Latest news with #Huska
Calgary Herald
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Five reasons for Flames fans to watch the IIHF World Championship
Article content Article content My colleague Wes Gilbertson wrote an interesting piece on this topic earlier in the week, and I strongly recommend you read his story for a bit more of a deep dive. Article content But the gist of it was that Honzek may have to play at centre for the Slovakian national team during the world championship. Article content That could be fascinating. Article content After a dazzling training camp, the 20-year-old started the season with the Flames before spending most of 2024-25 with the Wranglers in the AHL. The 2023 first-round draft pick has mostly been used as a left-winger, but the Flames have little depth in the centre of the ice right now, so it could be intriguing to see how he looks. Article content Article content Czechia will be looking to defend the gold medal they won on home ice at last year's IIHF World Championship and Adam Klapka is going to be a big part of that quest. Article content Article content The towering winger has been on the rise over the last year, going from an intriguing AHL prospect to a guy the Flames were playing on their first line down the stretch. He finished the season with six goals and four assists in 31 NHL games, but three of those lamp-lighters and three of those helpers came in the Flames' final eight games. Article content How will his game translate onto the big international ice? We'll see, but it speaks to how much his stock has risen this season that he scored an invite to the team. Article content Dan Vladar is one of three goalies on the Czechia roster, too, providing Flames fans with another reason to tune in as they look to repeat. Article content Article content Look, most fans probably aren't going to tune in to watch games just because a coach happens to be on the bench. We get that. Article content But with Matt Coronato pulling out of the U.S. squad after an MRI last week, we're just going to highlight Huska's involvement and leave it at that. Article content Huska worked wonders on the bench to help the Flames exceed all expectations and stay in the playoff fight right until the end and it's only going to be a good thing for him to be working with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon. Article content
Edmonton Journal
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Flames coach Ryan Huska on invite to world championship: ‘It is such an honour'
Article content 'I walked past Backs at the rink (on Monday) and he was going to go out on the ice for a skate,' Huska said with a chuckle. 'And I said, 'Make sure you don't work too hard. I don't want you too fast…' 'So I'm sure there's going to be a fair bit of that.' There will be more than a fair bit of Flames content at worlds. Backlund and fellow locker-room leader Rasmus Andersson will be representing Sweden, towering right winger Adam Klapka and netminder Dan Vladar will suit up for Czechia while power-forward prospect Sam Honzek will skate for Slovakia. The Canadian contingent includes Huska and workhorse rearguard MacKenzie Weegar, while blue-line blue-chipper Zayne Parekh will audition in two pre-tournament games as a few roster spots are left open for guys who could soon be eliminated from Stanley Cup contention.
National Post
30-04-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Flames coach Ryan Huska on invite to world championship: ‘It is such an honour'
Calgary Flames head coach Ryan Huska stands on the bench during a game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Brent Calver/Postmedia You'd think the coach would be exempt from the chirping. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ARTICLES Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Calgary Flames skipper Ryan Huska will be on Team Canada's staff for the world championship tournament, serving as an assistant to Dean Evason. That means that for the next few weeks, Huska will be game-planning against some of the guys he trusts the most, like Flames captain Mikael Backlund. 'I walked past Backs at the rink (on Monday) and he was going to go out on the ice for a skate,' Huska said with a chuckle. 'And I said, 'Make sure you don't work too hard. I don't want you too fast…' 'So I'm sure there's going to be a fair bit of that.' There will be more than a fair bit of Flames content at worlds. Backlund and fellow locker-room leader Rasmus Andersson will be representing Sweden, towering right winger Adam Klapka and netminder Dan Vladar will suit up for Czechia while power-forward prospect Sam Honzek will skate for Slovakia. The Canadian contingent includes Huska and workhorse rearguard MacKenzie Weegar, while blue-line blue-chipper Zayne Parekh will audition in two pre-tournament games as a few roster spots are left open for guys who could soon be eliminated from Stanley Cup contention. 'I'm excited about it,' Huska said as he packed for the international showdown, which runs May 9-25 in Stockholm, Sweden, and Herning, Denmark. 'Any time you get an opportunity with Hockey Canada, I don't think you can pass it up because it is such an honour to take part in these events and represent your country. ' The rub, of course, is that Huska would rather be busy with a first-round playoff series. The Flames missed by the narrowest of margins, equalling an unlucky record for the most points (96) by a team that failed to score an invite to the spring dance. There's no doubt that Huska, who turns 50 in July and is currently the fifth-youngest bench boss in the NHL, will be wracking his brain for ways to squeeze a bit more out of his squad next season. In fact, that's a huge part of the appeal of this role at worlds. Canada's staff, which formally was announced Wednesday, will include a hat-trick of NHL head coaches — Evason, Huska and Andrew Brunette. Steve McCarthy, one of Evason's usual assistants in Columbus, also is on board. 'W henever you get a chance to take a step back and evaluate and watch and listen to another head coach's way of doing things, I think you can always take little bits of information, whether it's the way they present or the way they think the game tactically or systems-wise,' said Huska, who will be tasked with running Canada's penalty-kill. 'So is there something that I can take or use from them to help make our team better and to help make myself better? And then, you also get an opportunity to work with some of the better players in the NHL that aren't fortunate enough to be playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs right now.
Calgary Herald
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Flames coach Ryan Huska on invite to world championship: ‘It is such an honour'
Article content In fact, that's a huge part of the appeal of this role at worlds. Article content Canada's staff, which formally was announced Wednesday, will include a hat-trick of NHL head coaches — Evason, Huska and Andrew Brunette. Steve McCarthy, one of Evason's usual assistants in Columbus, also is on board. Article content 'Whenever you get a chance to take a step back and evaluate and watch and listen to another head coach's way of doing things, I think you can always take little bits of information, whether it's the way they present or the way they think the game tactically or systems-wise,' said Huska, who will be tasked with running Canada's penalty-kill. 'So is there something that I can take or use from them to help make our team better and to help make myself better? And then, you also get an opportunity to work with some of the better players in the NHL that aren't fortunate enough to be playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs right now. Article content Article content 'You spend basically every day for almost a month with the same group of guys, so you're going to have a lot of conversations. Some of those will be off-the-cuff, where you're just sitting having lunch or having a beer and you start talking hockey. Article content 'Other times, you're going to be right into work mode, when we're trying to help our team win a gold medal. I think you can gain so much by being around other quality people. That's one of the big reasons why I'm looking forward to it.' Article content Of course, it's not just about bringing back knowledge. Article content Article content Huska's previous international assignments have ended with near-misses. During his days with the WHL's Kelowna Rockets, he was twice an assistant coach at the world junior, settling for silver in 2011 and bronze in 2012. Article content 'Expectations, as you know, with Canada are very much to go over and win. And that's what our expectation is to do,' Huska said. 'For us, it's about finding a way to get the team on the same page in short order and get them through the early portion of the tournament to make sure that we're playing our very best as it moves forward.
