Game Day Notebook - 05.11.25

Nazem Kadri will be fêted in front of the C of Red tonight, as he suits up for his 1,000th NHL contest. GET TICKETS

Get caught up on the news of the day - ahead of this evening's tilt between the Flames and Blue Jackets - with our Game Day Notebook!

Naz's Night

Nazem Kadri's teammates are eager to celebrate his achievement, too.

The team wore commemorative t-shirts and caps around the dressing room Wednesday morning, and they'll all be on hand bench-side when the ceremony takes place tonight.

Defenceman MacKenzie Weegar said Wednesday that since arriving in Calgary, he's gotten close with Kadri and his family, and he's looking forward to honouring him this evening.

"He should be absolutely super-proud, not too many guys get the opportunity, get to 1,000 games," Weegar said. "I like to think I've been around quite a while, and I've only got to celebrate two other guys, so it doesn't happen too often. He's done it the hard way, you know, he hasn't taken a day off. He's done a lot on the ice, but he's done a lot off the ice, I think as well, which just shows what kind of guy he is. Just a genuine guy.

"He’s taking it all in, I’m sure he's enjoying the moment. But to be a part of it, it's special. I can't wait to see it tonight."

It's a big moment. Consider that Kadri will become just the 13th Flame ever to play his 1,000th game with the club.

Weegar and his teammates will be on hand, too, if the emotions well up during this evening's ceremony.

And on hand to help try and cap off the evening with two points in the standings.

"I hope to see a couple tears, for him tonight and see the softer side of him a little bit," Weegar joked. "It'll be fun. I guess what we can do as teammates is go out there and play as hard as we can and get the two points for him.

"I think that's what will make him the most happy is, you know, after the game he gets to celebrate with his friends and family, after a big win.

Awooooooooo!

Dustin Wolf is likely to make his third consecutive start in goal this evening; he occupied the starter's crease at Wednesday's morning skate.

Sunday's win over the Flyers was - from a shots on goal perspective - Wolf's lightest 60-minute workload of the season. The netminder turned aside 17 of 18 shots, earning the 40th victory of his NHL career in the process.

Tonight's game marks his second career appearance against Columbus, and coming into the contest, he holds a career 9-4-1 record against Metropolitan Division opponents.

Kuz Control

Nearly 22 months after his NHL debut, defenceman Yan Kuznetsov will skate in his second NHL contest this evening.

The 23-year-old joined the team at practice Tuesday after being recalled from the AHL's Wranglers, and Head Coach Ryan Huska is eager to see how Kuznetsov can help lock things down in the defensive zone.

"I want him to use the size to his advantage, so when I say that, it's about taking away space really quickly,” Huska said Wednesday morning. "I think he has the ability to close and make it difficult on an offensive players at times by just this sheer size of him for one, but he can get there in a hurry and then two, I'd like to see him do a great job of taking care of the front of our net. That's something that we're obviously going to be looking for all of him as well.

"He understands his role now … and he's done a really good job this year of playing the right way for the Wanglers, and he's deserving of this opportunity."

So far this season, Kuznetsov has netted a pair of goals across 10 AHL appearances, helping the Wranglers start the new campaign with a 6-2-2 record.

This evening, Huska will deploy his newest call-up alongside Brayden Pachal, and the bench boss figures the duo share a similar approach to their defensive work in particular.

"Both guys are similar in a lot of ways," he explained. "They're bigger, heavier guys that I think can help us in an area that we're locking a little bit, which is keeping people away from the front of our net.

"So we're expecting them to be a good pair for us tonight."