Connor Zary’s stellar NHL debut represents a major culture change for the Calgary Flames
It’s the dawn of a new era in Calgary. Gone are the days of the Flames’ best prospects marinating endlessly in the minors, waiting to get a shot and play for a coach who favors veterans. Connor Zary was the latest Flames youngster to get his first look in the NHL this week and made it count, scoring on his first shot.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli discussed Zary’s memorable debut and why it represents a significant culture shift in Calgary.
TYLER YAREMCHUK: A hell of a debut from Connor Zary in Calgary. Slides into the lineup, scores a goal, a garbage goal, getting his nose dirty in the blue paint, racks up six shots, and perhaps the most notable thing for me Frank, that really shows the difference in (coach) Ryan Huska compared to Darryl Sutter: They’re down a goal late, Connor Zary is sliding out onto the ice and getting meaningful shifts over some key veteran players late in that hockey game. The flames ultimately lose 4-3, but after the game a lot of their players seemed to be pulling a lot of positives from that performance. No one wants to sit here when you’re in a slump like Calgary and take moral victories, but with Zary coming up and having the impact that he did and getting the minutes that he did, I think Flames fans can feel encouraged with what they saw on Wednesday night.
FRANK SERAVALLI: Yeah, you’re searching for some positives if you’re a Flames fan today, saying, ‘How can we take something from this start?’ And I think maybe one of the bright spots for this Calgary team so far has been (GM) Craig Conroy and Ryan Huska, who were preaching in the summer, especially with someone like Matthew Phillips or some of the other younger players that they had, this year is going to be different. “We have opportunity, you can come in here and win a job”.
And so for Zary, a talented kid who was a first-round pick, who has really put in the work, to see him get a goal on his first shot in the NHL, Matthew Coronato gets his crack in the lineup so far this season, they’ve brought up and used some different young guys. Jakob Pelletier, hurt to start the year and that’s been unfortunate, but it’s such a different feel and vibe around this Calgary team, and rightfully [so], they should have an opportunity to crack the lineup and make a difference. The guys that have been ahead of them haven’t been making it happen this season so far. So you have a game like that against Dallas on a night where Jake Oettinger’s excellent, why not try and throw something a little different out there and try to find a way to get the rest of the team going? I like what we’re seeing from an opportunity perspective and I really like Connor Zary’s game and I think he can be an impact guy moving forward after really taking the time to develop correctly.
YAREMCHUK: Connor Zary was a first-round pick back in 2020, 24th overall. And him, Coronato, Pelletier, a little bit of youth getting shot into this Flames organization. It’s definitely not a bad thing.
You can watch the full episode here…