'I'm Loving Every Minute'

SEATTLE – Martin Pospisil has been a revelation. 

But as it turns out, another Flames forward – a longtime pal, no less – always knew what he was capable of. 

“It's been a long time,” Adam Ruzicka said of their relationship, which traces back to when the two Slovaks were “11 or 12” years old. “We met (for the) first time back home in our league, and then later with the national team. We were good buddies. 

“He has everything. He has drive, he has great hands. He's a smart hockey player, so anywhere you put him in the lineup, he's going to have an impact. That's a real positive for our team.”

A flattered Pospisil, glancing at the digs inside Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, blushes at the endorsement. 

For the 23-year-old, life in The Show still feels like fantasy. In fact, it was in this very building only two weeks ago when the dream turned to reality and he scored his first-career goal in his first-ever spin on the big stage. Since then, he’s been one of the Flames’ best and most consistent players, recording another two tallies and a pair of helpers to give him five points in seven appearances before this return trip to the Emerald City.

He’s practically a veteran now!

“It feels like yesterday,” Pospisil laughed, recalling the night of his first goal. “It's funny how quickly it goes by, so I’m really trying to (soak) it all in.”

The fact that he’s been reunited at the game’s top level with a good friend offers another reason to smile. 

Had someone told his 12-year-old self that one day the two chums would be sharing the same locker-room in Calgary, Alberta, he would’ve thought they were crazy. 

But even then, more than a decade ago, it was clear both were right on the right path. 

“The first time I met him, we were actually playing against each other,” Pospisil said. “It was a U-12 league. Pretty competitive. 

“He's from Bratislava and I'm from Zvolen, which is only about an hour and a half from each other, so we played against them a lot. I remember when I saw him for the first time, he was already so big. He was such a skilled player, too, so you knew he had the (potential) to be a great player.

“In Slovakia, they start (identifying) players for the national team when you’re pretty young. I think the first camp is in your U-15 season. The first time I played on the national team was U-18, and that’s when I started getting really close with Rosey. We both played on that team and then I was drafted (to the Flames) a year after he was.

“It’s special. I would never have expected that we'd play on the same team in the NHL after all that.

“But we are.

“And it’s pretty cool.”

With all the talk leading up to the season surrounding the likes of Jakob Pelletier and Matt Coronato – and eventually Connor Zary, thanks to his immaculate camp showing – Pospisil was hardly on anyone's radar when it comes to the Flames’ up-and-coming crop.

This is a player that for the past few years has missed more games due to injury than he's dressed for. Worse, a frightening stretch of five concussion-related absences – including a season-ending fight around Christmas last year – was beginning to threaten his playing career. 

And, possibly, much worse. 

Three months after that seemingly harmless bout with Noah Philp, Pospisil was still in a fog, admitting that even being out in the daylight would sometimes trigger headaches, along with the fear that his life would be forever altered. 

A horrifying thought for someone his age.

"But then, one day, it started feeling better,” he smiled, recalling the days when the dark cloud lifted.

Nowadays, Pospisil has taken a more cautious approach to his playing style. Once heralded by former GM Brad Treliving for his abilty to "find trouble in a church," the USHL's 'most-penalized player' from the 2017-18 season is now showing a softer, gentler side. That's not to say his game doesn't have bite - but in picking his spots and not succumbing to urge to mix it up on a nightly basis, the 6-foot-2, 176-lb. speedster has been able to show Flames fans what has always been there:

Finesse.

And, as Flames leading goalscorer Blake Coleman sees it, an ingredient “that we were missing in our lineup.”

"He’s added a lot," the winger added.

To his team, and to the pride of small-town Zvolen.

“It's big back home,” Pospisil said. “There's not that many players in this league from Slovakia right now. There used to be before, but not as much anymore, especially from my hometown. Zvolen is a small city with about only 15,000 people, so every day it feels like big news.

“Everyone is really cheering for me and I get tons of messages from back home every day.

“They're watching. Even if the game starts at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, they're watching. They have to wake up early to go to work and even though they're only getting a few hours of sleep, they're cheering for me.

“It’s so special and means so much to me. I feel really that (support) when I hear that, even though they’re so far away.

“It (pushes) me to be better, too, because every day, I wake up with a smile on my face, excited for a new day in the NHL.

“I’m loving every minute.”