'I couldn't believe it'

Jaden Lipinski is a man of many talents.

Just ask one of his closest pals - a fellow Flames prospect - who got a front-row seat to it all in his very own home.

"Let's see ... He plays the drums," offered Cade Littler, a seventh-round pick in last year's draft. "I'm pretty sure he's been doing that for a long time now, but he's good. Like, really good."

Well, then, it begs the question: Does Lipinski, himself, agree with that top-shelf toast?

"Yeah, I'd say so," he smiled. "I mean, I started off on the drums. I was actually in a jazz band for a little bit. I can still play, but I've moved over to guitar and have been doing that now for about nine years. I'm guess I'm a musician.

"Sometimes, I would do a little bit of both and mix a few songs and things like that. But I mainly just cover stuff and jam. Whether it's rock, hip-hop or pop, I love it all. But I'm probably the biggest fan of classic rock.

"It's just a fun thing to do in my free time."

Admittedly, Lipinski doesn't have a ton of that as an aspiring pro hockey player - but athletes, in general, are conditioned to downplay their personal achievements nowadays.

Especially when it comes to life off the ice.

A teammate, though, isn't bound by the same rules. And it's clear in talking to them both, how deeply Lipinski and Littler admire one another, and have since they struck a close, personal friendship at the height of the pandemic.

"His dad actually scouted me for Wenatchee (of the BCHL)," Lipinski said of his plans for the 2020-21 season. "I was going to go play there and I ended up staying there for about eight weeks, so I was there living with their whole family. They're great people and it was so much fun to stay there.

"Unfortunately, COVID kind of shut that down, so we both went down to Arizona, played there and I returned the favour by having him stay with me."

In all, the two roomed together for upwards of a year, creating a brotherly bond that was obvious on Day 1 of Flames Development Camp, with the pair marching in lockstep from one station to the next during the rounds of fitness testing.

That they're both part of the Flames organization now, close to three years later, is an incredible stroke of luck for the two chums, considering all the minor miracles that first brought them together.

Cade's father, Bliss, is the GM of the Wenatchee Wild - then, a BCHL outfit, but will now be graduating to the WHL ranks after purchasing the Winnipeg Ice franchise earlier this summer. He discovered Jaden during the West Regional 14 Camp in Colorado Springs, where the affable Cade was invited and began to

And from there, a relationship was quickly in bloom.

"I got to meet a bunch of different teams there, and one of them was Lipinski's," Bliss said. "The more I got to be around him and see Jaden play, we thought he would be a good fit with our team in Wenatchee.

"The first year of COVID, he came to our camp and made the team. Then, during the summer, we convinced him to officially make the move. At that time, Cade was still planning on playing in Cedar Rapids in the USHL - but in the middle of the summer, they had a storm that blew off part of the roof of their arena and suddenly, they didn't have a season.

"It was all luck that Cade ended up staying in Wenatchee that year, otherwise the two wouldn't have stayed together.

"But then, COVID shut us down, too, and they didn't have a place to play.

"Former NHLer Ray Whitney was coaching the Phoenix Triple-A 16 team down in Arizona - and both Cade and Jaden have a bit of a history with the program. I got a call from Ray one day and he said, 'You know, you guys are essentially land-locked up there … how about Cade and Jaden come down here and play for us?'

"I thought it was a great idea. The Lipinski family then offered to have Cade stay at their place for the season, too.

"Somehow, after everything that happened, it all worked out in the end."

Littler put up 16 points (8G, 8A) in 17 games with the Jr. Coyotes, while Lipinski - a Scottsdale native - recorded 18 points (13G, 5A) in that same span.

With the BCHL up and running the following season, Littler moved back to Wenatchee, while Lipinski made the transition to the WHL after being scouted by the Vancouver Giants.

Before long, it was the Flames that came calling next.

When Littler was drafted in the seventh round last year, Lipinski was one of the first to reach out and congratulate him. The roles were reversed last week, when Lipinski was the target of the Flames' fourth-round choice - and moments after the pick was announced, Littler was immediately on his phone, firing off a text.

And doing so in utter disbelief.

"I've been up here in Calgary for about three weeks now, working out," Littler said. "That second day of the draft, me and (Flames prospect) Parker (Bell) were checking our phones every once a while during our workout to see how things were going. When we saw he got drafted - to Calgary of all places - we were so excited. I texted him right away and you could tell he was pumped, too."

Lipinski had a feeling Calgary was in play. He had numerous meetings with the club in the weeks leading up, and could tell GM Craig Conroy and the Flames were fairly "high" on his abilities.

"It's a funny story," Lipinski said. "It was about a week before the draft and I was chatting with Cade about this exact scenario. I mentioned the Flames to him and he was like, 'Oh, yeah, that would be cool' and all that, but you never really think it's going to happen.

"Until it does.

"We were both pretty excited about it. I couldn't believe it, honestly."

Neither can Bliss, who's had the unique opportunity of watching both up close as a hockey executive - but also, as a parent.

And a billet.

"Jaden was such a young, shy kid when I first him," Bliss said. "I told his father, 'We've never housed players before,' but I thought it would be a good idea to help him along. And then when we learned Cade was going to stay in Wenatchee, it was the perfect situation.

"Those kids are built different. They're completely into becoming hockey players. To have a friend along with you as you (embark) on that together, what more could you ask for?

"Then, when the played together ... A lot of times they would play on the same line and really bring the best out of each other on the ice, too."

Flames fans got their first glimpse of that on Thursday at Winsport, with the pair donning the Flames' iconic red colours for the first time together as part of Team Kiprusoff at Development Camp.

A new chapter in a long and winding story.

But with so much, still, to be written.

Littler is coming off a strong season in Wenatchee, serving as the captain and recording 68 points (29G, 39A) in 51 regular-season games, before adding six points (4G, 2A) in 10 playoff tilts.

The 6-foot-3, 200-lb. winger is intriguing prospect, with the 'strides' he's taken since being drafted one year ago.

"Skating is a huge thing for me," Littler said. "I've been working with (Skating Coach) Danielle (Fujita) all last summer and throughout the season, and she's been great for me. … All the resources the team has provided has helped me grow my game and try new things, and I'm seeing improvements in all areas every single day because of it."

"It's true," his father agreed. "His skating continues to get better. Cade had two really big growth spurts where he went from being a pretty coordinated kid to stumbling when he'd brush his teeth. But hey, that's part of growing into your body.

"He's worked really hard with skating coaches and that part has definitely improved. He's always been a pretty smart kid on the ice that has really good offensive instincts. I thought this past year, besides his skating improving, you could see his confidence grow and more comfortable hanging onto pucks.

"I got to watch him mature a whole bunch as a hockey player and as a young man, and I'm excited to see what the future holds."

Next year, Littler will (finally) make the trip to Cedar Rapids and ply his trade in the USHL.

Lipinski, meanwhile, will return to the Vancouver Giants and take on bigger role in his third WHL campaign. Possibly, even, on the same line as Flames first-round selection, Sam Honzek, as he looks to improve on his 51-point total last year.

There are no guarantees in this racket, but it's clear what the Flames have in these two late-round selections:

Character.

And lots of it.

"The draft was pretty stressful, but now that it's over, it doesn't matter," Lipinski said. "Nobody's looking at you and saying what round you went in or things like that.

"We're all in the organization.

"So, from here, it's all about hard work and development, and that's what I'm focusing on now."