'I See Where The Team's Going'

Training camp is still more than two months away, but the newest member of the Flames is already eager to get started.

And Jake Middleton is bringing his famous moustache with him, too.

“Yes,” the 30-year-old said calmly, but assertively in a phone conversation Wednesday morning. “The moustache will be traveling with me across the border.”

Impressive facial hair aside, Calgary’s brass is perhaps more excited about what Middleton brings to the table from an experience, character and leadership standpoint. 

And for Middleton, who was born in Wainwright but spent most of his childhood in Ontario, the opportunity to come ply his trade in Alberta was pretty appealing, too.

“They were one of the teams I had left off a no-trade list I threw together a couple days back,” the 6-foot-3 defender said. “It just seems like a wonderful city to raise a family in.

“The direction the team’s going in is something to be excited about as well.”

The rugged rearguard arrives in Calgary as part of a six-piece deal consummated Wednesday morning, one that saw the Flames part with veterans Blake Coleman and Olli Määttä in exchange for Middleton and a trio of draft picks. 

He’s been a mainstay on the Wild blueline for the past four seasons, and while Middleton’s profile as a defensive defenceman stands out, he’s also chipped in with 17 goals and 62 points since the start of the 2023-24 campaign.

“Middleton is the type of player we covet,” Flames General Manager Craig Conroy said Wednesday. “This is a guy that keeps people away. He’s a very good player. He played very well with (Minnesota star Brock) Faber, and we think him coming in will just calm things down physically,  he's gonna be able to kill penalties for us, play minutes, and be a big part of this moving forward. 

“That's kind of where the player is. The picks are the picks. We can use those picks to make trades. We can make those picks. That gives us a lot of options.”

Middleton’s work with Faber has paid dividends in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, too. The 23-year-old posted a career-best 51 points for the Wild this past season and helped the U.S.A. claim the gold medal at the 2026 Winter Games in Italy.

“Three years ago, I was with this guy and now, he’s an Olympic gold medalist,” Middleton said of his former defence partner. “I gave him little tips and tricks along the way. Those are even little things I can talk to those guys (on the Flames defence corps) about. 

“I’m just excited to get things going with this organization.”

His leadership skills will be a boon, too. The 2026-27 campaign will mark Middleton’s 11th as a pro, and included on his resume are stints as captain of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, and an alternate captaincy role with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.

“I’ve always thought of myself as someone who can bring a room together,” he said. “These past four years, getting to play with a leadership group like we had in Minnesota, between Jared Spurgeon and Marcus Foligno - even young guys like Matt Boldy and Brock Faber - to see how they do things and go about their business is something I’m excited to take to a new organization.”

For Conroy, those traits bear resonance. But so, too, does Middleton’s presence on the ice.

His 76 penalty minutes were no accident a season ago, and Conroy figures Middleton’s heavy game will help create space and confidence for the younger Flames on the back end, too.

“When you get to play with people, you just feel a little bit better, a little bigger out there, and you can play your game, and know someone's got your back,” said Conroy. “He moves pucks. He's going to be there more on the defensive side, and it allows those offensive players to maybe go out there and do what they do best. 

“And then, what we've heard about him off the ice, you're not going to find a better person. When I talked to him, he said ‘No, I love the city. The new building's coming, and I see where the team's going. So that why I didn't put you guys on (his no-trade) list.’ 

“So that's a that's a big thing too.”

Middleton, his family and of course, his muzzy, will make their way to Calgary as the summer progresses, laying down roots and rekindling family relationships.

Signed through the 2028-29 season, there’s certain to be trips home to Wainwright on the docket, too. Middleton says a good chunk of his father’s family still live in the area.

And when he’s there, he can check in on the family business. Middleton’s extended family runs the Honeypot Eatery and Pub, which bills itself as ‘One and a Half Blocks from the Clock,’ referring to the Memorial Clock Tower, built to watch over the town of 6,600 in 1925.

Closer to his workplace, there’s construction afoot, too. 

And as Scotia Place continues to come together, Middleton is definitely taking notes. 

Anticipating being a big part of Opening Night in 2027.

“Coming in as a road team, you see how well put-together and how hard they’re working on it,” he said of the construction site. “It’s exciting for the organization and the city.

“It’s going to do wonders.”