"It's a challenge": Flames' Huska opens up about coaching against McDavid and Draisaitl

Many coaches around the league have had to take on the nearly impossible challenge of containing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and Calgary Flames’ Ryan Huska feels their pain.

The Flames head coach sat down with Dan Rosen and Shawn Roarke on the NHL @TheRink podcast to discuss many things and touched on what it’s like to coach against the Edmonton Oilers dynamic duo. Though Huska hasn’t experienced what it is like to be the head coach going up against them just yet, he got to witness what they are capable of firsthand through his five years as an assistant with the Flames.

“It’s a challenge,” Huska admitted. “They’re two of the best players in the game for a reason. Their skill is exceptional, and the way they play the game with the speed, it makes it a real challenge to devise a game plan to play against them. When you’re on the bench at times, I still watch them skate around in warmup a lot. The talent level these guys have is off the charts, but they’re surrounded by really good players too, so playing against them is a difficult challenge for any team, and it’s one we’re going to make sure we’re prepared for.”

To the surprise of no one, both McDavid and Draisaitl are off to tremendous starts again. Draisaitl is just one point shy of Alex DeBrincat for the league lead with seven through three games, while McDavid has two. Both have an opportunity to expand on those totals tonight as they prepare to face off against the Philadelphia Flyers.

As for Huska, this is his first season as a head coach at the NHL level. The 48-year-old was promoted shortly after the firing of Darryl Sutter and seems to be bringing a more positive energy to the rink in the early going. Through the first three games of his head coaching tenure, he owns a 1-1-1 record but will hope to improve on that tonight as the Flames are going up against the Buffalo Sabres.

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