'He's Awesome'

The God of the Sky has officially arrived in the Weegar household.

MacKenzie and his fiancée Maggie can thank heaven, then, for his ability to sleep through the night.

“It's been hectic, for sure,” Weegar laughed of his new puppy, a nine-week-old mini goldendoodle named Zeus. “We got home late after the game on Saturday and I had to take him out right away – at, like, 3 in the morning. Then, we both got some sleep and then as soon as I woke up and was having my coffee, I got absolutely run over.

“Zeus didn't even really know me at that point, but when (older brother) Ziggy climbed up, Zeus followed right behind.

“Mags got him on Friday, so I got to see him for about 15 minutes before we flew out (to Seattle) and then she had to look after him solo for a couple days, but he wasn't too much trouble. He's doing the puppy thing - plenty of eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom. He's awesome. He's been a good little brother to Ziggy and we’re having an absolute blast with him. It's been a little chaotic, but it's been fun.”

In ancient religion, Zeus is the patriarch to all the deities in the Greek pantheon. He’s colloquially known as the God of Thunder, Lightning, Rain and Winds, with an iconic thunderbolt representing his weapon of choice.

Fortunately, the doodle version plays a great deal nicer. And at only a couple of pounds of caramel cuteness, the name… stuck

“It’s cool,” Weegar said. “It’s strong. Powerful. Maybe I can get a tattoo of Zeus somewhere at some point, too. I think initially we were thinking about something with Z-Y at the end like Ziggy, but Maggie came up with this one and I love it.

“How can you not?”

Opening up Instagram and tapping the story of a smiling Weegar (and his morning coffee) being absolutely trampled by a pair of furry companions was a fitting start to the day. 

The Flames earned the right to smile, relax and otherwise enjoy their Sundays after dispatching the Seattle Kraken 6-3 only hours earlier to snap a six-game slide. At 3-7-1, you can’t stress how crucial those two points were, even at this early stage of the campaign. But it was the way the Flames got them that matters most right now.

For days, the team talked about a how strong third period against Dallas the game prior to could springboard them to a better result in their next outing. 

Talk is talk. 

But the Flames went out walked the walk.

“It was huge,” Weegar said of the victory, and how the ‘payoff’ in that tidy performance has helped bolster the mood in the locker-room. You can tell, in the game against Dallas, we didn't get the two points, but there was a feeling in here that we were right there. We did a lot of good things in that game and we built off it in Seattle against a tough opponent, in their arena – which is always buzzing. And, to do it against a Pacific rival, that's important. It was nice coming back with two points. 

“I think we can take a deep breath here now and build off that win.”

Weegar, in particular, is playing some of his best hockey as a Flame recently, with another 24-plus minutes of toil against the Kraken, including 17:37 at 5-on-5. He, too, was coming off an especially strong night against Dallas, recording a third-period goal, an assist, and a career-high eight shots on net to aid in the comeback effort.

It was second straight game the rearguard had a multi-point outing. And with five points (2G, 3A) in his first 11 games overall this season, the 29-year-old is quickly re-establishing himself as a legitimate offensive threat.

“It feels good to be contributing like this,” Weegar said. “Playing big minutes is something every player wants to do. You want to be the one out there shutting down the big guys on the other team. You have to take pride in that and doing it at both ends of the rink. 

“As a D man, when you're shooting the puck lots, you're engaged in the game, you're up in the rush, it means you're not playing a lot of defence, which ultimately means your defensive game is where it needs to be.

“Does that mean it’s perfect? I think there are always things you want to improve on – and based on some of the video we went over today, I know I can still can take it to another level.

“But certainly, when it comes to the offensive side, you want to get pucks to the net and help create some chances. I really take pride in getting quality shots to the net and making the most of that offensive opportunity that I have, especially on the powerplay. 

“You want to contribute. Especially at such an important time like this for our group.”

And when you do, it makes everything in life just that much sweeter.

“Coming back at 3 in the morning was nice this time,” Weegar laughed. “I was so excited to see the puppy, so it was really a four-point game for me.”