Dialed In

Walking into the confines of his local gym early one July morning, Jonathan Huberdeau is a man on a mission.

"Time to get to work," he grinned as he hopped onto an airbike.

In a CalgaryFlames.com exclusive, the forward offered up a look into his off-season and just from observing the intensity he's bringing to his daily workouts, one can immediately see the 30-year-old has his sights set on elevating his game in 2023-24.

"I want to redeem myself this year after the year I had last year," he said. "I want to show myself and people that I've still got it, I've got the confidence.

"We've had a lot of time, about four or five months, to get ready … I feel good right now. It's almost August and I'm ready to go for September."

Throughout the course of the summer, Huberdeau spends his mornings with his long-time trainers Louis-Philippe Lacroix, Louis Morissette, and Alexandre Beauregard at AHL Performance and hits the ice several times a week, both with his skating coach in Montreal and with his summer league team, playing alongside his older brother Sébastien.

Outside of his rigorous training schedule, he spends his time with those he's closest with. The off-season allows for him to get in plenty of time with his parents Josée and Alain, his younger sister Josiane, and Sébastien and his family, as well as his tight-knit group of friends.

He's also continued his charitable work, hosting the second annual Jonathan Huberdeau Golf Tournament. This year, the event benefited mental health care through the Cité de la Santé Foundation and raised $355,000.

Since his early days in Florida, he's committed himself to helping out both in his NHL city and in his home province of Quebec. In Calgary, he established Huby's Hangout, which is a suite he purchases for an entire season to host children who may not be able to attend Flames games due to a variety of circumstances.

All in all, the off-season has allowed him to take a step back, re-group, and focus on shortening his time in Quebec next summer with a lengthy playoff run in 2024.

"This summer brought back my confidence," he said. "I feel more motivated to go back and be more myself, be a leader in the room.

"Next year, I want to come back (later on) and win the Cup."

The 2022-23 campaign marked Huberdeau's first time with a new team and it was a learning process for the winger. In addition to trying to hit the ground running with a new coach, new organization, a new system, and new teammates, he was arriving in a totally new city.

Naturally, it took some time to adjust.

"When you leave the rink, you want to feel comfortable … last year was tough because for three months, I rented a place and I know that's part of it. It was my first trade and I never really lived it. But now, I've got my house, it's ready. I feel comfortable at home. I love the people in Calgary. They were really nice to me even if the year was tougher. I want to show them what I can do so that's my goal this year. I want to show my teammates, too, what I can do.

"It's nice to know where you're going, feel more comfortable. I got a house in Calgary. I feel good, love the city. I'm just excited to get on the ice with the guys."

Huberdeau is hoping to really hit his stride as the organization heads into a new chapter with a new general manager in Craig Conroy and a new head coach in Ryan Huska.

"Two great people. I just feel their energy - they're really positive and they want to win now, that's what I like. It's about us, the players, to do the job on the ice but I think they're going to give us every opportunity to succeed. From the talk I had with them this summer, I'm really excited to work for them."

In addition to Conroy and Huska's new roles, the team has brought in former Flame Marc Savard and Dan Lambert as assistant coaches. Huberdeau has spoken with the new coaching staff and expects to see the team flourish offensively.

"More freedom in the offensive zone, that's what Ryan said so that's exciting. I know I can make plays offensively - you can't be scared to turn over the puck - so that will be good. He's really a structured guy so I know defensively we might tweak some things but we're a good defensive team, so I think we're going to stay that way. Maybe more offensive zone time, that will be good for our team and I'm just excited.

"We've got to push each other and we're going to be good. It's a big start but just to get going, be more confident, it's going to be huge."

In addition to getting his offensive totals back to where he expects them to be, Huberdeau will be expanding his leadership role with the younger players who are pushing to be regulars in the lineup.

As someone who made the jump to the NHL at an early age, he knows how daunting it can be to come into the league. He wants to make sure young players know they can turn to him and the other veterans on the roster when they have any questions or need guidance.

"You want to bring that to the young guys that are coming in. It's huge. It's good to have youth in your lineup and this year, I think we're going to have a little bit more and then the leadership group can show them the way. These guys are going to bring energy."

Last year, he acted as a mentor to Jakob Pelletier as the young forward navigated his first foray into the NHL and has reached out to prospects like 2023 draftee Étienne Morin in the off-season, checking in on them as they prepare for the upcoming campaign.

"I took Jakob a little bit under my wing last year, he's a guy who has got great energy and a great personality. It was just easy to spend time with him, try to get him comfortable around the room and with the guys. He's a character. He's a funny guy. It's going to be good to have him in our locker-room, too.

"Etienne, our new draft pick, I spent some time (with him). I invited him to play with our team in the summer. He's a great kid too. I'll have the chance to spend more time with him.

"It's good to take young guys under your wings and I wish I had that when I was young. I had Luongo a little bit. I think it's fun for the younger guy, to have an older guy to look up to and have them treat them the same, not like they're young … they're a really big part of our team and that's what we want to make them feel."

With his time spent physically preparing for the 2023-24 and his thoughtful approach not only to his game but his role off the ice, he's ensured he's as well-prepared as he can be for Game 1 on Oct. 11 and has one goal in mind.

"Now it's time to bring a Cup here."