Turn It Up
Day 1 of on-ice activity featured a lot of skating, and overall, the intensity was high as Calgary's veterans hit the Scotiabank Saddledome playing surface for the first time.
Centre Nazem Kadri is embarking on his 14th NHL campaign, and following Team Red's morning session, he explained that the high pace was no surprise.
"High skating volume, for sure. You know, not a whole lot of playmaking," he smiled. "I think Day 1 of camp is typically, you know, roll up your sleeves and get up and down the ice, so it was nice to see that.
"It was a great pace today."
But that's all part of this season's standard, put into practice by head coach Ryan Huska, but also followed through upon by the 58 skaters taking part in camp activities.
For Huska, it's all about getting his group in the right mindset, right off the hop, as Calgary bids to return to the post-season in 2026 after coming agonizingly close this past spring.
"You look at our team last year, we did a lot of great things, and I don't want them coming in this year thinking that it's just automatically the same, it doesn't work that way," Huska told the media Thursday afternoon. "So I just want them to turn the page. And in doing that, be prepared to chart a new course that's going to get us to where we want to be this year, but they have to understand that it isn't going to be quite the same. But we play hard, and teams now around in the NHL know that, so we're not getting maybe a team's off night this year, we're not. That’s the way it's gonna be.
"So for us to get to the level we were at, and find another level, we have to be better, plain and simple. We have to find a way to be better and getting them to understand that it's going to be harder this year is an important thing."
Kadri, meanwhile, is coming off a career-best 35-goal season in 2024-25.
He's optimistic the returning group has what it takes to take the next step.
"There's a lot of opportunity there," he said. "Last year, obviously, we played, you, a lot of meaningful games, a lot of it felt like, you know, playoff games for most of the year.
"So, you know, with that experience, I think you can become better from that."
And with renewed hope, come renewed - or raised - expectations. With a Stanley Cup on his resume, Kadri perhaps know what it takes better than most, too.
More importantly, he - and his fellow Flames - are ready once again to shut away the noise from non-believers outside the dressing room.
"Our expectations are high. Our standards are high. So, you know, whatever anybody else wants to say, that's irrelevant, like it is most years," he said.
"And, you know, we got some talent. We've got a lot of we got great work ethic, great leadership.
"We’ve got a good team here."
