Engelland always ready to answer the bell for Flames
Defenceman has proven he’ll go above and beyond call of duty to help team win
Hanging proudly in Deryk Engelland’s garage are a few mementos depicting his contributions to the Calgary Flames’ playoff run two years back.
It includes a photo of him in a particular predicament that draws the attention of guests every time.
“I’ve got some of the news articles up in my garage and people come over and say, ‘What the hell’s going on there?’ ” chuckled the Flames defenceman of a snapshot showing him fighting two Vancouver Canucks at once. Yes, two. Talk about going above and beyond the call of duty.
“It was kind of fun,” the 35-yearold, who vividly remembers the chaotic scene that punctuated a 4-1 Game 2 loss in Vancouver, said with a smile.
“There was a scrum in front of the net and (Derek) Dorsett is on the line and he’s willing to fight. I was just going in to grab him and get him out of the scrum and he was trying to knock me down. He drops his gloves, so we start fighting and next thing I know (Dan) Hamhuis is skating over and I guess I’m trying to protect myself and trying to swing for both of them.”
With a pair of other fights going on simultaneously that had officials occupied, Hamhuis was simply trying to quell a fight Engelland had well in hand.
“I don’t think Hamhuis was trying to do too much, so that probably saved me,” said the six-foottwo, 214-pound Edmonton native.
“Looking back at it, it’s a good moment in my career. Usually refs or linesmen or someone else is jumping in, but I think two of our guys were already off the ice by then so there weren’t many guys to do anything about it.”
So they kept fighting, much to the delight of a raucous Vancouver crowd fuelled by the emotion of seeing the visitors clearly trying to send messages for Game 3.
The best message of all came as Engelland skated by the Canucks bench and looked at Dorsett. “I said, ‘Three next time,’ ” Engelland said for the first time.
Engelland had already taken on a surprisingly large workload as Mark Giordano’s replacement with one quarter of the regular season remaining.
The captain’s shoulder injury thrust Engelland into a prominent role alongside T.J. Brodie few could have envisioned when the former tough guy was signed by the Flames that season.
But he responded with the type of solid, gritty play that has made the versatile veteran one of the Flames’ most respected teammates, not to mention fan favourites.
“Obviously, every guy in here wants to play a bigger role and when Gio went down, there was an opportunity for someone to step up and I guess I got that and tried to roll with it as best I could,” said Engelland, who was once again a chief utility player this season.
“I had played bigger minutes before in Pittsburgh, so it wasn’t new, but to play the last 20 games of the season and 12 playoff games like that was a new thing. It’s easier because you don’t have the time to sit and think about it, you just play the game.” Since making his NHL debut at age 27, Engelland’s progression has been a steady one that now sees him as one of the team’s chief penalty killers and leaders.
“To see him come from where he came from is impressive and it couldn’t happen to a better guy,” said coach Glen Gulutzan, who coached Engelland in Las Vegas 13 years earlier and watched him handle the two-on-one fighting assignment admirably as an assistant coach of the Canucks.
“I remember him having those two guys. He’s a tough guy — I remember I had him young and he was tough then.”
As the team’s toughest player, you can bet he’ll be counted on heavily to set the tone, send messages and respond to rough stuff against a sizable Anaheim Ducks squad starting Thursday.
Clearly, no assignment is too tough and he has the pictures to prove it.
To see him (Deryk Engelland) come from where he came from is impressive and it couldn’t happen to a better guy.