Emotions mixed for Flames’ rookie Foo
If there’s a southbound traffic-jam Saturday on the QEII Highway, you can blame Calgary Flames call-up Spencer Foo.
The speedy right-winger was raised in Oil Country and will debut in Saturday’s Battle of Alberta, and this latest blast of wintry weather certainly won’t stop his biggest fans from trekking to the Saddledome to witness his welcome-to-the-bigleagues.
“It’s going to be a cool night for me,” said Foo, the latest arrival from the AHL’s Stockton Heat. “Obviously, I have a lot of family and friends coming down from Edmonton, so it’s going to be a fun one.
“I grew up watching the Battle of Alberta all the time, so it’s just going to be special to finally be able to be a part of it.”
The 23-year-old Foo joked after Friday’s practice that he wasn’t ready to reveal which squad he supported as a kid, but you can probably connect the dots. (Hint: It wasn’t the guys in red.)
All that matters now is that he signed an entry-level contract with the Flames last summer when choosing sides as an undrafted free-agent.
The Oilers were also bidding for his services after he cranked out 26 goals and 62 points during his junior campaign with the NCAA’s Union College Dutchmen.
Foo failed to crack the Flames’ roster this fall, but he’s emerged as one of Stockton’s key contributors and was rewarded with the dream-come-true call Thursday to join the big club for a lateseason look-see.
He immediately dialed his proud parents John and Diane, who will be among those in the seats Saturday at the Saddledome (8 p.m., CBC/Sportsnet 960 The Fan).
“Obviously, I wanted to be able to step right in off the bat and you see lots of college guys doing that, but you see some that have to take a bit of a different route,” Foo said. “At the end of the day, the coaching staff knows where you need to be to develop your game best, and for me, that was the American League. I think I was able to prove this year that I’m a player that’s able to develop and round out my game and I’ll work hard to get to the level that I need to be.”
Foo registered 20 goals and 37 points in 59 outings in the minors before his recall. He mustered just one marker in his first 19 appearances as a pro, but his recipe for snapping out of that slump might also be his key to success in Saturday’s debut against Connor McDavid and the Oilers.
“I think I was just giving other players a little too much respect out there and I wasn’t fully playing my game,” Foo said. “But once I was able to get that out of my head and just started playing really hard and being hard to play against, I think that’s kind of when it all turned around for me.
“There are so many good players. You look around and you see superstars everywhere but if you’re out there tiptoeing around those guys, you’re not going to get anywhere. I think that’s the biggest thing is to respect yourself and just play hard.”