'I Play With An Edge'

At 12:01, he knew he had to start packing.

Fast.

But first, he had to wade through a pile of missed calls, texts and feverish emails congratulating him on this latest career shake-up.

Then – and only then – could he wrap his head around what lies ahead.

“My phone’s blowing up,” Brayden Pachal laughed, (ironically) over the phone shortly after the news broke.

“I can tell it’s going to be a busy day.”

Indeed, it will.

The 24-year-old was claimed off waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights at noon Sunday, bringing the Estevan, Sask. product to Calgary, where he’ll begin a new chapter in his hockey career.

In Pachal, the Flames get a steady, stay-at-home defenceman who has 29 NHL games under his belt, including 17 this year, where he’s been a mainstay – though sparsely deployed – on the Knights roster.

General Manager Craig Conroy loves the addition, saying the 6-foot-2, 202-lb. brute “increases our team’s physicality and will be an asset to our penalty-kill.”

Pachal agrees, adding that the brash, uncompromising style he employs is something Flames fans have to look forward to.

“The biggest thing I like to show off is that I play with an edge and make life difficult on my opponents,” Pachal said. “When I play that way consistently, that’s when I find I’m most effective.

“That’s obviously what I hope to bring to the Flames as well.”

Pachal, though, isn’t taking anything for granted.

The 2023-24 season started off about as well as he could hope, earning a full-time spot in the lineup through the first month of the campaign, before dressing in only one game between Nov. 9 and Dec. 11, and two more since the turn of the calendar. For a young player still trying to cut his teeth at this level, coming in and out of the lineup on a regular basis like that wasn’t easy.

“I think – early in the season, especially – I proved that I could play in this league,” he said. “But it's definitely been an adjustment. I went from playing every game and to being in and out pretty regularly. So, that's what this opportunity means to me. It's a chance to look forward and take advantage of what's given to me, and to earn the trust of my coaches now in Calgary.

“We haven't really delved too much into [opportunity and ice time] yet. “It was a quick call (with Conroy), welcoming me to the organization and he said he was super excited to have me. And it was the same thing on my end.”

In addition to a feisty, right-shot blueliner, the Flames have added a player that oozes character and leadership.

Pachal, undrafted, captained the Prince Albert Raiders in his 20-year-old season, before graduating to the pro ranks where he earned the same distinction with the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights.

“I've always felt that anyone who gets to this level has it in them to be a leader,” Pachal said. “But some of the best leaders are the ones that can bring it out of others, and that's definitely something I've taken pride in my whole career.”

The Flames – who were en route to Boston at the time of the claim – will practice on Monday before facing off with the Bruins Tuesday to begin a four-game road trip.

A whirlwind, yes.

But all adventures are.

“It sounds amazing,” Pachal said of being a Flame. “Being a Canadian kid, you always dream of one day playing in a Canadian market. For me, though, the goal hasn't changed – it's still about trying to make it in this league and really establish myself.

“But for now, it’s about trying to get to Boston.

“I can’t wait to meet my new teammates and get started.”