Flames and Hitmen feed off each other
The Calgary Hitmen had some extra support from their big brothers down the hall on Monday.
Among the 7,191 fans at the Scotiabank Saddledome who cheered the Hitmen to a 6- 2 win over the Kootenay Ice in Game 7 of their opening- round WHL playoff series were several players from the Calgary Flames, as well as coach Bob Hartley.
“It’s great to know that they’re supporting us,” said Hitmen forward Carsen Twarynski, who was pleased to hear that Flames rookies Johnny Gaudreau, Josh Jooris and Markus Granlund were among those in attendance. “We look up to them. They talk to us quite a bit whenever we walk by them, especially ( Jiri) Hudler. He’s giving us a little yap here and there. It’s all in good fun. It loosens things up and I think it’s great.”
After Calgary’s quick start against Kootenay on Monday, Hartley was so confident that the Hitmen were going to win that he turned his attention toward other games that could affect the NHL standings.
“As soon as it was 4- zip, I knew that the game was in the bag, so I went to see other games,” said Hartley, who has referred to the Hitmen as “little brothers” of the Flames. “We’re part of the same family, so obviously they’re a great bunch of guys. I love watching practices or, once in a while, I’ll just go and say hello to the coaches.
“I think that we’re very fortunate to be around them, they’re very fortunate to be around us. The equipment managers, they work together and everything. Hey, we’re under the same roof, so why not work together?”
And cheer each other on at the same time.
“It’s definitely exciting to have them back in the playoff race and hopefully they can make it here,” said Hitmen defenceman Ben Thomas, a native Calgarian who grew up cheering for the Flames. “It’s pretty exciting and it’s fun when we’re both doing well.”
Perhaps nobody is invested in both team’s fortunes more than Hitmen rearguard Keegan Kanzig, whom the Flames selected in the third round, 67th overall, of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
“It’s exciting to see the race that they’re in right now for a playoff spot,” said Kanzig, who leads all players through one round of the WHL playoffs with an impressive plus- 10 rating. “It definitely does make this time of year even more exciting than it already is.”
While the Hitmen are preparing for their second- round series against the Medicine Hat Tigers, the Flames will play their most important game of the season on Thursday night at the ’ Dome against the Los Angeles Kings.
“Both of us are going to be in playoffs if they win that game,” Twarynski said. “The atmosphere around Calgary will be great. We’ll be supporting each other.”
Well, almost everyone will support each other.
Kris Russell played for four years with the Tigers, while fellow Flames defenceman David Schlemko spent three WHL seasons in Medicine Hat.
“We’re more focused about what we’re doing in this room, but I’m sure those two teams will have a pretty good tilt,” Russell said. “As far as I know, both teams have had pretty good years. It’ll be no different from when I played. It’s going to be an intense series.”
In their final seasons of junior hockey, Russell and Schlemko helped the Tigers win the 2007 WHL title, a run which included a five- game ouster of the Hitmen in the Eastern Conference final.
“We had a good rivalry with the Hitmen when I was in Med Hat, so I’d like to see the Tigers win,” said Schlemko, who plans to check out the action when the series returns to Calgary for Games 2 and 3 on Sunday and Monday.
“I’ll definitely get to one of the games if I can.”
ICE CHIPS: A pair of Hitmen made the grade among players who were listed on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings ahead of the 2015 NHL Draft. Left winger Pavel Karnaukhov is listed at 118th among North American skaters on the list, while defenceman Micheal Zipp ended up in 189th spot ... Nine of the top 30 North American skaters were from the WHL, led by Brandon Wheat Kings defenceman Ivan Provorov in seventh spot. Seattle Thunderbirds forward Mathew Barzal wound up 11th followed by Jansen Harkins ( Prince George Cougars) at 15 and Jake DeBrusk ( Swift Current Broncos) at 19.