Tanguay finds himself back in the middle in Calgary

Alex Tanguay was a center in junior hockey, but has spent his NHL career on the wing -- until now.

With the Calgary Flames needing help in the middle, the 33-year-old has spent the first three days of training camp playing between Curtis Glencross and Lee Stempniak. It's been an adjustment for Tanguay, who hasn’t played down the middle since his junior days with the Halifax Mooseheads.

“I’ve played the game a long time and it’s been a while since I played center,” he said after Tuesday's practice. “I used to play it in juniors, I know how to play it, but it’s going to take a little bit of time.”

Perhaps the biggest change is taking faceoffs on a regular basis -- Tanguay took just 67 draws last season and won only 25. But he told the Flames' website that there's a lot more to the move than just taking faceoffs, and it's taking some time to adjust.

“It’s trying to get used to a new pace and trying to get used to a new pace and trying to get used to a new position,” he said. “I don’t think I did too good out there yesterday, I was a little bit out of place. I feel fine physically but I feel like I’m still taking too much time to think.”