinSport. “He likes to get in some scrums.”
Ah yes, you can usually find Pospisil right in the middle of any after-the-whistle meet-and-greets.
Through two days of Flames’ training camp, you can also find him in the middle of the ice.
The 24-year-old sparkplug is getting the first shot to fill the Flames’ void at centre, currently working with Huberdeau on his left and free-agent acquisition Anthony Mantha on his right.
“To get this kind of chance, I’m super excited,” Pospisil said.
There’s certainly been some excitement, a bit of buzz, among the fan base since head coach Ryan Huska first teased the possibility of this trio.
The X-Factor here is Pospisil, who racked up a team-high 238 hits in 63 outings as a rookie.
He might be the fastest dude in the Flames’ forward cast, and he’s undoubtedly the fastest of their potential pivots. According to NHL Edge, his top skating speed in 2023-24 was measured at 37.7 km/h, which puts him in the 91st percentile on the league-wide charts.
A year ago, there was virtually no talk about Pospisil during training camp. He may not have been requested for a single media interview, and there was zero grumbling when he was placed on waivers and ultimately assigned to the AHL’s Wranglers.
Fast-forward 12 months, and you can now make a case that he is among the Flames’ most important players, especially with the opportunity that awaits.
Can he alleviate Calgary’s shortage at centre, his preferred position as a junior and a role he filled for Team Slovakia at the world championship tournament in the spring?
Can he bring the best out of Huberdeau, whose dip in offensive productivity has been well documented?
Can he click with Mantha, who arrives in Calgary with 142 career goals but is inked to only a one-year contract, which immediately makes him a candidate to be flipped at the trade deadline? Every time that Mantha bulges twine, it will help to boost the potential return.
“It’s always nice to have a centreman that creates a lot of speed, so he can push the defencemen down when he gets into the zone on the rush,” Huberdeau said. “I like playing with a centreman that is fast. I think that can be a great asset for a line, and Pospy can do that.”
“With Posp, the pace he plays the game at, Huby has played with someone similar to that in his past (in Florida),” Huska echoed. “And we think on the other side, with Mantha being a shooter, there’s an opportunity for Marty to drag both guys into the game. He has a tendency to do that.
“But it’s the speed that he brings to the table, that’s really what we feel might give that line a bit of a push and get them off to a good start. But we’ll see. We have a lot of options, I feel, in the middle of the ice.”
Indeed, there are other candidates to be lined up at centre on opening night.
Yegor Sharangovich and Connor Zary are currently working the wing, but it’s expected that both will see some faceoff duties during exhibition action.
Among the up-and-comers, Sam Morton and Cole Schwindt are pushing to prove they’re ready, while Justin Kirkland — appropriately nicknamed ‘Costco’ — could be flying under the radar as a summer signing. Now 28, Kirkland played for Huska in junior and was dominant at the dot last winter in the AHL.
Perhaps, however, Pospisil can show there’s no need for further auditions for that opening at centre.
Huberdeau and Mantha will be ready to mix it up. Maybe Huska won’t have to.
“They’re both really smart and skilled players and I’m going to try play as best as I can and hopefully we’re going to play good as a line,” Pospisil said. “Just win draws and be hard and win battles for the guys. And then just use my speed, and they can make a play. So just be the hard-working guy on the line and just be me and hopefully they’re going to enjoy to play with me, too.”