Mangiapane keeps things simple
Flames rookie keeping his objectives simple after getting his first NHL point
Playing it cool and trying to pretend that he’d been there before, Andrew Mangiapane downplayed the attention he garnered from scoring his first National Hockey League point on Sunday.
A few text messages from friends and family. The in-house man-of-the-match Calgary Police Service cowboy hat. The puck that touched his stick, then Derek Ryan’s, then Mark Giordano’s, then past Arizona Coyotes netminder Adin Hill for the Calgary Flames’ first goal of an eventual 7-1 win. Social media love.
But his intentions and longterm goals in the NHL, hopefully, will not stop there.
“It’s definitely nice to get the first one out of the way and hopefully there’s many more to come and all that,” Mangiapane was saying on Tuesday as the Flames returned to the ice after enjoying a day off Monday. “It was just a check mark off the list and now I can just keep moving forward with my game as a pro and grow as a player.
“It’s a day-to-day business.” That day-to-day business can be fickle, especially for a call-up like Mangiapane, who has taken advantage of the situation he’s in.
The diminutive left-winger was recalled in early December and skated in seven games before being sent back to the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat. But suffering an undisclosed injury at the NHL level brought him back to Calgary to see their training staff and skate at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Flames re-activated him off the injured reserve on Jan. 7 and kept him around.
“I was a little down, there, but the training staff and management helped me get over the injury I had,” said the Toronto native. “Feeling good now, so I have to thank them. But I was a little down when it all happened but I’m still happy I’m here and got my first point.
“It’s definitely been an up-anddown roller-coaster.”
Riding the ups and downs, however, Mangiapane drew into the Flames’ lineup Jan. 11 against Florida — the first time since his injury and his first NHL game action since Dec. 15 — and logged only four minutes of ice time, finishing the game a minus one. But on Sunday, he earned 13:34 of ice time against the Coyotes.
“He did a good job coming back in,” said Flames head coach Bill Peters. “I thought that line was real good. He did a good job on the forecheck, he got in and was quick on the forecheck. They recovered pucks and it was good for him to get his first NHL point. He had a good look in the first period when it was 0-0.
“That’s a real positive for us if he can come in and play at that level (after injury).”
He’s not sure how long it’s going to last, how many chances he’ll get at another NHL point or, even, at scoring his first NHL goal.
But at this point with only 19 NHL games on his resume, Calgary’s sixth-round (166th overall) selection from the 2015 NHL draft is trying to prove he belongs.
He’s not basking in the glow of his first NHL point. He’s not hungry for his first NHL goal.
He’s simply operating with a mindset of “happy-to-be-here, happy to contribute, happy to improve every day and learn from the coaching staff,” while living out of a suitcase at the team hotel along with Flames blue-liner Oliver Kylington, who has been with the team since Juuso Valimaki suffered a high ankle sprain against the Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 23 and Michael Stone’s blood clot was discovered.
“You’re checking (milestones) off the checklist, which is nice, but my goal is to be here every day and be a full-time NHLer, right?” said Mangiapane, who spent Sunday’s game on the fourth line with Derek Ryan and Garnett Hathaway and looks like he’ll be in against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. “That’s my goal coming in. You just have to work hard every day and keep pushing the pace.”
His first NHL point was well-deserved but according to Peters, a greater body of work is needed before evaluating how long Mangiapane stays or if he is sent back to Stockton.
“When you first come up, you’re running on adrenalin,” Peters said. “And then when you come back in the lineup, you’re running on adrenalin and fear of going down (to the AHL). So, let’s see it over time. Let’s see it over 10 games from now, what’s your game like now that the adrenalin has worn off. It’s a process.
“But I think he’s been passing the test.”
It’s definitely been an upand-down roller-coaster.