'Pretty Cool Feeling'

SAINT PAUL, Minn. - It’s an impressive mark to hit for a defenceman.

Especially when it would more than double your career high in that department.

MacKenzie Weegar has seven goals already in 29 games - tied for third in that department on the Flames - which puts him on a pace to flirt with 20 this season.

Not surprisingly, though, the Flames blueliner isn’t counting his chickens before they hatch.

“I haven’t thought about it,” he said, following the team’s morning skate ahead of tonight’s tilt with the Wild. “I don’t want to get too ahead of myself. But, you know, if I do hit that milestone it would be a pretty cool feeling for sure.

“I mean, even hitting 10 would be pretty good for me,” he added with a smile and chuckle.

Weegar’s previous high for goals in a season was eight, which he recorded with a career-high 44 points as a member of the Panthers in 2021-22, though that came in 80 games.

He reached seven goals one time before in 2019-20 with Florida.

He also has 10 helpers right now, which combined with the goal projection would put him on pace for a high mark of 48 points.

Weegar said he was plenty motivated this season to improve his offensive output after finishing with four tallies last campaign and struggling to find twine early in the campaign.

“I’ve talked about it a few times already this season,” he said. “I think a part of it is last year only having zero goals at this time of the year, it kind of left a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth. I wanted to produce more and I didn’t want it to take that long this year to get my first goal.

“I’ve just been shooting the puck more, I think maybe puck luck as well, you know guys in front of the net, tips. I think just getting my shots through has been the most important thing for me and something I’m trying to focus on the most – getting my shots to the net.”

Head coach Ryan Huska said Weegar has approached the game different this year in the opposing zone and it’s paying dividends.

“He's been good in that area for sure,” he said. “He's got a shot-first mentality this year and I think playing his off side again - and having Ras feed him pucks - he's thinking a lot about shooting. They're going in for him to start the year.”

Weegar agreed with the coach’s assessment.

“I think that off side, even when I played (for the Panthers) – I started on my off side in Florida – it gives me the option to walk off the wall faster and shot the puck or when I was playing with Ras and he’s coming off the wall have the one-timer option. So, two great options to shoot the puck.”

Weegar’s story is part of the larger tale of the team’s rearguards, who have chipped in 18 goals combined so far.

“For the whole D corps, we spoke that we wanted to be threats out there,” said Weegar. “We want the other team to take notes on us and that that we’re going to produce and contribute every single night. That’s what I think a lot of us have done this year so far, we’ve been threats every single game.”

Of course, he hasn’t let his defensive game slip in search of the scoresheet. In fact, he’s still one of the top guys on the team when it comes to blocks and hits, all of which can help transition into offensive chances, he said.

Overall, he’s just getting the job done at both ends of the ice.

But the tallies have sure been welcome for a team looking to score by committee to win games. 

“He's been this way since the beginning of the year,” said Huska. “I think, early in the year ... Maybe not quite as good because we were trying to find pairs and partners that fit together, so he was playing with a few different people along the way.

"Now, he's been consistent with Ras over the last little while and is playing well. You've got some changes coming in because of some injuries that we've had and he's getting bounced around a little bit again - but he's still maintaining that shot mentality even though he's back on his right side.”