"You get to see the lifestyle and everything it takes to be an NHL player, an NHL regular.
"Travelling with the team, practices, the games I did get into … there's no substitute for experience.
"You just absorb as much as you can.
"Being around the guys that much, I feel part of the team now. Not like a bit of an outsider, trying to figure out where and how I fit in.
"When it's all kinda new to you, you're always wondering: 'Should I do this?' Or: 'Should I be doing that?'
"You don't want to put a foot wrong.
"Now I feel a part of it all. That allows you to relax, to play a little more free, nothing else on your mind, play hockey and have fun with the guys."
A day after signing a one-year, two-way contract to remain with the organization, entering his third full year pro, the 6-2, 190-pound fourth-round draft pick of 2012, Kulak was back on the big sheet of ice out at WinSport, at Markin McPhail Centre, at an informal skate with a potpourri of Flames' regulars and hopefuls.
Splitting time with the Stockton Heat in the AHL, a 21-game NHL audition last season provided the necessary familiarity and a vital injection of confidence to believe that sample-size can be expanded through 2016-17.
"I expect a lot from myself this year,'' he emphasizes. "I think the opportunity's there for me. I really do. I believe that if I play my best, and I do it consistently, lots can happen.
"Coming into the league, I'm going to be a 5-6 guy, right? So I need to know my identity as a player. In the minors, I can be a little bit more offensive, ride on that aspect.
"At the NHL level, especially starting out and establishing myself, I need to be more of a shutdown guy while still using my strengths - my skating and my passing.
"You've got to prove yourself all season long. Having a good stretch of, say, 10 games isn't good enough.
"It takes years before you establish yourself as an NHL regular. That's what I'm working toward right now."
A week-long respite in Cabo, Mexico was wedged in between workouts this summer.
"I've been pretty busy,'' Kulak reports.
What he didn't spend time doing over obsessing when a deal might be consummated.
"I don't think there was ever any concern,'' he says. "I knew the whole time I wanted to be here, be with Calgary. I just think neither side was in a rush to get things done.
"When the qualifying offer was made it was just a matter of time.
"It's my first time going through this, after signing my entry-level contract. Maybe I should've been more anxious. But it felt like just like another summer. Wasn't panicking.
"Just sticking to the process. But obviously glad to get it done."
