'WANT TO BE WITH THE BIG CLUB'

The path forward is no small task.
The painless way is to examine the roster - scouring the names and the number of players - and resigning yourself to a week of 'experience.'
But Jakob Pelletier and Connor Zary aren't taking that approach at all.
They're here to win a spot, no matter who's in their way.
"The goal is to make the Flames team, for sure," Pelletier said, without a shred of self-doubt, on Day 1 of Prospect Camp.
"You come in with the mindset that you want to be with the big club," added Zary. "That's how you're going to go on the ice. You want to be the best player out there every single time you're going and I think for both of us, we've put a lot of work in this summer (to get to this point).
"When you come into camp, you're not really worried about the depth charts. Everyone has to do their job and everyone has to perform, because while your name may be higher than someone else on the list, it doesn't mean they can't come out there and be better than you.
"Every day you've got to put your head down and go to work."

If any of the 26 rookies carving lines at the Scotiabank Saddledome this week are poised to make a run, the smart money is on these two.
They're two of the most highly regarded players in the club's burgeoning prospect cupboard, and with another year of seasoning in a pandemic-shortened campaign now behind them, they're ready to turn pro.
That likely means a trip to NorCal with the Flames' AHL affiliate, but with the keen eye of Head Coach Darryl Sutter looking on for all 90 minutes of these intense, on-ice workouts, they're not leaving anything to chance.
"You're coming into the NHL - it's the best league in the world," Zary said. "Every team is going to have a roster full of guys that have already played, and veteran guys that have been around for a while. I think what's communicated through every team is that a young guy coming in is always looking to take an older guy's spot, and that's what pushes the competition."

Both players were lucky to get a partial season in with their respective clubs last year. Zary, with the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL, and Pelletier, as captain with the Val d'Or Foreurs of the QMJHL. They also represented Canada together at the IIHF World Junior Championship, with the new Heat boss Mitch Love working the bench as an assistant with that silver medal-winning squad.
Zary, though, has already gotten a taste of the pro ranks. With the WHL season getting off to a late start last year, he appeared in nine games with the Heat and stung the opposition for three goals and seven points before reporting back to the Interior.
As a result, he enters the new season with a boost of confidence, having shown he can not only keep his head above water at this level, but deliver the goods at a breakneck rate.
"You come out here and you work as hard as you can," said Zary, who torched the Western League with 110 points (44G, 66A) in 72 games over the past two years. "Just because you might not be the grittiest guy, a guy who's going to go out there for hits and stuff like that, there's still a way that he wants you to play and you have to work hard and you've got to be defensively (responsible) and be in the right spot all over the ice.
"Just being ready and having a good structure, keeping your head to the ground and going to work, that's what he's looking for."
"I think he wants (hard-working) players who's going to give their best every night," added Pelletier, who himself had a dynamite season with 43 points (13G, 30A) in 28 games in the Q. "He's been around for 47 camps now, so I think he knows what it takes to win."
Zary and Pelletier were drafted one year apart, with the latter having been with the organization for almost two-and-a-half years now.
Hockey's funny that way.
Here are two players that have grown up on opposite sides of the country, but the game - and eventually, being drafted to Calgary - has brought them together.
The Flames not only had two incredibly talented players at the podium together on Thursday.
They're also great friends.
'Culture' guys.
"It started at the U18s in Sweden," Pelletier said of the friendship that dates back to his draft year. "We were there for almost a month and to play with Z, it's great.
"I think we complete each other on the ice and off the ice also, so it's great to have a guy like him here."
Zary, though, couldn't help but have a little fun.
"I'm usually just trying to figure out what he's saying half the time with his French accent," he laughed. "Nah, he's a great guy. I think he's really funny and a great time to be around.
"You can see what he can do on the ice. He's fun to play with.
"We've been here for a month together in the summer, working out, being on the ice and hanging out, so it's been a good time."