'EXCITED WITH WHERE I'M AT'

Dennis Gilbert went more than a full season without a breath of NHL action.
But his confidence never wavered.
He knew, deep down, he was on the right path and with an opportunity to start fresh here in Calgary, there was nothing stopping him from achieving his goals.
"The way I look at it, you can only control your mindset, your approach and your work ethic," Gilbert said prior to Thursday's tilt with the division-leading Golden Knights. "You can't control the outside noise.
"Sometimes, circumstantially, there aren't a lot of injuries and it can be tough to establish yourself if you don't get that chance. I definitely was confident going into this season because I knew I was in a way better spot going into training camp than I was even a year, two years prior."

Last year, Gilbert was on a stacked Colorado Eagles team whose affiliate had the likes of Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Erik Johnson, Sam Girard and more patrolling the blueline at the game's top level. With a group such as that, performance-related drop-offs were certainly not common, if they ever occurred at all. The 'best' he could hope for was an injury call-up, but even that never materialized.
At 24 - and after recording career-best 23 points (6G, 17A) in 52 games with the Eagles - you could understand if Gilbert went home that summer pondering his future as an NHL hopeful.
But the 26-year-old isn't wired that way.
"I had such a good time in Colorado," he said. "The coaching staff there? Top notch. I got so much better in so many different areas of the game, and they were continually pushing us to reach our potential as individuals.
"I was looking at, thinking, 'I'm WAY better now than I was two years ago. So, at some point, it's got to give.' I just had to stick with it and keep a good mindset."
Which brings us here, with the Flames.
Gilbert - who was drafted by the Blackhawks in the third round, 91st overall in 2015 - signed a two-way contract with the club on the July 13, 2022. The Buffalo native earned his first call-up on Nov. 6, played his first game less than 48 hours later, and now has 19 big-league showings in his first year with the organization.
It's basically gone exactly to plan.
"Coming into the season, I had some soft objectives I wanted to hit," Gilbert said. "I was hoping that by Christmas, I would have worked my way into a potential chance to play a game again."
Check.
"Then, I was hoping to get on the roster when we played in Buffalo. I thought that would be cool and it was at a point in the season where it would be a realistic goal."
Check.
(Oh, and he scored that night, too - in front of 70 family and friends, including his grandmother, Patricia, who is easily his biggest fan.)

"Those were the two goals I felt would put me in the best place," Gilbert continued. "But the fact is, you don't get there without being a good pro - and that's about helping in whatever way you can. That's somebody that's trustworthy and coaches know, the guys know, that when I come in, the consistency is there and everyone knows what they're getting. It's got to be the same, hard, consistent, steady game, so it's easy to plug in - especially if there's an injury or someone's game drops off.
"I pride myself in the coaching staff knowing every day what I bring to the table."
What they're getting is a bit of a throwback - a 6-foot-2, 216-lb. menace, who has constantly evolved his game to adapt to the ever-increasing speed of the pro game.
He skates well, distributes the puck and - as we've seen on a team-leading five occasions this year - he's more than willing to throw hands and get the fans involved with a good ol' fashioned heavyweight tilt.

"I've always been pretty solid defensively and I think I've skated well for a guy my size, too, but having confidence and making puck plays - whether it's at the offensive blueline or in transition, creating offence or making a good pass in the D zone - that's what separates players in this league.
"If you can make those little middle 'slip' passes or use the wall to your advantage, you can be really effective in whatever role you're put in. Incorporating all of that stuff into being a bigger guy that get around well and has that physicality and bite … I don't know. I'm excited with where I'm at.
"This is the best I've felt, this is the best I've played, and I've been on this trajectory for a while now. If I can keep going and see what happens, I think that I can be here."
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In the middle of this conversation, fellow defenceman Nikita Zadorov strolled by in the dressing room and playfully launched his laundry bag into Gilbert's lap.
"Aren't these guys the greatest?" Gilbert laughed.
Everyone knows that when the ribbing starts, you're officially part of the family. That moment, in particular, felt especially wholesome, considering Gilbert and Zadorov were actually traded for one another back in the fall of 2020, but now share the same space with a brand new team for both.
Zadorov, by the way, turned back and nearly died laughing, before giving his boy knuckles.
It's clear that Gilbert has not only endeared himself as a fan-favourite for his abrasive play style, but inside the room as one of the best and most loyal teammates.
"You want to have self-belief and you want to know that you can play at this level," Gilbert said. "But that kind of goes out the window when the season starts. You can't get blinded by that
"When I was with the Wranglers and especially at the beginning, I was thinking, 'I want to be the best teammate and player I can be for this group,' to help the team win games. It's much more of a day-to-day mindset, where you appreciate where you are and what you do - while constantly working to better yourself."
"Then, when the call-ups were happening with the Flames - kind of going back-and-forth there for a while, but then being here more regularly over the last couple of months - it was a total flip of the mindset.
"You need to be ready to go and help in any way, every day.
"This last month or so when you're trying to get in, you've got to make sure you're having a positive influence on the game. If you're not scoring goals and getting assists, you've got to be physical and hard to play against, wear guys down, be good on the bench and bring positive energy in the locker-room.
"These are all things that you can do that's in your control. I was looking at it like whenever I get that chance and wherever I am that day, I need to make the most of it to help the guys around me in any way I can."

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With an injury to Chris Tanev keeping the Flames' most reliable shutdown D out of commission for now, Gilbert stepped in and played 13:39 in Tuesday's win over the Anaheim Ducks - his first game in 19 days.
While it could depend largely on Tanev's availability, Gilbert could play an even bigger role for the Flames in their final 10 games as they look to catch the Winnipeg Jets for the final playoff spot.
That would mean the world to the rugged blueliner - a Notre Dame alum - who has yet to make the postseason at the pro level.
It's safe to say his hunger has been building for a while.
"When you're a kid, you dream of being in that playoff push, grind time - of scoring that Stanley Cup winning goal," Gilbert said. "The games that are most important and have the most weight to them, I've always found are the most fun to play in. When I was in college playing in national championship or conference tournament games, those were the easiest games for me to play because they were the most fun, the energy is there, the crowd's into it, it's active, it's alive and it's loud.
"That's why we work out in June, July and August. It's why we ride the bike, run hills and go out on the turf. When you're on a boat and are missing the Fourth of July parties in the summer because you've got to go and get your workout in, this is why.
"As a group, we have the right mindset. Going into this last stretch, we know what it's going to take - but we also have a quiet confidence that we have what it takes in here to do it."