Martin Pospisil is doing a little bit of everything for the Calgary Flames

Steven Ellis
Steven Ellis
Martin Pospisil is doing a little bit of everything for the Calgary Flames
Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

The Calgary Flames have undergone plenty of notable changes over the calendar year.

They traded Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin ahead of the trade deadline, and Jacob Markstrom and Andrew Mangiapane before the 2024 NHL Draft.

Andrei Kuzmenko came back the other way in the Lindholm deal, and Anthony Mantha was the only real free agent signing of note during the summer. And yet, here they are – starting hot with a 4-0-0 record, shocking the hockey world after most outlets projected them to come near the bottom of the Pacific Division.

A big reason why? The play of Martin Pospisil.

Through four games, the Slovak forward has one goal and five points points. He’s tied for the team lead in scoring and is a big reason why Jonathan Huberdeau is playing some of the best hockey of his Flames tenure. More on that later.

But Pospisil is doing so while averaging just under 13 minutes a night with no power-play time as a 24-year-old NHL sophomore.

Pospisil’s rise up the NHL ranks was slow. He was a fourth-round pick in 2018, where he was known for his bruiser playstyle with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. He was decent with the puck, but the big draw was how mean he was – Pospisil had 253 penalty minutes. He exploded offensively the following year, and in 2019-20, he made a solid first impression as a middle-six threat with the AHL’s Stockton Heat.

Pospisil spent four years in the AHL before eventually joining the Flames near full-time last year. As the season wore on, it was clear his game was suited for a depth role on Calgary – he was a solid playmaker, was good with the puck and he hit everyone in sight. Pospisil finished with 24 points and 109 penalty minutes in 63 games, helping to ensure his spot on the team for 2024-25.

But his play with Slovakia at both the World Championship and Olympic Qualification tournament really turned heads. He had a point-per-game at both, and was easily Slovakia’s best player at the World Championship, in particular. Ending last year strong and following it up with a big tournament to help the Slovaks advance to the Olympics earlier this summer really helped spark a new light in a young man playing with the most momentum of his pro career.

That confidence has been evident early on. He’s been centering the third line with Mantha and Huberdeau, with their unit being one of Calgary’s best most nights so far. Pospisil has shown his trademark physicality, but he’s also a creative playmaker who has only gotten better the more he gets used to the pace of play in the NHL.

The trio has a solid 54.5 expected goals percentage together this season, putting them in the upper half of the NHL. And, again, while the sample size is small, Huberdeau – who struggled mightily over the past two years despite being the highest-paid player on the team – has a much better Corsi-For percentage at 5-on-5 with Pospisil (54.39) than without (42.86). A big piece of the line’s success has been Mantha, but Pospisil has been Huberdeau’s most effective center linemate since the start of the 2023-24 season. Having Huberdeau find his game again is one of the primary focuses for the Flames this year, and it’s good to see him merging well with Pospisil.

The best part? Pospisil’s four assists have all been at 5-on-5. He’s averaging 5.17 primary assists-per-60, with no player with more than a game played sitting at over 5.00. Again, super small sample size. But being first doesn’t hurt. Pospisil might not play a ton, but he’s getting results, and that’s all you can ask for from a third-liner. His lack of ice time likely won’t make him a long-term fantasy stud. But in banger leagues, you can do so much worse. Right now, he’s producing AND hitting, and seems to be getting better with his linemates with every passing game.

“He’s a sparkplug,” one NHL scout said. “Every team could use someone who lays it on the line each game like he does.”

Pospisil is the type of player teams should always be targeting in the NHL Draft. Pospisil isn’t likely going to be a 60-point player, but he’ll bring so much value in other ways that you can’t measure. And once Calgary starts gunning back into playoff contention, he’ll probably fall a bit deeper. But right now, Pospisil has been so valuable for the Flames as they look to exceed all early expectations.

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