He’s made a habit of getting under opponent’s skin.
And Martin Pospisil does it with a smile on his face.
The Slovak bruiser only has 37 games on his NHL resume, but over that span, he’s delivered 117 hits, tying a career single-game best Monday with nine checks - including a lengthy tiff with Rangers sniper Artemi Panarin.
“Especially the top players, it feels great when they get frustrated or they get mad,” Pospisil said Thursday ahead of Calgary’s home contest against San Jose (get tickets). “I have to be hard on them, and don’t give them anything for free.
“It’s how I play.”
Pospisil’s truculence is nuanced, based partly on agitating the opponent, but partly to help generate time and space for linemates Connor Zary and Nazem Kadri.
And his willingness to dole out punishment is a subconscious trait, too.
“I don’t really think about it, it’s part of my game, just trying to do my job, (making) more room for my teammates on the ice,” Pospisil said. “You know, there are some games that are more physical, there are some games (that are) less physical, but still, I try to play my game and use my size.”
For Kadri, watching Pospisil assert himself perhaps hearkens back to a time earlier in his own career.
The Flames centreman surpassed 100 hits during four of his seven full seasons as a Maple Leaf, and sees a bit of that same energy in Pospisil.
“I guess I see some similarities, hopefully he can monitor it a lot better than I did,” Kadri chuckled. “But I think for him, it’s part of his game; he’s a great skater, he’s actually a pretty skilled player as well, I think that’s a little underrated about his attributes.
“He plays physical, and he’s a nice guy to have on my line.”
And it seems as though when Pospisil’s going, the whole squad goes.
On 14 occasions this year, he’s earned four or more hits in a game, and the Flames have points in 10 of those 14 contests.
They’re 11 games over .500 - an overall mark of 22-11-4 - when Pospisil is in the lineup.
For head coach Ryan Huska, that’s not only indicative of a player who’s finding his form at the NHL level, but also of a player that inspires his teammates.
“He’s starting to become what we knew he was from years prior, at this level,” Huska commented Thursday morning. “That’s part of a player feeling like now he fully belongs here, so we’re starting to see him be a little bit more of who he is, and how he has to play the game.
“He’s effective that way, one on that line, you know what he does on that line, the pace that he plays with, but he’s also dragging guys into the game now, which is important for our team.”
In fact, the case could be made that the trio of Pospisil, Kadri and Zary played a big role in kick-starting Calgary’s ascent toward a Western Conference wild-card berth, a goal that remains within reach as the Flames begin a four-game homestand at the Scotiabank Saddledome Thursday.
The more space Pospisil creates, the more creativity the trio can display, and that’s exactly what he feels needs to keep happening on home ice.
“They’re really good, smart players, and they can see the ice really well,” Pospisil said, “I think we have a really good connection between us three.
“We just have to play like that, and bring it to the table every day.”
