One pick-pocketed Erik Karlsson, the other mugged him.
Both Juuso Valimaki and Dillon Dube pegged their recent interaction with one of the game’s biggest stars as a sign they have what it takes to run with the big boys.
Both had that suspicion confirmed Monday when they were rewarded for their play, poise and progression this pre-season with opening night assignments they’ve dreamed of most of their young lives.
Fitting in as part of Brad Treliving’s off-season goal of effecting significant change to his roster, the junior grads were informed they’ll suit up for the Flames Wednesday in Vancouver.
"Obviously it’s exciting – it feels really good," said Valimaki, 19, the Flames first round pick in 2017 who had two goals and three assists in a pre-season in which he got progressively better.
"As the games went on I realized I can play here, and not only play here, but play my game and do the things I’m good at like make plays and keep up with the pace and stuff."
He vividly remembers one play he made against the two-time Norris Trophy winner in San Jose he cited as a pinch-me moment.
"I went into the corner with Karlsson and lifted his stick and took the puck away from him," beamed the Finnish backbone of the Tri-City Americans the last three years.
"It was pretty cool."
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) September 18, 2018
Dube also played it pretty cool with Karlsson when, in the same game, the feisty 20-year-old exchanged extracurricular whacks as part of a puck battle he won’t soon forget.
"I respect him a lot and he’s a top player in the league, but I’m trying to make the league and if I show too much respect it’ll show I’m still really a fan of his and not willing to really give it to him," said Dube, who was essentially the most exciting player in Flames camp from start to finish, scoring four goals and adding two assists.
"That’s the way I play – I play hard and I have to do that. It was funny when I did it. I got a pretty good whack after it, and expected it."
Unlike Valimaki, who was tabbed as a likely addition to the team if he was proficient in camp, no one could have expected Dube to break through his first year as a pro.
Well, anyone outside his family anyway.
"I just really believed I could," said Dube, the former captain of Canada’s gold medal winning junior team, who hails from nearby Cochrane, Ab.
"I had purpose behind everything I did every day this summer. I talked to my parents and I said, ‘even if it’s just us four and my brother who are the only ones who think I can make it that’s good enough for me because if I believe it. I think it can happen.’"
It will happen on the left side of a line with James Neal and Derek Ryan – three Calgary newbies.
Valimaki has been a point-a-game player the last two seasons, which included a stint as Finland’s captain at the world juniors. Battling injuries a good chunk of last season, they clearly didn’t stunt his development as he had a stellar post-season and an equally as impressive camp.
The six-foot-two, 204-pound blue liner will play alongside Michael Stone on the third pairing.
"I think we saw he’s got all the tools and hockey sense to be an NHL player – not just from this camp from last year too," said Stone.
"I’m real comfortable playing with him. When you know somebody on the ice has hockey sense and knows where to be it makes your job a lot easier. I think he’s going to be a real good player."
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Valimaki knows his time proving himself is far from done, as he will be monitored every night moving forward. A lapse in confidence could easily lead to a demotion.
However, so confident in his skillset and abilities, the Flames traded the man he is replacing in the lineup – Brett Kulak — Monday.
Kulak was sent to Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Laval for minor league defencemen Rinat Valiev and Matt Taormina, who went straight to Stockton.
Kulak, who broke through for his first full NHL season last year, had been put on waivers Sunday with Anthony Peluso and Curtis Lazar. All three cleared.
Lazar’s demotion is imminent, making room for Dube and Valimaki to stop changing on chairs on the room’s periphery to proper stalls.
The Flames may now be looking at the possibility of claiming former Flame Curtis McElhinney or Calvin Pickard on waivers to shore up a backup position few have confidence in with David Rittich in the net.
In a pre-season full of positive developments for the Flames, Rittich’s play this fall and in the latter part of last year has many worried Mike Smith will have too heavy a load to carry at age 36.
Jon Gillies and Andrew Mangiapane were held out of practice Monday and are likely Stockton bound despite good camps.
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