Flames getting contributions in several ways from Martin Pospisil
The Calgary Flames haven’t had the best season through 32 games, though one pleasant surprise has been the play of their youth.
Coming into training camp, young players such as Matthew Coronato, Jakob Pelletier, Dustin Wolf, and Connor Zary drew the excitement of many. One player who flew under the radar, however, was Martin Pospisil.
Pospisil was limited to just 20 AHL games in 2022-23 due to a concussion, and failed to generate much interest heading into training camp this fall as a result. To little surprise, he was assigned to the Calgary Wranglers, but quickly earned himself a recall after posting six points in six games.
The 24-year-old made an immediate impact upon being recalled, scoring three goals and five points through his first seven games. Aside from a goal last night versus the Florida Panthers, his offence has fallen off in more recent weeks, but he is still giving the Flames plenty of contributions in other areas.
Given his struggles with head injuries in recent seasons, Pospisil doesn’t seem to be as willing to drop the gloves as he was in the past. That hasn’t impacted his toughness, however, as his 56 hits are one shy of MacKenzie Weegar for the team lead. Keep in mind, he has played in just 20 of the Flames’ 32 games.
Not only do Pospisil’s 13.42 hits per 60 lead the Flames, but they rank 19th among all NHLers who have suited up for 10 or more games this season. His physical approach is a big plus for this Flames team who parted ways with Milan Lucic this offseason and, more recently, Nikita Zadorov.
While Pospisil may never turn into a major offensive contributor at the NHL level, he is quickly showing to both fans and management that he is more than capable of being a bottom-six forward. That in itself is quite impressive for a player who not many thought had a future with the Flames just a short few months ago.
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