Calgary Flames news updates: Travis Hamonic, Bill Peters
It’s been a busy week in Calgary Flames news, despite them being in their off-season. Let’s check out some news updates surrounding this team.
Well, of course, the biggest piece of news right now is the hiring of head coach Bill Peters. After the Calgary Flames announced that they let Glen Gulutzan go, along with two assistant coaches, many people have been anticipating Peters as that new coach.
The Flames held a press conference to announce the news on Monday and Peters made some interesting comments. Many people noticed that he had a sense confidence to him when he spoke. The kind of confidence Gulutzan never quite had.
He also made comments about a big emphasis for him will be special teams. He also mentioned how Mark Giordano and Dougie Hamilton are an ‘elite pairing’. FINALLY Dougie is getting the respect he deserves. He also has a ‘demanding without being demeaning’ direction he’s wanting to take.
Related Story: Flames hire Bill Peters as new head coach
Originally from Peters, it’s exciting for him to be returning to his home province and coaching a Canadian team.
Via Calgary Flames:
“For me, there’s 31, possibly going to be 32 teams in the league and only seven teams located in Canada and six original franchises, so when you’re in one of those markets, there’s a different feel and a different buzz. I think as an athlete and as a coach, you appreciate that. You appreciate that energy and passion for the game, so I’m looking forward to that.”
The second piece of news surrounding the Flames this week is defenceman Travis Hamonic nominated for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. Every NHL team submits a player nominated for this award, which is awarded to “the player that best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy contribution in his community.”
As we all know, Hamonic does a lot in the community and has been since his New York Islanders days. He had the D-Partner program which he has continued here in Calgary. Losing his father at a young age, he wanted to help kids going through the same thing and wanted to help with the stigma of young boys showing emotion and thus created the D-Partner program where he brings a kid who has lost one or both of their parents to a home game.
After coming to Calgary, he also started a new initiative called the Northern Project. This season, him and his wife brought five Indigenous families from the northern territories who have never experience an NHL game before and probably would never if not for this opportunity.
Via Calgary Sun:
I hope to win and believe we’ll win Stanley Cups and do a lot of good things on the ice. But at the end of it, when I’m 50 or 60, I think you look back and see what kind of impact you had in the community,” Hamonic said during the season. “People forget stats by that point. Obviously, you want to be remembered as a Stanley Cup champion and we’re working towards that, but I’d rather someone look back and say, ‘He was a good person and tried to do good,’ rather than, ‘He scored 10 goals that year.’“Those things probably mean more to me, and I think that’s just how I was raised.”
Next: Flames Daily - Hamonic's new project
Hamonic is also the 2017 NHL Foundation Award winner. He was up against new teammate Mark Giordano.