CALGARY – Martin Pospisil has gone from revelation to fixture.
Ditto for Connor Zary.
And because of their shocking success, it’s now official: they’re here to stay.
By virtue of the fact Pospisil cleared waivers earlier in the year and has now played more than 10 games in the show, his waiver status has changed.
If the team attempted to send Pospisil back to the minors he would have to be put on waivers first.
He’s been too impressive for the Flames to risk the possibility of losing like the Flames did last season when first-round draft pick Juuso Valimaki was plucked off waivers by the Arizona Coyotes.
Without injuries to open up spots and cap space, Pospisil’s new waiver status complicates the desire to recall Matt Coronato and others the Flames would like to look at down the road.
A good problem to have, especially since he and Zary have sparked Nazem Kadri on a line Craig Conroy suggested might have been their most effective trio of late.
“That’s a fun line to watch and may be the best line for some of the last handful of games,” said the Flames GM, whose club wrapped up a 2-2 roadie in Denver Saturday where the Colorado Avalanche prevailed 3-1.
A first-round pick who was one of the last cuts in training camp, Zary’s promotion on Nov. 1 seemed inevitable.
But did Conroy envision Pospisil making the jump so quickly and having such early success?
Was there a pre-season plan to call him up this early in the season, or is he as surprised as everyone else that the oft-injured 24-year-old has been this impactful after four years in the minors as a little-known fourth-rounder?
“Did I know he was going to take off like this? Probably not,” said Conroy.
“But I felt like he should be a guy that has a chance to play in the NHL and I wanted to give him the chance to have him take off.”
Like Zary, Pospisil got everyone’s attention early when he scored in his first NHL game.
He has picked up five points while playing a physical style that draws penalties and has seen him lay 28 hits, which is tops amongst all rookies in that category since his promotion on Nov. 4.
“First of all, his skating is great,” said Conroy of the 6-foot-2, 173-pound winger, whose fifth concussion ended his season with the Wranglers last year just after Christmas.
“He’s got a real edge to his game, I think he’s got great hands, he’s good around the net.
“He was good in the minors, but the reason people didn’t know was because he was injured so often.
“When he got healthy, I think he was the third-best shape guy in camp, so it’s exciting.
“He came to camp on a mission.”
Pospisil said Friday in Dallas he was unaware that his waiver status had changed but knows the urgency is there to continue proving he deserves second-line status and the power play time he’s earned.
“I remember when (Flames scout) Jim Cummins first told me about him — he loved him in the USHL,” said Conroy of the lad who racked up 253 penalty minutes in 49 games his first year in the junior loop.
“Even Darryl (Sutter) liked him last year, but again, the injuries just set him back.
“Now we see what he can do and it’s amazing.
“It’s fun to watch and he deserves it because of what he’s battled through.”
Zary’s three goals and nine points in 11 outings include an eye-popping saucer pass to set up Mikael Backlund in Friday’s comeback win in Texas.
“When I sent them down at the end of camp I said, ‘It’s not forever,’” said Conroy.
“They both pretty much said they’d go down and show everyone.”
And that’s exactly what they continue to do.
Their arrival has coincided with the team’s 5-3-2 turnaround after losing six in a row.
Saturday’s loss saw both rookies held off the scoresheet despite getting ample time on all four power plays, which was blanked for the ninth time in ten games — a span that has seen the unit team go a troubling one-for-29.
Not good enough, which may mean changes are coming.
Like everyone else, they’ll have to continue proving they deserve the sort of prime opportunities that have included Zary participating in the shootout and Pospisil being trusted in overtime.
The two sit amongst team leaders in plus/minus and have helped Kadri up his production after a slow start.
“I actually thought he was playing hard right from the beginning, but the points weren’t coming,” said Conroy of Kadri.
“But since he’s been with Zary and Posps I feel like he’s taken it to another level.
“He’s kind of showing them the right way, which he enjoys.
“And I know he likes playing with those young guys.”
Looks like he’ll get the chance to continue doing it for the foreseeable future.
