Everyone in the NHL was probably appreciative of the break in the schedule that coincided with the 4 Nations Face-Off.
For Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee, though, it was an opportunity to take a deep breath after a whirlwind couple of weeks. They were acquired by the Calgary Flames from the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 30 and had little to no time before they were thrust into action for five games before the break.
There were no practices with their new teammates and the details of life away from the rink were far from resolved.
The break really couldn’t have come at a better time.
“It was tough, we came out here and we were staying in a hotel until the break, which can be what it is,” Farabee explained. “But we’ve got our place figured out and we’ve got a car so we’re not stranded anymore. We’re buzzing around, it’s good.”
Both Farabee and Frost had vacation plans with their former Flyers teammates for the mid-season break, but after the trade it became obvious that they’d have to cancel so that they could use the time off to get their living arrangements sorted out.
They did manage a trip back to Toronto to visit Frost’s family and made a point of watching the 4 Nations games. Mostly, though, they took advantage of the time away from the rink to get set up in their new city.
Then, it was back to work.
“That’s a tough one when they came in the way they did, having no practice and just playing games and trying to figure out their new teammates and different linemates and where do I fit in here?” explained Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “Having an opportunity to decompress in their situation was a good thing.”
The Flames are using this week to work on the details of their game, both on the practice ice at WinSport and in team meetings. It’s a refresher for everyone on the roster, but has added value for the new guys.
Obviously, practice is always important. That’s especially true when you’re trying to lock in on the intricacies of a team’s system.
Being thrown into the lineup without the benefit of any practices earlier this month was a tough assignment for both Frost and Farabee, so they’re relishing the chance to actually work on the ins and outs of the Flames system this week.
“You can watch video, obviously, and there’s a fair amount of things that were pretty similar to what we were doing in Philly, but there’s still some things you kind of need a reminder of when you’re on the ice,” Frost explained. “Video is one thing, but when you can go out and practice it, it’s more muscle memory.
“Sometimes, you can watch a video and get a little zone-out, especially when there’s a lot of it. Sometimes you can forget little things, so it’s been nice to practice.”
The early returns on the deal that brought Frost and Farabee to the Flames in exchange for Jakob Pelletier and Andrei Kuzmenko have been encouraging.
Frost has managed two goals in five games, while Farabee has scored once. If there’s been a lingering sense that neither has fully found their place, it’s worth remembering that those five games came in an eight-day stretch and — again, this really can’t be emphasized enough — they didn’t have a single practice to get themselves fully up to speed with the way the Flames played.
Life has settled down a little bit and they’re no longer living out of their suitcases. The Flames’ four practices this week should serve as a crash course that will familiarize both Frost and Farabee with the Flames system.
“They’ve been in some meetings and video sessions we’ve had with our team and will have with our team, we’re touching on all our systems again,” Huska said. “If there’s language or lingo where they’re thinking ‘what is this guy talking about?’ we’re able to clear it up now a little bit and then we can reinforce when we meet them as individuals. I think it’s a good refresher for all our guys, not just those two.”