'Preparation Is My Confidence'

At 6-foot-6, Kevin Bahl is hard to miss on the ice.

But his height isn’t the only reason he’s standing out.

Bahl - acquired this past summer in a deal with the New Jersey Devils - has settled in brilliantly in his new home in Calgary, and he’s turning his role with the Flames into an opportunity for a breakout NHL season.

Through 11 games, Bahl has four assists (the latest of which came on Friday’s game-winning goal, against his former club no less), but the hulking blueliner also has a +6 rating, all while averaging the most ice-time of his career on a pairing with Rasmus Andersson.

So far, he’s playing - on average - a shade under 21 minutes a night, three-and-a-half minutes more than last season in the Garden State.

The 24-year-old was one of Calgary’s standout performers in Friday’s 3-0 win, and the fact it came against the Devils was that much sweeter.

“Feels good, honestly, beating your old team,” Bahl said Saturday, after his Flames practiced at WinSport. “You get traded away, you’re moving forward, wanting to be better, and coming to this team, beating them.

“It’s fun. I’m having fun.”

Part of the reason he’s having fun: the newfound chemistry with Andersson.

The duo has played 168:31 of 5-on-5 time together - seventh-most among any defensive pair in the NHL - and while skating together, Calgary has outscored its opposition 11-5, while retaining an on-ice save percentage of .946, per Natural Stat Trick.

Andersson’s the rusher - Bahl referred to him as a ‘fourth forward’ Saturday - while Bahl is steady, simple and effective in his own end.

The pairing works, and is getting better as the two gain more familiarity with one another.

“I think it’s been real good, I think I match up really good with him,” said Bahl. “He wants to be more offensive, jump up every time. I’m more of just, you know, ‘get pucks out, stay back.’

I’ll get my chances in the O-zone, maybe I’ll jump up once in a while but I usually get my chances from the point. I think it matches up real well with that.”

Andersson, four years Bahl’s senior and one of Calgary’s ‘core six’ group of leaders, has provided a steadying influence.

But Flames head coach Ryan Huska adds Bahl’s growing confidence comes from the fact he’s being relied upon more, and trusted in critical situations.

“Ras is having a great start to the year, so I think Kevin’s feeling pretty good about his lot in life, getting an opportunity to play with him,” Huska said Saturday. “I think as a new player coming into a team, you want to find out quickly ‘Do these guys really want me? Am I valued?’

“I think where he’s been playing and how we’re using him, the player knows that, he knows how important he is to our team, so I think he’s feeling really good about where he’s sitting.”

For Bahl, the key to his quick acclimatization here in Calgary has been part opportunity, but part preparation as well.

‘Look good, feel good, play good,’ as it were.

“I feel good, I feel confident. I think a lot of it is my preparation,” he said. “Every year’s a learning process, I learned a lot from before, last year. Just bringing what I’ve learned forward, trying to be consistent every day; that’s in my preparation, that’s in my eating, getting in the gym every day, what I do before practice, stuff like that.

“Preparation is my confidence.”

His next homework assignment comes in the form of a Sunday night showdown against the Oilers at the Scotiabank Saddledome (TICKETS).

Bahl got his first taste of the Battle of Alberta in Calgary’s 4-1 win in the Alberta capital Oct. 13, and he’s eager to replicate that result in front of the C of Red.

Just like Friday’s win over New Jersey, Sunday’s test is an easy game to get up for.

To put preparation into practice.

“It’s a war out there,” he said with a wry grin. “A big one for the Battle of Alberta, but also a big two points to try to snag here, for sure.”