Lomberg earns coveted two-way deal
Many guys don’t want to even think about their contract status during the season.
Ryan Lomberg didn’t want to forget it.
“It was definitely motivation. Wanting to play in the NHL and earn an NHL contract and to be given that opportunity was something I thought about before every game,” said Lomberg, who has been toiling this winter for the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat.
He achieved a lifelong goal last weekend when he put his signature on a two-year, two-way deal with the Calgary Flames.
“But I’m definitely excited that’s behind me now and I can just focus on working and doing whatever I can to earn a call-up.”
His new contract doesn’t kick in until the 2017-18 campaign, so Lomberg isn’t eligible for a bigleague call-up quite yet, but it’s an important step for the 22-year-old forward from Richmond Hill, Ont.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound sparkplug auditioned at Calgary’s summer development shindig in 2015 and showed enough to score an invite to rookie camp and the annual prospect tournament in Penticton, B.C.
He was eventually offered — and accepted — a contract that covered only the minor leagues, spending the majority of last season with the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder.
In his goal-setting sessions with coaches and management this past fall, Lomberg made it no secret the top item on his personal to-do list was to officially join Calgary’s slate of prospects on NHL-level pacts. Mission accomplished. “Nothing has been given to him. He’s come a long way,” said Flames assistant general manager Brad Pascall. “He’s got the heart of a lion and he’s got the passion, and he backs it up. He’s one of those players that the coaches fall in love with.”
Lomberg has eight goals, 19 points and a team-leading 115 penalty minutes in 57 appearances for the Flames’ top affiliate this season.