'I Don't Take That For Granted'

Count Martin Pospisil in the group of the utterly enamoured.

“It was unreal,” the rookie marvelled of Nazem Kadri’s phenomenal, end-to-end strike in Saturday’s win over the Penguins. “Probably the nicest goal I've ever seen.”

That makes … well, most of us.

Kadri bullied his way through a pair of defenders at his own blueline, showing off the handles and splitting the ill-fated Noel Acciari in two before taking off down the far side.

Kris Letang was No. 91’s next victim, catching the smooth-skater flat-footed with a nice pull to backhand, before burning him again to the outside, cutting across the paint and burying a goal that nearly blew the roof off the old barn.

“Every goal fires you up and gives the team energy,” Pospisil said. But that one? That nice? We could all feel it. There was a little extra.

“He’s a great player and he’s playing so good for us right now. It’s so much fun to watch. I really appreciate that I have the opportunity to not only learn from him, but play (alongside) him every day right now.

“I don’t take that for granted.”

While edge-of-your-seat theatre like that doesn’t happen every day, the items a player can control – leadership, work ethic, skill development and more – make it all possible. 

And with the way Kadri has taken reins this year – and in particular, since Elias Lindholm was traded to the Vancouver Canucks – the winner of Harley N. Hotchkiss Award as the team's MVP has already become fodder for talk radio.

For Pospisil, it’s more than the offensive contributions the Flames are getting so richly nowadays. 

To him, he’s a mentor first.

“He doesn't want to change my style of play,” Pospisil said. “He loves it. He's constantly encouraging me and telling me to keep doing what I'm doing. But really, what I find most (beneficial) is how we communicate during games. It's the small details before faceoffs, what we're going to do in certain situations, whether we win it or we don't.

“And if I do something bad, we sit and discuss it and talk about what we can do better next time.

“He's never been angry with me if I make a mistake. He's always calm and is always trying to help me. It's something I really appreciate and I think (it says a lot) about the kind of person he is.”

As good as Kadri has been this season – 22 goals and 52 points ‘good,’ to challenge Jacob Markstrom as the team’s top performer – it truly has become a symbiotic relationship between the two, along with the shotgun-riding Connor Zary, who could battle for the NHL’s Rookie of the Year title. 

They’re one of only 20 lines in the NHL this year to have an expected-goal share north of 55%, while playing 300-plus minutes together. 

And each player brings something a bit different to the table. 

(Zary, by the way, is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will be replaced on that unit by Andrei Kuzmenko tonight against the Kraken.)

Pospisil plays the role of the meat grinder, the pest, the antagonist that goads the enemy into an unwanted war of words, while delivering bone-crushing hits to not only open up space for his linemates, but supply the whole bench with a spark in times of need. 

If it feels like Pospisil is even more physically engaged these days, you’d be right. 

Since Jan. 1, the 24-year-old leads the NHL with a rate of 21.84 hits per 60 minutes among regular skaters and those who play north of 10 minutes per game on average.

That’s up from the 15.51 he recorded in the first 24 games of the season, from when he made his big-league debut on Nov. 4, through Dec. 31. 

Indeed, many a seat have been taken in these parts.

With another nine to his tally on Saturday – tying his single-game and career-high – he now has 162 hits on the year, with 62 of those coming in 11 dates since the all-star break. 

“I think it makes it a difference,” said Pospisil, who earlier in the season, acknowledged – and even revelled in – the fact that his irritating play style draws the wrath of his opponents. “It's what my team needs and that's what I'm going to keep doing. It's part of my game, my identity. 

“I don't really look at how many I'm getting every game, but at the end of the day, I want to win. 

“And if that's the way I can help our team do that, I'll do it. 

“Every single night.”