As a former captain of Canada’s world junior team, Dillon Dube knows all about the pressure to produce.
What he isn’t familiar with is the weight that comes with being drafted in fantasy hockey pools, where the 22-year-old Flames winger is sure to start getting snapped up.
Elevated to the top line in practice yesterday with Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm, the local product who took massive steps in the playoffs could be poised for a breakout season offensively.
But don’t tell his parents or pals that.
“I have my close buddies and family around me and I know they wouldn’t take me,” laughed the native of nearby Cochrane, Alta., when asked if anyone’s discussed snagging him in their pool. “I think my buddies would take Johnny and Monny – guys who produce consistently.”
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They may want to reconsider given the junior numbers he posted and the run Dube went on in the playoffs where he set a franchise record for scoring the opening goal in three consecutive games.
And he did it all on a third line checking unit that made him, Milan Lucic and Sam Bennett the talk of the team.
Despite his effectiveness as an energy-producing checker who fared well against Jamie Benn’s top line in the playoffs, it’s inevitable the second-round pick from 2016 will soon be elevated to top six minutes.
The only question is when.
The even-keeled star from Canada’s gold-medal winning squad in 2018 knows there’s some runway between now and Thursday’s season-opener. But it bodes well for his chances with the big boys that he was promoted Saturday when the team amalgamated all its opening-night players into one group.
“It’s exciting – it’s an opportunity for sure, but the season hasn’t started yet,” said Dube, who solidified his status as an everyday NHLer last summer with four goals and five points in 10 playoff games.
“I feel ready. Being with those guys in the playoffs and producing the way we did gives you a lot of confidence and feels like you can contribute in that way for sure. We were playing hard-nosed hockey and the puck was going in the back of the net. I think our line in the bubble proved that we can have some offence and add that to my game.”
Scoring 38 goals and 84 points in 53 games his last year in Kelowna, Dube is equipped with the skill, skating ability, work ethic and mindset to fit right in with the big boys.
“We’re going to give him an opportunity there the next couple days but we want him to develop at a pace he’s comfortable with,” said Ward, who started camp with Dube on his usual checking line.
“We love how he’s developed as a two-way player. He played with an awful lot of grit and he’s rounded into an NHL player in lots of ways in a short period of time. He’s a guy we’re looking for to be a key offensive and 200-foot player for us. A guy who is going to be a big part of our core moving forward.”
Is he ready now for top-six time?
“I don’t see why not,” smiled Dube, a left shooting winger the team uses on the right side.
“Everyone shoots for that. I want to be, but you accept what you have. We have such a deep team, so you make the most of that opportunity. That’s the kind of player I’ve been throughout my career – find your way to do your best on the line you’re on, helping that line and those individuals be their best. More pressure doesn’t change what I’ve got to do on the ice.”
But it changes the way poolies, and potentially his pals, draft.
SATURDAY CAMP NOTES:
Brett Ritchie’s six-foot-four, 220-pound frame joined the club today on a PTO, skating in the second group alongside Byron Froese and Buddy Robinson. All three are likely taxi squad players with NHL experience who can jump into the lineup at any time.
“He’s an NHL player that provides us with depth,” said Ward of the 27-year-old Ritchie, who has 271 NHL games to his credit.
“For a big man he’s got great skill. Another right shot player on a team full of lefties. There’s a lot of things we like about the potential fit there. We really like what we saw today.”
Oliver Kylington made his first appearance at camp after being cleared of quarantine duties, but Bennett skated on his own after missing the team’s scrimmage for “precautionary reasons.”
World Junior participants Jakob Pelletier, Connor Zary and Dustin Wolf are in Calgary and awaiting medical clearance to join the group as early as tomorrow. They were told they’d play in Monday’s intra-squad game.
Pelletier’s leadership was on full display after Canada’s gold medal game loss as he was seen skating over to every player to console them.
“It’s just the person I am,” said the Flames first rounder from two years back.
“I just wanted to be there for the boys. It’s hard to lose like that and to see the guys we were with for 51 days cry and be disappointed. To be there for them was one of my goals after the game for sure.”
LINES ON SATURDAY FOR MAIN GROUP
Tkachuk — Lindholm — Dube
Gaudreau — Monahan — Simon
Mangiapane — Backlund — Leivo
Lucic — Ryan — Nordstrom/Rinaldo
Giordano — Andersson
Hanifin — Tanev
Valimaki — Nesterov
Mackey — Stone
Markstrom
Rittich
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