GOAL SETTING

This story was originally published on July 6, 2021. With the Flames re-signing Phillips to a one-year, $750,000 contract on Aug, 6, we thought we would take another look back at the year that was for the Calgary product.
Ask Lay's about potato chips, McDonald's about fries or Matthew Phillips about NHL games and you'll get the same answer:
You can't have just one.
Sporting an ear-to-ear grin, the Calgary Kid hit the ice sheet in 'The Show' for the first time in the Flames' season finale, a 6-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Logging more than 14 minutes of ice time, the 5-foot-7 winger got his first taste of his ultimate goal - and that sample has left him hungry for more.

"My goal this offseason is to get right back to that point," said Phillips. "I want to make the team out of camp. Getting that (first) game was really good. I think that was a confidence boost, just understanding real time how things work at that level, how quick you have to be and how my game can work, too. It gives me some good momentum, it's a good thing to feed off of, focus on and work towards for the next couple of months."
Donning the Flaming C in game action was the culmination of a young career of proving people wrong. He hears the criticisms of his size, the doubts of making his game translate to the top level of hockey. But for the Flames' sixth-round selection in the 2016 draft, that's nothing new.
He'll routinely swipe the size question aside with a chuckle, pointing toward the fact that he's always been one of the smallest players on the ice. It's never stopped him before, so why would it now?
He was a two-time WHL First Team All-Star with his junior career that culminated with a 112-point season. He was an AHL All-Star in his second pro season. He paced the Stockton Heat in scoring in his third.

No tape measure can depict the instinct and finesse he's leaned on to maneuver against bigger bodies or his knack for creating scoring chances. His ability to be "slippery," as Flames assistant coach Cail MacLean and former Heat bench boss puts it, has allowed him to ascend to the peak.
"(Doubts) have been something I've dealt with at every level of hockey," said Phillips. "No matter who you are or what you do, there will be at least one voice who says you're not good enough. I just focus on getting better. I've come a long way. We see around the NHL, there are more and more smaller players making a difference. Size is something I have to work around and trust my game. It's the only way I know how to play."
Prior to making his NHL debut, there was time to ponder what - if anything - was next before hitting the offseason. The Heat's season had concluded on April 29, and as of May 18 he had yet to factor into a game with the big club. With 60 minutes left in the Flames' season, Phillips' number 41 was called.
He had envisioned countless times what the first game would look like, how could he not? He'd sat in the Saddledome stands dozens of times as a kid, whether it was to watch the Hitmen or Flames. In his head, he pictured the nerves and excitement, the speed and skill between the boards that comes with playing in the NHL. Despite the lofty expectations he'd set, nothing compared to the real thing.
"It's still a tough thing to describe exactly, the full meaning of it," said Phillips. "It was more than I could imagine. The reality of it, reflecting afterwards, it's just a pretty crazy situation. I felt so lucky that day. It feels pretty good when you put in a lot of hard work toward something and see your goal become a reality."

His phone buzzed more times that day than he could count. He received messages from friends, former teammates, and people who he hadn't heard from in a while. Celebrating the accomplishment of a lifetime of work was the theme of the day, yet after the game Phillips took a slightly different tone.
Asked what he would remember form his first game, he jokingly quipped "I hope I won't remember missing a half-empty net."
With some distance now since the final horn, Phillips can really soak in a game he'll never forget.
"Looking back on it, at how many people reached out, at how cool of a day it was, playing at home and everything, I have a lot of little tidbits from that day that will stay with me for my entire life. It was an experience that, especially growing up in this city, I know every kid my age dreamt about it.
"It was such an awesome day. But that being said, I hope I can push to have a lot more days like that ahead of me."