DEFENCEMAN TAKING HIS TRYOUT WITH FLAMES IN STRIDE
Former Sabre Falk comfortable with what he can offer, writes Kristen Anderson.
At 29-years of age with 269 National Hockey League games under his belt, Justin Falk doesn’t feel the need to make a statement.
Yes, the six-foot-five, 223-pound, Snowflake, Man., native is on a professional tryout offer with the Calgary Flames, meaning that his plans for 201819 are not certain.
But his NHL identity has already been defined, particularly during the last two years with the Buffalo Sabres, and if it works for Flames general manager Brad Treliving, so be it.
“When you get to this point in your career and don’t have too many options, you just have to fight and survive,” said Falk who was originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2007 NHL draft to the Minnesota Wild.
“I just felt a bit of familiarity here and to be a bit more comfortable in training camp. That’s when I excel is when I feel comfortable.
“I just felt like it was the right decision to make.”
That familiarity comes in the form of playing in the Scotiabank Saddledome, off and on since 2010.
It also comes from the fact that he was drafted in the 10th round of the 2003 bantam draft by the Calgary Hitmen which saw him play only nine games (four in 2004-05 and five in 2005-06) before being traded to the Spokane Chiefs and coached by, you guessed it, current Flames head coach Bill Peters.
“That was, like, 15 years ago,” Falk said with a chuckle. “I didn’t play here too long, just a handful of games and then I got traded, five games into the year, I realized it was a pretty heavy defence here (at the time). That was when they were loaded on the back end with guys like Karl Alzner so I had to look for an opportunity elsewhere.
“Here I am again, just looking for an opportunity. We’ll give it a shot and see what happens.”
After parting ways with the Sabres at the end of the 2017-18 campaign, an organization that, like the Flames, was thirsty for change, Falk’s summer was fairly quiet until Calgary became an option.
“The summer played out the way it did, for a lot of guys,” said Falk. “There wasn’t a lot of action going on. Kind of got down to the last week, two weeks left of the off-season and this is one of the options that was open so we decided to go this route.”
It’s a lifeline for Falk, a married father of two, who was in this scenario somewhat at the start of the 2017-18 season, trying to prove himself for then-new head coach Phil Housley.
He was noticeable in Monday’s first pre-season action against the Edmonton Oilers which, with most of the Flames in China, allowed him to get a pile of playing time on the makeshift top pairing with Juuso Valimaki. He penalty killed, was on the ice for the Dillon Dube show, and displayed his tough side in the first period.
After levelling Oilers hopeful Evan Polei behind the Flames’ net, he skated right up to Brad Malone who challenged Falk in the slot area. The two dropped the gloves immediately.
A left-handed defenceman, the Flames are in the process of auditioning for the team’s third pairing and a potential seventh defender.
While youngsters like Valimaki, Oliver Kylington, Rasmus Andersson and Brett Kulak along with Dalton Prout are expected to make a case for themselves, Falk’s experience could also help their depth.
“Maybe it’s a little different now that I’m older and have kind of established an identity,” Falk had pointed out prior to Monday’s clash. “I just need to make sure I don’t go out of my norm and do what I do. They have a pretty good idea of what I bring to the table. I don’t need to play outside of my game to try and ‘Wow’ them… ... ultimately, it comes down to how you play. If you do enough, you’ll earn yourself a spot. If you don’t, you carry on elsewhere.”