"Sometimes it happens where you sign your contract, you go to camp, one goalie gets hurt, and all of a sudden you're in a backup position and you get a chance to play," Vladar said. "That didn't happen for me.
"But at the same time, I think it kind of changed me as a person. I understand that everything's not easy. If you want to really do something, you have to work hard for it and it's not always going to come quick. Obviously, that helped me a lot.
"And after I got the first start and I won the game, I really felt like I earned it. Like I belonged. That I deserved it. But at the same time, I had that feeling in my gut - like, I don't want to do this once or twice.
"I want to do it more."
In five appearances last year, Vladar had a 2-2-1 record, along with an .886 save percentage and a 3.40 goals-against average - numbers, cruelly, skewed by his final outing of the season when he surrendered eight goals against the Washington Capitals.
If you remove that one outlier (and, yes, we understand the complexity of presenting data in that fashion), he would have had a .922 save percentage and a 2.25 goals-against average.
It goes to show how strong he was in the other four tilts, and why - after all these years of rigorous development in the minor-pro ranks - the affable netminder was a prime target for the
Flames.
"We've had an eye on him since his draft year in 2015," said the Flames' Director of Goaltending, Jordan Sigalet. "For such a big guy, to move as well as he does and to be athletic as he is, it catches your eye right away. Then, you start to do your background work on the personality and the character, his attitude and work ethic, and it sounded like a perfect fit.
"I think Jacob (Markstrom) will be a great role model and mentor for him to keep elevating his game."
In Boston, Vladar was a victim of the numbers game, with longtime stars Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak on guard at the NHL level. Now, with Linus Ullmark in the fold and hotshot prospect Jeremy Swayman waiting in the wings, the road was closed off entirely before the deal went down.
Here, it's a new opportunity - a chance to really showcase himself, while at the same time playing a crucial role on a Flames team need of a bounce-back season.