This is the news that many Calgary Flames fans have been waiting for. Sophomore forward Connor Zary is going to get a crack at centre.
During Thursday’s practice, the 23-year-old was operating between Jonathan Huberdeau and Yegor Sharangovich on what has the makings of a fascinating trio.
Immediate feedback on social media was, to no surprise, overwhelmingly positive.
Zary, too, was pumped when he arrived at the rink and found his name listed in the middle column on the lineup board. It should remain there for Friday’s home matchup with the Nashville Predators (7 p.m. MT, Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan).
“There’s not really too much to be said — you see it on the board and you understand what it is and you understand what you have to do and the responsibilities that come along with that, and I think you just try to run with it,” Zary said. “For me, it’s just taking it and doing the best as I can with it. Obviously, it’s something that I’m really looking forward to. I’m really excited about it.”
He’s certainly not alone.
Among the C of Red, the clamouring to see Zary at centre dates back to April, when he briefly skated in that spot at the tail-end of a standout rookie campaign.
It’s no secret that the Flames are one short at the pivot position. Five weeks into the season, they have already tried both Martin Pospisil and Sharangovich as regular faceoff men.
Results have been mixed, at best. As head coach Ryan Huska put it: “I don’t think we’ve really found the guy that has really grabbed hold of it yet.”
Perhaps Zary can be that guy?
“Being able to play through the middle with speed and trying to control the puck, that’s an exciting thought for me and something I look to just build throughout the process of playing centre,” Zary told Postmedia after Thursday’s practice. “Obviously, there’s a lot of details that come with it, but I’m used to that. I’ve played it a bit at this level, played it a lot in the American League and obviously for my whole junior career. So it’s not something that is new to me, but it’s those details that you have to remind yourself of.
“I think it’s going to be big for me to really bear down in the faceoff circle and really focus on that. If you start with the puck, those other details aren’t going to matter as much, right? Because you have the puck on your stick.”
With the puck on his stick, you could make a strong case that Zary is already Calgary’s most exciting forward. The home crowd roared Monday when he dipsy-doodled past Los Angeles Kings defenceman Vladislav Gavrikov, who perhaps didn’t realize that No. 47 had such slick moves.
Question, will that same confidence with the puck translate to this more demanding position? Will Zary be able to draw attention away from Sharangovich, leaving him open to unleash that wicked shot? Can he help Huberdeau to finally notch his 500th career assist?
Or will he struggle to make the same impact after the switch, just like the others have? Pospisil hasn’t been as much of a forechecking force at centre, while Sharagovich hasn’t been able to generate as many scoring opportunities when shifted over from the flank.
“The hard part with us juggling guys around like we have in the middle is trying to find the person that is going to work there. You lose a little bit of each player when we’re having to do that,” Huska said. “So with Connor, we want him to control play, a lot the same as he does as a winger. What comes with it is the added responsibility. A lot of times, you look at your centreman as an extra defenceman on the ice, so he has that extra responsibility. But we don’t want him to get away from what he does well. We want him to continue to handle the puck and control the play.”
It goes without saying, but they’d also like to see some more numbers on the score sheet.
Zary has managed just one goal in his past nine games. He doesn’t have a single assist over that span.
According to the data at Natural Stat Trick, he is second on the Flames in high-danger chances this fall, with 25. But he has cashed only three of those.
“That can get frustrating for me. You have a day off and you think about that,” said Zary, whose season stat sheet currently shows eight points in 17 outings. “I personally think I could have, you know, eight goals and 10 assists by now.
“You’re getting the chances but at the end of the day, if they don’t turn into production, it’s something you’re going to beat yourself up a bit about and that’s not going to do you well. For me, it’s just sticking with it and playing my game. Obviously, getting an opportunity at centre is going to be fun, so just try to produce.”
ICE CHIPS: During the special-teams portion of Thursday’s practice, the Flames were test-driving two tweaked power-play units. One featured MacKenzie Weegar at the point, with Huberdeau, Sharangovich, Zary and Matt Coronato up front. Rasmus Andersson was running the other crew, which also included Mikael Backlund, Nazem Kadri, Andrei Kuzmenko and Pospisil