Can Calgary Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau author a ...

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Calgary Herald

'It’s not about proving people wrong,' Huberdeau said. 'Obviously, I want to be a great asset for this team. And that’s what I’m going to do'

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Published Oct 10, 2024 • Last updated 11 hours ago • 4 minute read

Jonathan Huberdeau of the Calgary Flames celebrates scoring against the Vancouver Canucks. Getty Images

Who doesn’t love a comeback story?

The Calgary Flames authored one of those on opening night of the new season, overcoming a dreadful start — and a three-goal deficit — en route to winning a 6-5 overtime thriller against the Vancouver Canucks.

Jonathan Huberdeau tucked a timely goal midway through the third period at Rogers Arena, shovelling in a loose puck to give the Flames a late lead. It’s a first step, even if it’s just a small one, as Huberdeau tries to write a comeback story of his own.

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“After you have two years like I did … Everybody is like, ‘Ah, that’s all he’s going to be,’” Huberdeau said.

That is, indeed, what a lot of people are saying. There are some who will roll their eyes at another article about Huberdeau’s aim to up his offensive output.

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He has, after all, averaged just 0.67 points per game across his first two campaigns with the Flames, an underwhelming statline for a guy who arrived in Calgary with a well-earned ‘superstar’ label.

You used to find his name on every list of the NHL’s fantasy hockey must-haves. Now, he’s more often included on lists of the NHL’s worst contracts. The 31-year-old left-winger wants as badly as anyone to live up to the hype that comes with a $10.5-million US cap hit.

“It’s not about proving people wrong,” Huberdeau said. “Obviously, I want to be a great asset for this team. And that’s what I’m going to do.”

Calgary Flames - Figure 3 — Photo Calgary Herald

Huberdeau, it has been said many times before but is nonetheless worth repeating, hasn’t simply been hoping to turn things around. Fingers crossed is not the strategy.

Teammates and coaches are constantly praising his positive attitude and accountability. He is excited about the opportunity to log shifts on the penalty kill, which he did in Florida and where he figures he can help his squad by silencing the opposing power play and also help himself by staying more involved in the game. (So far, so good. He was spotless in 1:25 of shorthanded duty in Vancouver.)

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Huberdeau worked throughout the summer to add some explosiveness to his skating stride, especially important as the Flames look to push their collective pace.

He has invested plenty of time, both in and out of season, with mental performance coaches.

Even in his downtime, he finds himself thinking about how he can be more impactful on the ice.

Flames’ Jonathan Huberdeau as the Calgary Flames opened their 2024 training camp with the first on-ice sessions at WinSport in Calgary on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia

Lately, he’s been watching a lot of sports documentaries. Among his favourites are Sprint, which followed some of the fastest people on the planet as they prepared for the 2024 Paris Olympics, and Receiver, which features a few of the NFL’s elite pass-catchers.

Glued to his flat-screen, he’s as interested in the adversity as the moments of triumph.

Calgary Flames - Figure 4 — Photo Calgary Herald

“Even watching Netflix in the summer, you can see that there’s a lot of top athletes that they dip and they get through that,” Huberdeau said. “Some guys, they get through like that but you don’t know because you’re just watching from outside. So it’s cool to see that it happens to more people than you think. I mean, it’s not cool, but it makes it so that you know you’re not alone.

“Since I was in Florida, everything was going pretty good for me and my career just went like that all the time,” he continued, steadily raising his arm to trace an upward trajectory. “Since coming here, obviously offensively it went down. But I think I’ve learned about myself. And now you know you can get into that place and you can get out of that.

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“I think, in a career, you’re going to have some seasons like that. It’s not always going to be perfect.”

Can this season be better for the Flames’ highest-paid player, a guy that many believe is capable of something closer to a point-per-game clip?

One goal isn’t going to completely change the narrative, but it is an encouraging sign.

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Huberdeau started that scoring sequence by hustling to the wall to retrieve a loose puck. He then headed to the blue paint, where he was jostling for position with Canucks defenceman Carson Soucy when a pass from Brayden Pachal skittered into their skates. He reacted quickly to sink that goal.

“I think I worked hard all game long, doing the little things,” said Huberdeau, who led all Flames forwards with four shots in the lid-lifter. “And I guess you gotta go to the crease to get a goal. I got a fortunate bounce. Obviously, I would have liked to end it, for that to be the winning goal.

“But I think it was a great game for us. I just like the way we handled everything. I think it’s a huge boost for us to win a game like that.”

Indeed, everyone loves a comeback story.

Maybe Huberdeau can author one of his own.

Ice chips

Next up for the Flames is Saturday’s home-opener against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Saddledome (8 p.m. MT, Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan) … Kevin Rooney, who suffered a scary injury in the first period of Wednesday’s opener, is “doing well,” according to Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “I guess we’d consider him day-to-day now,” Huska said Thursday. “He’s still getting looked at a little bit, but he’s doing well. So we’re happy to say that, for sure.”

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