'NOAH IS AN INCREDIBLE PLAYER'

The sky's the limit.
Noah Hanifin has quietly established himself as one of the best young defenders in the league with his outstanding play and reliability at both ends of the ice.
With 508 games under his belt at just 25, Hanifin has stepped up time and time again at crucial moments this season for the Flames.

Look no further than the last two outings which saw him factor in on all four Flames goals during Saturday's 4-1 win in Seattle, collecting a career high quartet of helpers. And for an encore, well how about a two-point performance during Tuesday's 5-3 comeback win over the Kraken - in which he potted the game-winner with a huge, one-timer slapshot.

"Noah is an incredible player," fellow defenceman Chris Tanev said Wednesday. "A very smart player, who does everything well. He's such a good skater, moves the puck well; definitely an underrated part of his game in the offensive zone is how many pucks he gets to the net. He always shoots for sticks and makes those little plays. I had the great opportunity to play with him last year, he's kept grooving and he's playing great for us right now.
"He does it all and he's helped our team tremendously. He's going to get better for us in the next two weeks and hopefully a lot longer."
The Boston product has enjoyed a career year with 41 points (8G, 33A), surpassing his previous best of 33 during his first season in Calgary back in the 2018-19 campaign.
You can see the swagger in his game but also calmness when the puck is on his stick. Like a wily veteran, he picks his spots perfectly when to attack.
"I feel confident for sure," Hanifin said. "But I think … we have a great team and have had a lot of success. The way our team is built, we all feed off each other in a way. You look at how many guys are having really good seasons for us, so many guys have contributed to the success to the team and individually it has helped me.
"We have great teammates, great coaches to learn from. It's all about the little things in showing up to the rink every day being a good teammate, work hard, enjoy the game and play with confidence. I feel pretty good right now."

Paired alongside Rasmus Andersson, the duo are a big reason why the Flames sit atop the Pacific Division with nine games left to go in the regular season.
Andersson himself is enjoying a career year with 46 points, creating excitement not just in the present for the pairing but for the years to come.
After all, they're only going to get better.
"Ras is great. I think he's another guy that has taken another step for us this year," Hanifin said. "He's an easy guy to play with, a smart player and his fiery competitive nature is an asset for him. It's important for us to have competitive guys like that.
"We have a really good relationship. We've been able to communicate a lot more and build that chemistry off the ice that translates on the ice and helps you find success. Our skating is our strongest asset as a pair. Either one of us when the opportunity is there can jump up in the play and help out.
"That's our team identity, we want to be quick in the defensive zone, be quick below the goal line, break pucks out fast so we can go play in the offensive zone. It's something we've tried to work out and improve on this year. I think we can continue to get better and we have a couple weeks here to really focus on that aspect of the game to get ready for what's next."