Tyler Pitlick eager to make Flames debut as team hits the road for five games
Tyler Pitlick is entering his sixth full-time season in the NHL and it willl be his first with the Calgary Flames.
Pitlick was signed as a free agent in the off-season and was expected to add some speed and physical play to the lineup.
But Pitlick has had to wait to make his regular season debut with the Flames. He was injured in the pre-season and just rejoined the team for practice this week.
The 29-year-old says he is good to go and will likely play his first game with the Flames on Thursday night in Detroit.
"I feel good. The only way you can really be ready is to do it so get in there and play and I'll be fine."
NOT EASY WATCHING
The Flames will be Pitlick's fifth NHL team. Previously he played with the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers and Arizona Coyotes.
He says it's been tough watching the games from the sidelines while rehabbing his injury.
"It's not easy being away from the guys and just not being around them and getting to know the guys and getting a feel for everyone," Pitlick said.
"I've tried to be around as much as I can. It's been tough because you're kind of on your own page.
“You're in early before the guys and then you're out but it will be good for me to get out on the road.
SUITS HIS STYLE
In 286 NHL games, Pitlick has scored 47 goals and added 37 assists. When the Flames practiced on Tuesday, he was skating on a line with Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman.
The 6'2’ (188 centimetre) 210 pound (91 kilogram) forward believes he will fit into the Flames’ style perfectly.
"The team works hard and I think I'm going to fit in here because that's what I do,” he said. "I work hard and play physical. I'm going to create energy and help the guys get going.”
MATCHING COLEMAN
Coleman set the bar for scoring early in his Flames debut. He beat John Gibson just three shifts into Monday night’s game.
Pitlick says he's not sure if he can match that.
"We'll see. Yeah that's tough to beat but we'll see," he said with a laugh.
GAWDIN ON WAIVERS
One other note from the Flames - they put forward Glenn Gawdin on waivers to make room for Pitlick. If he's not picked up by another team it's likely he'll be headed for Stockton of the American Hockey League.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.