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.

CALGARY, AB -- Hunter Shinkaruk knows he can get busy watching, or get busy playing. 

He's been caught doing the former before.

In his fourth National Hockey League camp, he's only focused on the latter.

"For me it's just playing my game," said Shinkaruk, in his first September swing with the Calgary Flames after being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks last February. "You can get wrapped up too much in watching what other guys are doing. For me, I just want to worry about myself.

CALGARY, AB -- It's unfamiliar territory for Chris Higgins.

Sure, he's at a National Hockey League training camp for the 14th time in his career.

But breaking in with the Calgary Flames this fall is the first time the Smithtown, NY native is working without a net.

Higgins, an unrestricted free agent, is camping without a contract.

"It is different, but I've never approached a camp as if I'm expecting to make the team," said Higgins. "If you don't play well they'll get rid of you. You've seen that 'x' number of times. It happens. If you don't play well they're going to get rid of you.

"It's the same case for me right now."

CALGARY, AB -- Team Sweden will continue on at the World Cup of Hockey 2016 in Toronto, but they'll do so without Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund.  

Backlund will return to Calgary on Saturday after sustaining a concussion in a tournament game against Team Finland on Tuesday.

"He's on his way back," Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said. "We don't expect him to be on the ice tomorrow. He'll be evaluated with our guys and get with our group. I know Sweden announced he's out. He's flying back to Calgary. He'll be here tonight, I believe. We'll get our guys to evaluate him and see where he's at."

Sorting through the debris field, sifting through the rubble, of a season gone wrong. That's how last spring was spent hereabouts.

Fairly or not, in the post-apocalyptic autopsying of 2015-2016, the goaltending trident of Karri Ramo, Jonas Hiller and Joni Ortio absorbed a double-barrelled brunt of the blame blast.

 Withering scrutiny is part and parcel with the job, naturally.

No grey areas exist with goalies.

When things go swimmingly, expect a confetti shower. When things flag, brace yourself to be blamed for all the ills of the world:

Pesitilence. Famine. Drought. Plague. Inflation. The inexplicable rise of Donald Trump. The Brangelina break-up.

You name it.

Cue Brian Elliott, acquired from the St. Louis with much fanfare to help the Calgary Flames reach the gates of prosperity once more.

CANADA VS. RUSSIA AT 5:00 PM MT - CBC

Another chapter in the historic rivalry between Canada and Russia will be written tonight when the two nations face off in the first semi-final match-up at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Canada has been positively dominant at the tournament, winning all three of their round robin games and outscoring their opponents 14-3 in the process. 

Jonathan Toews leads the tournament in scoring with three goals and four points. His teammates Matt Duchene and Sidney Crosby trail him with two goals and four points.

Carey Price leads all World Cup goaltenders with a 2-0 record, 1.00 GAA and a .968 save percentage. He is expected to start against the Russians.

CALGARY, AB -- Matthew Tkachuk is no stranger to an NHL dressing room. 

But wide eyes are understandable, at least a touch, when it's his NHL dressing room.

The Calgary Flames dressing room.

Leading to Scotiabank Saddledome ice, what could be his home ice, for the first time as on-ice sessions got underway with the Flames on Friday.

"I was (nervous) last night when I was about to go to bed," Tkachuk said. 

"I was wondering what tomorrow was going to be like the first day. I thought it went really well today. Once you get on the ice and you're shooting around and doing flow drills or just skating and shooting everything is blocked out."

The ongoing evolution of Sam Bennett, his growing comfort level within the framework of the Calgary Flames, was illustrated Friday afternoon in response to a question regarding his familiarity with rookie Matthew Tkachuk.

"I don't know him that well,'' admitted Bennett, in full interview mode. "I talked to him a little bit today. He seems like a good kid …"

A good … kid?

Kid?

Bennett, need anyone be reminded, is a freshly-minted 20 years old.

"Did I?" he stammered sheepishly. "I didn't. I did?"

Ah, the impetuosity of youth.

"Well, he is two years younger than me."