Kylington to make long-awaited Flames return tonight

The Calgary Flames are expected to get a huge return to their blue line for tonight’s game versus the Columbus Blue Jackets.

According to Swedish outlet SVT Sport, Oliver Kylington will be suiting up for the Flames tonight. The 26-year-old hasn’t appeared in an NHL game since May of 2022 due to struggles with mental health. This summer, he opened up about the battle he was going through that forced him to sit out for the entirety of the 2022-23 season.

“It was mental and psychological problems I suffered from,” Kylington said in Swedish (translated with Google Translate). “I think I’m dealing with the problem like maybe everyone else does, by just sweeping it under the rug and putting the lid on, but for me, it led to mental illness, and I felt very bad about how I handled my problems and almost hit the wall and felt that enough is enough.”

At the time he opened up about his struggles, it was believed that he would be returning for the start of the 2023-24 campaign. However, on the opening day of training camp, the Flames announced he would be unavailable.

Kylington stepped away once again, but unlike staying in Sweden as he did a year ago, he chose to remain in Calgary. On December 1st, he began practicing with his Flames teammates, and just recently wrapped up an AHL conditioning stint with the Calgary Wranglers.

Based on line combinations at morning skate, it appears that Kylington will play on the Flames’ third-pairing alongside Jordan Oesterle. Given how long he has been away from the game, expect to see head coach Ryan Huska limit his minutes as he attempts to ease the Swedish blue liner back into the flow of things.

You might also like:
• Flames bring forward Walker Duehr right back up from the Wranglers