'ALWAYS BELIEVED IN MYSELF'

WINNIPEG - Their formative years happened worlds apart.
One, a Calgarian.
The other, a Swede.
Their paths crossed only once - a decade ago at the 2013 U18's, before facing off, now, at the game's top level.
Back then, there were scant similarities. You'd never guess that in the modern-day season, a 26-year-old Flame and 27-year-old Jet would be scaling the charts like this. Today, they're not only the best their respective teams have to offer ...
They're legitimately two of the NHL's elite garnering serious all-star, if not Norris consideration.

"I think they're similar-type players, too," Head Coach Darryl Sutter said of Flames workhorse Rasmus Andersson and Jets revelation Josh Morrissey. "They're both really well-rounded guys and play a similar game. You see them up in the rush a lot. If you look at the numbers and all that, they're powerplay guys, penalty-kill guys, they're even-strength guys. They're guys that are good character players. You can tell.
"I talked to the players about that this morning, about Winnipeg's defence and our defence. We have 19 goals from our defence and that's significant for our team; for a team that's not looked on as a high-scoring team because of the forwards that we lost. For our defence to be at that number, we're trying to be as involved in the play as Winnipeg's defence is."
Morrissey has accounted for six of Winnipeg's 18 goals from the blueline, so it's clear the type of impact both are having, not only in their own end, but offensively as well.
Andersson, meanwhile, has been a pillar on Calgary's backend this year, averaging nearly 25 minutes (and counting) per game in ice time. He's eclipsed that mark five times in the past 10 games, including a career-best 31:30 on Dec. 12 against the Montreal Canadiens.
He currently ranks 12th in average workload, but only four rearguards - Drew Doughty, Erik Karlsson, Cale Makar and Adam Fox - have chewed more than his 945:54 this season.
His five goals and 27 points have him on pace to exceed his previous high-water mark of 50 (4G, 46A - set last year), he's the quarterback of the Flames' No.-1 powerplay unit, regularly plays against the opponents' best, and is the ultimate competitor that wills his team into the fight.

In the crush of an 82-game grind - and especially in the 'team first' era - players might not have the chance to reflect on what they've accomplished.
But as we approach the halfway mark of the season… has he?
"Yes and no," Andersson chuckled. "In the NHL, it's a new game every night, so you have to go out and play your game, trust yourself and play with a lot of confidence, which I think I'm doing. It's one of those things where I've always believed in myself. And I always will. You just keep playing with the confidence, stick to the things you're good at, and you'll be fine."
There are some defencemen, like Morrissey, Karlsson, or the NHL's reigning Norris champ, Makar, who have better numbers offensively. And, certainly, Andersson has a ways yet before he's officially in the strata of, say, the latter.
But both the Flames and Jets have invested heavily in these two players. Morrissey was a first-round pick; Andersson, a second. If you're going to compete in this league, drafting and developing your own talent is an essential part of the process.
So, it's no surprise that both teams have entered the contender phase at a time when two players - at one of the most crucial positions on the roster - have taken such massive steps forward.
"We started playing together a few years ago," said Andersson's D partner, Noah Hanifin. "We were a little bit younger of a pair, but I think we've just gotten a lot more comfortable playing against those top players and playing those minutes. That takes time and experience. Obviously, Ras is a real easy guy to play with. He's so smart and can play at both ends of the ice. it's good to see the development between us and hopefully we can continue to get better as the year goes along."
They've certainly turned heads here.
Now, it's only a matter of time before the rest of the league takes notice, too.
"It's good to see Razzy play well this year," said Dillon Dube, who has a long bond with both Andersson and Morrissey. "He's been awesome. Just growing every single year and getting better and better."
Dube has been a teammate of Andersson's since the 2017-18 season as a member of the Stockton Heat. Morrissey, meanwhile, played briefly on the winer's 2014-15 WHL championship-winning Kelowna Rockets.
"He was great," Dube said of the Jets blueliner. "He was injured most of the time he was there when we went to the Memorial Cup, but once he got back healthy and got back in the lineup, I think our team completely changed. He was a game-breaker for us and once we traded for him, we needed that to get to the Memorial Cup.
"It was pretty special to watch him on the ice and see what he could do. He was a pretty impressive player at 19 in the WHL."
In all, Morrissey played only 20 regular-season and 13 playoff games with the Rockets, but Dube - certainly - knows talent when he sees it. And to think, only eight years later, the Winnipeg stalwart is now playing at such a high level that he's in the conversation for such a prestigious award.
Andersson, too.
Best of all, we're not even at the halfway point of the season - and, still, their numbers continue to trend upward.
Neither, never satisfied.

"Me, personally, I try to analyze every game that I've played," explained Andersson, who has seven points (1G, 6A) in his last seven outings. "I look back, especially the last game that I've played at the things I did well, and the things I can do better. It's all about wanting to be a better player the next time you step on the ice - and if all your energy and focus goes into that every day, you'll be fine. You've just got to trust yourself and play your game and trust that you're good enough.
"I've said it from Day 1, my body feels good. It's obviously a lot of minutes, but my body feels good and I feel like I'm handling the minutes well, too. It's not just that I'm playing those minutes. You have to handle them well and give your best to the team. You've got to have a lot of confidence to play those kinds of minutes, and right now, that's where I'm at. I feel good, my body feels good, my head feels good.
"It's fun to play a lot like this."
Speaking of … it sure does make for a marquee matchup tonight in downtown Winnipeg.
"Absolutely," Hanifin said of the challenge, and relishing the 'game within the game.' "You're always in competition against the guy across from you. You've got to try and out-play their top players, and obviously Morrissey is one of their top players. He's a great defenceman and I think anytime we're on the ice, you want to out-play their D core.
"That's a job for all of us back here and something we try to do every night."