Say What - 'He Wants To Shoot It'

Andrei Kuzmenko on joining the Flames:

"A new year, a new team for me. It’s a very interesting experience, exciting this experience, I like it, a new page for me."

On how he celebrated his birthday Sunday:

"Meeting the new team, it’s a good celebration!"

Jakob Pelletier on being healthy and recalled:

"Feels good, it was a long four months. It’s good to play games the past few weeks, and now good to be here."

On making recent appearances with the Wranglers:

"The first game, you’re trying to get the game shape back. But to get the reps in, feel the puck, play games, get hit also; it felt good, and it’s good to be here."

Kevin Rooney on being recalled by the Flames:

"It’s definitely rewarding, when they pulled us in after the game Saturday night in Ontario, it was tough not to get emotional. It’s a privilege to play in this league, I was fortunate to do it for four or five seasons there in a row. It really makes you think how hard it is, really grateful to be back, just want to make the best of my opportunity now."

On what he can bring to the team:

"We’ve got to get some more speed up the middle of the ice, from what I’ve heard, so I think I really fit that well. I’m a good skater, I feel like that’s part of my game I didn’t really lose when I was hurt, we were able to skate all the time. I felt good when I was playing with the Wranglers as far as my skating, and then if I can chip in on the penalty kill I’ll do that as well."

Brayden Pachal on meeting up with the team in Boston:

"Red-eye flight last night, got in early this morning, fortunate enough to get a skate in before the game tomorrow; it was nice to get the legs back into it."

On meeting his new Flames teammates:

"It’s a little weird, I played against a lot of these guys in the American League so there’s a little bit of familiarity there. I’m not sure how much they like me, but hopefully I can change their opinion of me in the coming weeks here."

Mikael Backlund on getting back to work:

"It was a good break, but excited to get back at it now, finish the season, and have a good push in the second half."

On what he saw from Kuzmenko:

"He looked really shifty, good speed, a really skilled player. I remember playing against him, he just has that special skill, it’ll be exciting to see him especially tomorrow in a game."

MacKenzie Weegar on having new faces at practice:

"Lots of energy, it’s going to be a big stretch for us. There’s guys getting different opportunities and guys need to step up in some situations, but it was nice to see those young guys get called up and have some new faces there; they seem like great guys, the new guys."

On how Kuzmenko could fit in offensively:

"His shot was definitely effective. He wants to shoot it, he wants the puck, and Huby’s a disher and you know Sharky wants to shoot. I think it’s going to be a great line if they find each other, and you know, they have that juice."

Rasmus Andersson on getting back to work after the break:

"A few new faces, but some of us were on the ice yesterday in Calgary before we took off. It feels good to see everyone back, hear some stories about their vacation."

On his initial impressions of Kuzmenko:

"Excited to see Kuzmenko here, he looked really sharp today in practice. Excited to see him in a red jersey, he’s one of those players you remember playing against last year for sure, he had a really good last season, so we’ll try and get him going here."

Ryan Huska on the first practice after the All-Star Break:

"I thought it was a good skate, they’ve been off the ice for a while and so you expect the execution to be a little bit off, but I thought for the most part, it was a pretty good hour on the ice."

On what Kuzmenko brings to the team:

"Like anybody else, he has to contribute to our team game. Like, he’s going to be a guy that we’re going to use on the powerplay, he has an offensive skill set that we want to take advantage of, and he’s going to be put in situations where he can help us generate some offence. Having said that, it’s important that the messaging to all of our players, Kuzy included, is that there’s gotta be a lot of pride in taking care of what we’re giving up, so that’s an important thing for him and his line mates too."

On the addition of Pachal:

"We have some depth now on the back end. He’s a guy that we feel gives us a little bit of edge, or physicality to our back end, but he’s also someone that’s been around a program that’s had some success over the last little while."