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CHICAGO – When the Flames charter went wheels up Sunday heading to Chicago, GM Craig Conroy walked to the back of the bird to give Rory Kerins the news he’d been waiting to hear since he was a kid.

He was going to make his NHL debut, suiting up in Monday’s tilt against the Blackhawks (5:30 p.m. MTN, Prime).

“Really cool,” said Kerins Monday morning in the Flames dressing room following their pregame skate at the United Center. “Moment I’ll never forget, for sure. Was a bit nervous leading up to today, but I’m in my routine now, and feel pretty good.”

After all these years of hard work, does it feel somewhat surreal?

“Feels pretty real right now, I can tell you that,” he said with a smile and chuckle. “It’s gonna be an awesome night, cool doing it in this building, too. I grew up watching the Blackhawks a lot.

“It’s going to be fun.”

His family will be there, of course, for the historic night. Mom Lauranne, dad Scott, brother Liam and sister Ciara, hopped a plane from Toronto when they got the word, while his girlfriend, Emma, flew to the Windy City from Calgary.

“They were just like ‘how do we get there?’,” said Kerins recalled when he told everyone the good news. “That was their reaction, they’re super-excited and happy for me. It’ll be fun to see ’em after the game, for sure.”

Recalled by the Flames on Friday from the AHL Wranglers, Kerins is currently leading that league with 21 goals, and has 34 points so far this campaign. His dominance in the ‘A’ made him the logical callup when Connor Zary was sidelined with an injury.

“Playing with some good players, capitalizing on opportunities to score,” he said of his success with the Wranglers. “It’s just the team, and the opportunities I got early in the year.”

Now, he gets the chance to capitalize on another big opportunity.

“Just take it all in,” he said of the advice he’s got from his new teammates. “They all said it’s a great building to have your first game in, so I’m just gonna try and enjoy it as much as I can, and hopefully put on a good performance, too.”

"Just take it all in"

Not surprisingly, he’s found plenty of support and encouragement within the tight Flames locker-room, including from players such as Jakob Pelletier, who he played with on the Wranglers this season before Pelletier’s recall.

“It’s been great,” said Kerins, selected by Calgary in the sixth-round of the 2020 draft (174th). “At the end of the day, we’re all hockey guys and we’re all in the same family. So they understand what I’m going through, and the support’s been really good.”

Because they all remember well what the experience was like for them, no matter how long ago it was.

"It’s special, you’re always gonna remember your first game,” said Jonathan Huberdeau. “For Rory, I think he’s been playing really well this year, he’s earned his spot. It’s always awesome to see a guy working so hard, and (getting) his chance to get his first game.

“Really happy for him, I’m sure it’s going to go well."

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Flames head coach Ryan Huska echoed that Kerins has ‘earned’ this opportunity and should soak it all in.

"Very special for him, and the advice is just to go out and do what he does best, and have fun with it,” said Huska. “He gets this opportunity one time, and that’s it, so I want to make sure that he understands that he should enjoy it, I know he’s going to have some family here tonight.

“And then he’s here for a reason, to remember that. He’s done an unreal job of persevering, and staying with it, making sure you kept belief in him, in his game and his ability. He’s here because of that. Just go out there and do what you do best."

Next up for Kerins – the fantastic NHL tradition of a solo rookie lap in warmup.

“Looking forward to it, hope I don’t fall or anything,” he said. “It’s awesome to see; when you’re growing up, you watch other guys doing that so it’s pretty cool for me, to be able to do that.”

And maybe he’ll catch a glimpse of his loved ones in the stands as he circles the zone - the cherry on top.

“(Would) put a smile on my face for sure,” he said. “Hopefully it’s not too emotional, but it’ll be cool if that happened.”

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