"I went back to my house for a little bit and got to relax and see my parents and then had dinner with a couple of my high school buddies, so it was really fun," he said.
Blashill said he appreciates the route that Hirose has taken, going from being an undrafted free agent to college star to now playing in the NHL.
"It says a lot about the fact guys get to the mountain top in different ways," Blashill said. "He was an undrafted free agent who went the Tier II route and made it to Michigan State and had a great career at Michigan State. We were excited to sign him with the chance that he could be a skilled-type player in the National Hockey League and over the course of the early part of his career, he's done a good job. I think he's still finding ways this year to be more effective offensively, but it should be a real good night for him for certain, to be able to come back home and play is awesome. Look forward to him hopefully having a great night."
While tonight will be Hirose's first time playing at the Saddledome as an NHL player, he has been there before.
"The whole behind the scenes thing is kind of new," Hirose said. "I definitely went to Flames games, bit Hitman fan growing up, too. Went on the ice a couple times for their skates. I've been around the rink but definitely a lot of new stuff for me."
While he admires Gaudreau now, he had a lot of favorite Flames players growing up.
"Definitely Jarome Iginla, Craig Conroy, those kind of guys looked up to a lot," Hirose said. "Iginla was one of those guys who did everything for the team, was all about the team. I really admired that about him."