'Hopefully, I get the call': Flames workhorse Rasmus Andersson ...

4 days ago

Calgary Herald

Calgary Flames Rasmus Andersson at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Wednesday, October 11, 2023. Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia file

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It was a salute to their captain.

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In Rasmus Andersson’s case, it may have also been a sneak preview.

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A week ago, as the Calgary Flames arrived at the Saddledome on the night of Mikael Backlund’s silver-stick ceremony, there was a stack of jerseys available so the skating stars could show some love for Mr. 1,000 during their walk-in photos.

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Andersson donned a yellow Team Sweden sweater, a throwback to Backlund’s most recent appearance at the world championship tournament and perhaps a glimpse into his own future.

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Best-on-best hockey returns in mid-February when the NHL breaks for the 4 Nations Face-Off, and the workhorse defenceman is making a strong case that he should be suiting up for the Swedes.

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“I hope so,” Andersson told Postmedia before the Flames hit the road this week. “It’s a goal to make it as hard as possible for the coach not to select me on that team. Hopefully, I get the call and I’m there.

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“I’m just trying to play my best hockey and I think I’ve been off to a pretty good start. Now, I just have to keep it going. I just want to help the team win and play to the best of my abilities. If it leads to something else, that’s great. And if it doesn’t, I’m going to be pissed off.”

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Andersson will surely be a little salty for Saturday’s early showdown with the Buffalo Sabres (11 a.m. MT, Sportsnet/Sportsnet 960 The Fan). He was, after all, stripped of the puck at the tail-end of Thursday’s overtime session in Boston and, with neither of his buddies picking up the guy out front, Brad Marchand had gobs of time and then a second whack at the would-be winner.

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While that was a frustrating end to an evening that saw Andersson log 27:33 of ice time, the highest single-game total for any Flames player yet this season, there has been a whole lot more good than bad from No. 4 this fall.

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4 Nations Face-Off picks due in December

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Enough good for the 28-year-old to muscle his way onto Sweden’s stacked blue-line? He’d be on our list.

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While February may seem a long ways off, especially with Calgary’s current heat wave, the roster deadline for the 4 Nations Face-Off is fast approaching: The picks are due by Dec. 2.

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“It’s motivation. It’s absolute motivation,” said MacKenzie Weegar, who is in the conversation for a spot on Team Canada’s defence. “And I think Ras has a little bit of that in him right now, too.”

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Sure does.

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The 4 Nations Face-Off will feature star-studded squads from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the U.S.

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Each team has so far named six players, and Sweden’s initial picks included a hat-trick of rearguards — Gustav Forsling of the Florida Panthers, Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Erik Karlsson of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

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It’s certainly promising that Andersson has put up more points than any of the other candidates, with four goals and 11 points in his 14 outings this fall. He also ranks second in the league in blocked shots, with 47. (He added five to that total during Thursday’s overtime loss to the Bruins.)

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It helps that Sweden has a logjam of lefties — among them, Forsling, Hedman, Philip Broberg, Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Ekholm and Hampus Lindholm — and the Flames’ heart-and-soul sort fires from the right side.

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It’s encouraging that when head coach Sam Hallam was asked by NHL.com about who’d been catching his eye, Andersson was the first dude he mentioned.

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“He’s maybe a bit different mentality-wise than a lot of other Swedes, a bit more intimidating in a good positive way,” Hallam praised in that interview.