Road Trip Journal - Part III

The Flames are embarking on a five-game, cross-continental road trip that sees the club visit Vancouver, the Sunshine State, and Carolina before wrapping up in Nashville Dec. 2. In addition to the goals, the assists, the hits and big saves, CalgaryFlames.com is compiling a Road Trip Journal to give Flames fans a peek behind the curtain into what goes into a National Hockey League road trip.

In Part III, the Flames prepare for their second game of the trip against the Lightning, before skipping across to Fort Lauderdale on U.S. Thanksgiving Thursday.

Tuesday, November 25, 12:45 p.m. - It’s pushing 30 degrees Celsius in Tampa, and practice has been moved up from 1:30 because the Lightning did not skate this morning. By now, most of the team is on the ice, ready for the 45-minute session at Benchmark International Arena. At the bench, Rasmus Andersson spies a member of the media wearing sunglasses in the stands and shares a chuckle with the content team.

Tuesday, November 25, 2:20 p.m. - Practice is complete, media duties are fulfilled, except for Andersson, who joins Ryan Dittrick, Alex Clark and Brendan Parker for a quick on-camera conversation along the boardwalk across the street from the arena. It’s a candid conversation - about Calgary, family, and life in hockey - and it will air in an upcoming episode of The Chase. After the interview is wrapped, we spy Video Coordinator Andrew Doty out for a mid-afternoon jog. He waves, then heads back inside the arena.

Tuesday, November 25, 4:30 p.m. - There’s a great River Walk in downtown Tampa, but there’s enough room to manoeuvre around the joggers, families and odd scooter-rider to make the stroll a pleasant one. In fact, the only real burden is that the area is undergoing a construction boom. There’s a new riverfront hotel under construction along the promenade due to open in two years’ time.

Wednesday, November 26, 10:55 a.m. - The players are preparing for what ends up being a well-attended optional morning skate. In a room across the hallway, the media backdrop is set up for Head Coach Ryan Huska’s availabilities, and it’s also morphing into a production studio for the Sportsnet broadcast. Inside, the traveling media chuckles after hearing about a colleague’s unfortunate tumble while skating outdoors at Tampa’s Winter Village the night before.

Wednesday, November 26, 12:15 p.m. - Practice is complete, but Adam Klapka is in the hallway cooling down on the stationary bike. He drains his beverage, then with the precision and technique of an NBA power forward drains a long range shot into the recycle bin 10 feet away. “Three points,” he says with a grin.

Wednesday, November 26, 6:44 p.m. - At the end of pre-game warmup, Kevin Bahl spies his family at ice level in the corner, and sneaks one of his young children a souvenir puck through the photo hole in the glass.

Wednesday, November 26, 9:55 p.m - Players begin to file out of the arena after a loss to the Lightning. On the arena’s event level, the equipment truck is about half-full; since the team isn’t travelling until the next day, the players’ equipment will hang in the dressing room stalls and dry overnight.

Thursday, November 27, 10:05 a.m. - One by one, the players file aboard Air Flames for the one-hour flight to Fort Lauderdale. The flight crew is busy handing out coffees and breakfast (blueberry pancakes are on the menu this morning), and before we know it, we’re on the ground on the other side of the state, and onto busses to head to practice.

Thursday, November 27, 2:10 p.m. - After a brisk skate, former Panthers Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar and Ryan Lomberg stand in front of the camera to chat about their annual return to South Florida. Huberdeau’s brother and sister have made the trip down for the game, while Lomberg marvels at the new Panthers practice facility. “You should see their room,” he exclaims. “Floor-to-ceiling windows.”

Thursday, November 27, 6:00 p.m. - At the team hotel, Thanksgiving dinner is served. It’s holiday Thursday here in the U.S., and most of the players and staff file into a ballroom for turkey and all the fixings. It wouldn’t be American Thanksgiving without NFL football, either. Dallas and Kansas City are playing on a huge projection screen at one end of the room. Texan Blake Coleman is glued to the action, and all smiles, too, after his Cowboys pull off a 31-28 victory.