1. Off We Go!
It's here!
The Flames embark on their 84-game regular season beneath the Saddle for the first of four meetings with the Kraken. GET TICKETS
It's been a two-week sprint through Training Camp and the preseason, but Calgary's 44th and final Scotiabank Saddledome campaign will be underway in earnest, when the puck drops shortly after 7 p.m. MT. And with the start of any new season comes a sense of excitement, a sense of anticipation.
Safe to say, this group of 23 players is ready to start playing games where the points count for real.
"I think everyone’s excited," centre Morgan Frost said after a brisk bit of prep work Wednesday morning. "It was a shorter camp, but it still feels long some days, so ready to get going.
"I think we’ve had a great camp, some great practices - implementing some new stuff - and we’ve really built on that. Excited to see what it looks like in Game One."
Head Coach Ryan Huska kept his main group pretty intact throughout camp and Wednesday, the same four forward lines and three defensive pairings that have been in place since Sept. 17 were once again in place.
Huska hinted, though, that could change as the days and weeks progress, especially considering Calgary will open the campaign with a stretch of three games in four nights including back-to-back road games this weekend.
"As a coach, you think about your line combinations, you think about your pairs, you think about your upcoming matchups as to who you're playing and if you have to make adjustments," Huska said Wednesday. "There's all sorts of things.
"The one thing we don't worry about is what we're getting from the team on a nightly basis, in regards to the work and the identity that they've established."
Part of that establishment falls on a new-look leadership group, announced Wednesday by the club. Mikael Backlund enters his fourth season as Flames captain with Jonathan Huberdeau and Zach Whitecloud by his side as alternates, though as Huberdeau continues to work his way back to game action after undergoing hip surgery last March, his 'A' will be rotated through the trio of Joel Farabee, Jake Middleton and Ryan Strome.
The appointments speak to a changing of the guard: three of the six players in Calgary's opening-day leadership group joined the team via trade in 2026. But it also speaks to the quality of characters brought into the Flames' fold as part of General Manager Craig Conroy's deals with Vegas, Anaheim and Minnesota.
But as we get ready to raise the curtain on the 'Dome's Farewell Season, Huska took time Wednesday to speak to the history being celebrated in his team's home rink. Once upon a time he, too, was a Flames fan, attending games at the then-Olympic Saddledome with his uncle, but Huska is well-aware that there will be a different energy in the building this season, and it's up to his group to capitalize on it.
"I think our players are very fortunate to be a part of this year, to be honest with you," he said. "This building has seen so many great moments, really. I think it's going to be a step up this year, the energy and the atmosphere in the building.
"We're going to see an increased level of energy here every night we play, no matter if it's a Saturday night starting at 9 o'clock, or if it's a Tuesday night game. I think the juice in the building is going to be excellent this year, and I think our players are going to feed off of what the crowd's going to bring."
