Stockton coach Huska helps feed the pipeline
Flames’ minor league coach remembers everything about his one-day NHL career
His own NHL career spanned one game, eight shifts, five minutes and 51 seconds of fame.
It's been just over two decades since Ryan Huska lived a childhood dream, summoned from the Indianapolis Ice of the oil' International Hockey League and debuting for the Chicago Blackhawks in a Jan. 5, 1998, clash against the Calgary Flames at United Center.
Then a lanky left-handed centre and now head coach of the Flames farm club in Stockton, Calif., Huska figured for a fleeting moment that he might get another nibble of big-league action.
“When they told me that they were calling me up, Jeff Shantz had an injury at the time and so did Brent Sutter, so they had no extra forwards,” Huska recalled. “I played that one game, and they said, ‘Your next game is going to depend on Brent Sutter.' Well ... he walked into the room the next day, and he could barely walk. He had a groin injury, and he's limping around the room, and I was thinking, ‘Perfect, I'm going to get another one.'
“Of course, the way the Sutters are, Brent takes warm-up, can hardly skate and says he's good to go. That was it for me. I got sent back down to Indianapolis shortly thereafter.”
Huska doesn't often reminisce about that night — a 1-1 tie, by the way, with Andrew Cassels scoring for the Flames, Alexei Zhamnov replying for the Blackhawks and the 22-year-old newbie stapled to the home-side bench in the third period — but there are oftentimes reminders in this line of work.
“When Ryan Lomberg got called up the other day, it's nice to see the face,” said Huska, who currently has the Stockton Heat sitting in second spot in the American Hockey League's Pacific Division standings. “I remember phoning my parents, too. Even though it was only one quick phone call and one game, it's still something you never forget.
“I think whenever anybody can get a chance to go up, whether they get two shifts or they play 2,000 games, those are great memories that people won't be able to take away.”
As a minor-league bench boss, the reality is that the big club could call at any time to take away your leading scorer, your power play quarterback, your go-to goalie ...
And if they never return … well … that's a good sign.
The Stockton-to- Saddledome pipeline has been a key this season to the success of the Flames, who returned Friday from their bye-week and will be shooting for an eighth straight victory as they host the Winnipeg Jets in Saturday's Hockey Day in Canada matinee (1 p.m., CBC/Sportsnet West/ Sportsnet 960 The Fan).
Mark Jankowski, an AHL allstar last winter who spent three weeks this fall with the Heat, has cemented his status as the thirdline centre in Calgary and is now logging a regular shift on a steadily-improving penalty kill. He can return his Stockton Arena security badge — he won't be needing it.
David Rittich and Garnet Hathaway were recalled just five days apart in late November, the surly right-winger bringing a jampacked suitcase for his puck-stopping pal.
Rittich has been sharp in his role as Mike Smith's backup, with a 4-0-1 mark in his five starts so far. Hathaway, meanwhile, has provided some crash-and-bang, proving to be so effective alongside Jankowski and Sam Bennett that injured legend Jaromir Jagr was last spotted on the fourth line.
The latest arrivals from the farm? Speedy winger Andrew Mangiapane has now skated in seven games, while fellow forward Marek Hrivik made his Flames debut just before the CBA-mandated break.
Lomberg earned his first call-up last Sunday in Carolina, but the sparkplug was a spectator that afternoon and will continue to wait and work for another opportunity.
All three were returned to the minors during the bye, with only Hrivik and Mangiapane recalled prior to Friday's practice at the Saddledome.
“We watch the Flames games to stay up on systems and any changes that Gully (Glen Gulutzan) and staff may be making, so we can kind of mirror down here,” Huska said. “But I would be lying if I said the main focus for us wasn't watching how those guys are doing when they're on the ice.
“For us, we're proud of them. We're proud for them. I think you're maybe a bit like a parent, where you like to see them have success. They've done such a good job that it's nice to see them have success. Because when we have guys down here, they don't want to be here. They want to be in the NHL. And the real quality people will come in each and every day and put the work in, put the time in, to make themselves better. So when you see them get a chance and you see some of them excel, it's a nice feeling.
“And it's also a really good bump for our group here, too, because there are a lot of players that have played with these guys now, and I think it creates a bit of a feeling of, ‘Hey, you know what? I'm not that far off. These guys are having some success, and I can see myself in that picture.' ”
Now a 42-year-old father of three, Huska understands that chase. He lived it.
A three-time Memorial Cup champion in the early-90s with the powerhouse Kamloops Blazers, he skated in 309 games in the minors.
For one night, with an Original Six crest on the front of his sweater and No. 56 on the back, he was a National Hockey League player.
He'll always be appreciative that former Blackhawks general manager Bob Murray — now the architect of the Anaheim Ducks — gave him that opportunity.
“I think, for me, there was a little bit of disbelief,” said Huska, captain of the 'Hawks affiliate in Indy that season. “I remember sitting in the United Center, and, at times, you're overwhelmed and you're looking around and you're actually thinking, ‘ What am I doing here?' ”
That feeling is understandable and perhaps unavoidable, but the Heat head coach now tries to guard against it before any of the current up-and-comers receive that dream-come-true call from the 403 area code.
“Our job is just to make sure that when they go up, they're prepared to play. We want Gully to be able to trust them when they're on the ice,” Huska said. “I do think sometimes, as a young guy, a player is a little hesitant or nervous. They're not really sure they can fit, and they may only get that one opportunity. So you're trying to get them to understand that you go up there and play the way you've played for us.
“That's one thing we try to impress on the guys here, because it may be one quick chance and you want to do everything you can to make sure they're noticing you.”
I think you’re maybe a bit like a parent, where you like to see them have success.