CALGARY, AB -- Any lingering Edmonton-area hockey residue has obviously been scraped off with the opening of training camp.

Squinting at the image on an iPhone 5 on Monday morning, Brett Pollock was asked for his initial impression of the Oilers' freshly-unveiled mascot, Hunter.

"I don't even know what to say about that," he deadpanned. "What's it supposed to be? A lynx? Okay …

"It's a little creepy. Like a Halloween costume gone bad or something."

CALGARY, AB -- Turns out training camp isn't just for the players.
 
Calgary Flames coach Glen Gulutzan is looking to get back into the swing of things, too.
 
"I don't think I've put enough games in this league as a head coach," Gulutzan said. "I think I've got a hundred or so to watch from the stands.
 
"I'll make sure I'm on the bench as much as I can be."

CALGARY, AB -- There's no dipping a toe into the water to test out the temperature.

Dive in head first, suggested Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano.  

"I don't think you can ease into it," said Giordano, who will take to Scotiabank Saddledome ice in the home side of a split-squad contest against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday (7:00 PM MT, CalgaryFlames.com).

"That's when injuries and things like that happen. You have to go out and play like it's a regular season game … with that mindset and intensity. I just think that's when you get into trouble if you think you're going to ease into these games. There are guys battling around the league looking for jobs and fighting for position.

"You've got to be ready."

FLAMES VS. OILERS - 7:00 PM MT - CALGARYFLAMES.COM

The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers will open up their respective pre-seasons with split-squad games on Monday, Sept. 26. One game will take place at the Scotiabank Saddledome and the other will be played at Rogers Place, both at 7:00 PM MT. Both games will be streamed on CalgaryFlames.com.

FLAMES @ OILERS - 7:00 PM MT - CALGARYFLAMES.COM

The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers will open up their respective pre-seasons with split-squad games on Monday, Sept. 26. One game will take place at the Scotiabank Saddledome and the other will be played at Rogers Place, both at 7:00 PM MT. Both games will be streamed on CalgaryFlames.com.

FLAMES (0-0-0) @ OILERS (0-0-0)
 
TV: 7 PM MT; Streamed on CalgaryFlames.com
 
Season series: The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames are meeting for the first time this pre-season with split-squad games going simultaneously in each city. Calgary will host Edmonton at Scotiabank Saddledome in one split-squad game, while the Oilers will welcome the Flames at Rogers Arena in the other. 

OILERS (0-0-0) @ FLAMES (0-0-0) 
 
TV: 7 PM MT; Streamed on CalgaryFlames.com
 
Season series: The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames are meeting for the first time this pre-season with split-squad games going simultaneously in each city. Calgary will host Edmonton at Scotiabank Saddledome in one split-squad game, while the Oilers will welcome the Flames at Rogers Arena in the other. 

CALGARY, AB -- Like everyone else with an area code on planet earth, Martin Gelinas has watched the Survivor reality TV series.

And yes, actually, he can draw personal parallels to one of those fortunate contestants not voted off the island.

"I like Bob," the immensely popular OT goal-scoring hero of the wildly improbable 2004 run is saying of the deposed Bob Hartley. "We're friends. In this game, there are a lot of good people.

"Bob is one of those good people.

"I really enjoyed working with him. I learned a lot.

"I talked to him only three days ago. He's back home, at the cabin, just staying put.

CALGARY, AB - The Calgary Flames announced today that they have assigned Brayden Burke (Lethbridge/WHL), Aaron Hyman (Calgary/WHL), Matthew Phillips (Victoria/WHL) and Nick Schneider (Medicine Hat/WHL) to their respective junior teams. The Flames also announced that they have released Dennis Kravchenko from Calgary's training camp and he has accepted an invitation to the Stockton Heat's training camp.

The Flames have 60 players remaining at camp (6 goalies, 20 defencemen, 35 forwards).

CALGARY, AB -- Michael Frolik is hoping his World Cup of Hockey 2016 experience can give him the jump on his NHL season.
 
He's hoping that his jump can help his Calgary Flames get off to a faster start, too.
 
"I think it definitely helps right now," said Frolik, participating in his first on-ice session with the Flames this season after representing the Czech Republic at the World Cup.