Winger Hunter Shinkaruk recalled
The circumstances were not ideal.
The Stockton Heat finished the weekend on a roll, averaging 4.63 goals per game with a 5-2-1-0 record and had out scored the San Diego Gulls 13-4 in a two-game series. Hunter Shinkaruk had just played a game less than 10 hours earlier and was, likely, exhausted and ready for a day off.
But such is life for the Calgary Flames prospect.
When you get the call — saying the big club has an injury to one of their wingers and they need a replacement — you drop everything.
At least Stockton to Los Angeles, via Sacramento, is a quick flight down the California coast.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” said Shinkaruk, who was recalled on Saturday morning and, following an injury to winger Lance Bouma, made his 2016-17 season debut.
“I got the call and pretty much got right on the plane to come down to L.A. I landed and then, two hours later, I was taking warm-ups.
“It’s exciting. You dream of getting those kind of calls. It’s been a whirlwind but it’s been exciting to be here with this team.” And the Flames need him. Or something. Anything. After being outscored 16-5 on their four-game road trip, the Flames return to the Saddledome with one win — a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks. They’re currently riding an 0-for-15 drought on their power play and their penalty kill is 72.4 per cent efficient (the second-worst rating in the 30-team loop).
They’ve been short-handed the most times in the league (58) and are tied with Chicago for allowing the most power-play goals (16).
Turnovers are a problem; every mistake or coughed-up puck seems to turn into a goal.
Their top players — Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau, mainly — aren’t getting it done, despite their best efforts.
It’s ugly. Their 5-8-1 record is fixable, if they turn it around soon.
For now, they return to Calgary and enjoyed a day off on Monday before getting back to work on Tuesday. The Dallas Stars come calling on Thursday and the New York Rangers are in town Saturday.
As for Shinkaruk, who has four goals and three assists in seven games, he fills a void for the injured Bouma, who hurt his shoulder on Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings.
Bouma had gone into the boards awkwardly after absorbing a hit from Dwight King in the second period of Calgary’s 5-0 loss.
Shinkaruk was originally recalled in the wake of Kris Versteeg’s absence after the veteran right winger went down with a groin injury in Thursday’s game at San Jose.
Brad Treliving was in Stockton on Friday night and caught the American Hockey League club’s 6-1 win over the Gulls. The Flames general manager delivered positive reports about Shinkaruk.
“He is playing with a lot of passion,” said Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan. “He’s been making plays, making offensive plays and being around the net all the time. Brad watched the game on Friday night and we had two or three of our young players playing really well.
“A left-winger going down is a good chance for him to go in.”
Shinkaruk drew in on Sunday against the Ducks and was placed on a line with Sam Bennett and Troy Brouwer. He was a minus-one with only a shot on net and logged 12:28 of ice time.
But knowing how much the club has struggled, especially offensively in the past four games, Shinkaruk feels he can add some scoring punch.
“I’m an offensive player, so that’s kind of what I’m relied upon to do,” said Shinkaruk, who impressed during the 2016-17 pre-season, his first main training camp with the Flames after being dealt to the club before last season’s trade deadline.
“It was exciting to get the call to come up.
“I’m going to try to use this time to try and produce for our team.”