BATTLE OF THE ROOKIES
Flames prospects top Oilers
Dillon Dube still calls his dad, Paris, before every game he plays, including Sunday’s pre-season rookie clash against the Edmonton Oilers.
One of his best pieces of advice? “He says, ‘You’ve had some of your best games when you don’t get any points,’” said the Flames prospect, drafted by the Flames in the second round (56th overall). “I think I’ve had a lot of high-pressure tryouts, going back to Kelowna when I was 16 and going through the ranks. If you get point-focused, you’re setting yourself up for failure. (The NHL is) a hard league. It’s not the Western Hockey League. I have to come in here and play the way I can, even if I’m not getting points. Be fast out there. Be hard on pucks, it’s doing all those little things to make the other guy look better and show you belong.”
After four years in the Western Hockey League with the Kelowna Rockets and a gold medal in his collection from captaining Canada’s 2018 world junior team, the 20-year-old Cochrane native is making the jump to pro hockey.
Read into it what you will, but Dube did get a few points in Sunday’s 7-3 rout of the Oilers.
He put the Flames on the score sheet and added an assist on linemate Andrew Mangipane’s goal. Along with Spencer Foo, they formed the most noticeable line and played important minutes.
He was realistic, however, explaining that there is more to give.
“My personal thought going into a game is being able to control the puck and making the right plays,” Dube said. “It’s hard every night to get on the score sheet, especially here (at the NHL level). I think if you have to get noticed, those will come, and I think (Sunday) it did for us.”
FIGHTERS & SCORERS
Getting noticed is part of the idea, especially with the majority of team brass watching intently before taking off to China Tuesday.
Igor Merezhko, a Lethbridge Hurricanes defender who put up 33 points in 71 games in the WHL, dropped the gloves with Nolan Vesey and later got into another scrap. Zach Fischer and Jared Wilson started things off with a fight in the first period.
Jusso Valimaki, the left-handed defender who’s also prepared to make the jump to pro this year, showed his strength on his stick and set up Mangiapane’s five-hole goal on Skinner to make it 3-1 in the second period. He scored himself from the point. Mangiapane also had an assist on Jake Christiansen’s marker out of the penalty box that made it 4-1.