There aren’t many people who have watched Clark Bishop up close recently more than Rory Kerins.
The two spent the first couple months of the 2024-25 season with the Calgary Wranglers in the AHL before getting called up by the Calgary Flames. That happened for Kerins a couple weeks ago, and Bishop got the call on Thursday morning.
With that in mind, Kerins has a prediction for how Flames fans are going to react to watching the Wranglers captain play.
“The fans are going to love him,” Kerins said. “His motor just never stops going. He’s flying out there every night, he gives it all every night. That’s Clark Bishop for you.”
Among the fans at the Saddledome on Thursday night will be Bishop’s parents, who happened to be flying in from St. John’s, N.L. to visit their son.
They’ll get to witness Bishop’s first NHL game since Feb. 15, 2022, back when he was with the Ottawa Senators.
In the interim, the 28-year-old established himself as one of the most important leaders on the Wranglers roster, helping the organization’s young core grow their games while putting up solid numbers himself.
This year, his third with the Wranglers, Bishop has scored 16 goals and 17 assists through 39 games, including a team-leading six game-winning goals. In late October, he also went on a borderline absurd run where he scored game-winners in four straight games.
Can that translate to the NHL? Players who have spent time with both the Wranglers and Flames sure think so.
“He’s unreal,” said Flames winger Jakob Pelletier. “Just an unreal person, a great hockey player. He’s a competitor, every time he’s on the ice he’s going to play the right way and he’s having a great year, too, he’s scoring some goals. It’s nice to see, I’m excited to play with him.”
The Flames don’t necessarily need Bishop to step into the lineup and keep up the offensive pace he’s set with the Wranglers. Since Connor Zary got hurt earlier this month, they’ve been short a centre and Bishop is expected to slot in on the fourth line where Kevin Rooney has been playing for most of the year.
The way Bishop personally describes his game, it definitely makes it sound like he could be a good fit.
“It’s a 200-foot game, pretty simple,” Bishop said. “Hard on the forecheck, good defensively and just a good, reliable player.
“I’ve been having a pretty good year with the Wranglers and we’ve had a good team, I think I’ve brought my game to a different level this year. I thought in the back of my head that it was always a possibility and you’ve just got to be patient.”
The Flames have wanted more out of their fourth line recently and are hoping Bishop’s blend of responsible play and tenacity can provide a spark.
He’s got NHL experience, too, having played 47 games in the league and splitting time between the Senators and Carolina Hurricanes, who selected him in the fifth round, 127th overall, in the 2014 NHL Draft.
There’s no expectation that he’ll come in and lead the team in scoring or anything close to that. The Flames just want him to bring what he’s been doing with the Wranglers to their fourth line.
“That’s kind of the role we want to see him fill. I like the way he’s gone down over the last number of years, it’s a good story with a player who continues to persevere,“ said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “He’s a gritty guy and a centreman who we feel should be able to help us in the faceoff circle, as well.
“He’s a hard player, and I think our fourth line hasn’t been great over the last little while and he’s also been a good penalty killer at the American League level so we felt it was a good time to give him an opportunity.”