CALGARY — When we last saw the Calgary Flames, they carried a jumbo-sized chip on their shoulder to get within one point of a playoff spot.
The players’ fury over being counted out by most prognosticators last fall fuelled the team to a shocking 96-point effort that left them two points back of Cup-winning Florida, and five better than two playoff teams in the East.
A goal in the dying seconds of Minnesota’s last game meant Calgary lost the tiebreaker for the West’s final playoff spot, prompting Flames GM Craig Conroy to return almost the same up-and-coming team that finished 11-3-2 down the stretch.
Optimism in camp will be high.
Still, as MacKenzie Weegar revealed in a long chat, you can expect the ol’ us-against-the-world mentality as a chief motivator come puck drop.
“It’s just one of those things that pisses me off, because I know the kind of team we have, and I want those expectations to be higher,” said Weegar.
“There’s still that ‘no respect’ thing for Calgary.”
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And while you can bet some hockey experts will pick the Flames to continue their growth by ending a three-year playoff drought, the club has yet to move the needle down south, where the average fan will have a hard time finding them featured in higher-profile games.
“I think we can still carry that little edge that we had last year that motivated us, that expectations are still low for this team,” said Weegar, who returned to Calgary Tuesday, following a whirlwind summer that saw him get married several weeks before attending Hockey Canada’s orientation camp.
“I want to be on the national stage representing Calgary, with other cities watching us. That’s the recognition we deserve after a good season, and sometimes we still don’t get it.
“I’m sure there’s going to be some experts out there who see our team improving, which I think we will. And I won’t disagree with those experts.
“But it’s still those little things you notice. We still had 96 points, but lost due to a crappy tiebreaker. If not, we would have been in the playoffs, and maybe we would have got more (respect).
“For me, it’s internal, and it fires me up.”
Motivation won’t be an issue for the 31-year-old, whose three-day Olympic confab with 41 other Canadian hopefuls should serve him well moving forward.
“I don’t know how many times I got goosebumps during the whole camp, it was kind of just one thing to another,” said Weegar, citing a video from the coaches featuring great Canadian sporting moments as a highlight.
“For me, the moment I kind of felt it was surreal was when I was trying on the Lululemon gear. They were like, ‘This jacket is for the opening ceremony, and this jacket is for the podium, and this one is for the closing ceremony,’ and I was just trying all these clothes on and looking in the mirror and saying, ‘Jeez, this is crazy.”
And then there was breakfast with Sidney Crosby and Drew Doughty.
“Before one of the meetings about drug testing, I’m sitting there having a coffee and then Sid sits next to me,” said Weegar, who got to know Crosby a bit while playing at the world championships earlier in the summer.
“Then Doughty sits next to me. I grew up idolizing Doughty. He’s an absolute riot.
“To be in their presence, and sitting down with them, you’re trying to eat your eggs, but you want to listen to everything they’re saying.
“I always remind myself I’m there for a reason too. I’m sure they have respect for me being there too, but for me it just goes so much further for those guys.”
The former 20-goal scorer hopes to use his invite as one of 13 Canadian defencemen as a springboard of sorts.
“I left there so inspired and motivated to make that team that I think it’s going to be a big year for me,” said Weegar, who had 47 points and logged over 24 minutes a night last season while being considered for Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster.
“I feel confident in myself, I feel confident in my training this summer, I feel confident in the group of guys we had last year returning. I think the focus is everybody giving five or 10 per cent extra, and we can certainly make it.
“I want to make that team super bad, and I think if I am the player I am to make that team, I think I’m going to help out the Calgary Flames.”
The Flames will aim to start a tough opening month much the same way they finished last season, coming up big in close, must-win games. Weegar believes it is possible to continue riding the momentum they built.
“I think a lot of us, when we come back to camp, we will feel that same energy we had at the end of last year,” said Weegar.
And that will include having the same burning desire to prove people wrong.
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