CALGARY – Blake Coleman came to Calgary without cowboy boots.
Five years later, he owned a pair bought specifically for the Stampede, his young daughters were saying “zed” instead of “zee,” and the occasional “kilometres” was slipping into family conversations.
The Texas native may have left the Flames this summer, but Canada clearly isn’t done with him yet.
“Oh man, definitely not comfortable with kilometres - I still don’t know how to convert those,” said Coleman, laughing.
“But I do say ‘eh’ a lot. My family calls me out from time to time.”
Consider that the Calgary souvenir that keeps on giving.
The boots, the Canadian vocabulary, the Christmases spent in Banff, and the Montana property he’s building a couple of hours down the road from his former hockey home are all reminders of just how much the city got under his skin.
“I guess that’s kind of a permanent impression that it left on us,” said Coleman, who returns to Calgary Thursday night for his first game against the Flames since being traded to Minnesota in the off-season.
“I don’t think I ever would have discovered Whitefish if we hadn’t been playing there.”
That’s quite the legacy for a hockey town sometimes accused of being a little too cold, a little too remote and a little too attached to an aging arena.
Even the Saddledome won him over.
“I still remember my first impression when you walked in,” said Coleman.
“You kind of feel like you walked into a junior hockey locker room.”
But five years of memories have a funny way of changing your perspective.
“The more you’re there, the more you almost kind of appreciate it, and find things that you like about it. I think that’s just kind of it - it just felt like home for five years,” he said.
He figures the same goes for the city itself.
Coleman, 34, is still an unabashed Calgary ambassador, raving about the people, the schools, the sunshine and the lifestyle that made it such an easy place to raise a young family.
Six-year-old Charlie and five-year-old Carson spent several of their Christmases in Banff, had many friends, and felt supported by a community and an organization that took care of Coleman and his family in every way possible.
“It kind of checks all the boxes,” said Coleman, whose wife gave birth to Cooper two years ago while he played in Calgary.
“The people are great there.”
Coleman’s connection to Calgary goes beyond family memories. A three-time Good Guy Award winner, he leaves behind a legacy defined by leadership and community impact, matching the value of his 20 and 30-goal seasons.
An elite defensive player who could contribute in virtually every situation, Coleman was the kind of veteran a rebuilding team could hardly afford to lose emotionally, even if moving him made sense on paper.
The trade wasn’t easy, or particularly fruitful for the Flames, but general manager Craig Conroy did right by him, moving Coleman in the summer so his family could settle into Minnesota before the season began.
That mattered.
“Connie” has become a friend, said Coleman, praising a GM who understands that looking after departing veterans matters as much as building the roster.
“I think the way he treats guys and wants to take care of players and help them get to the best situation for them, while trying to help his team, goes a long way,” said Coleman.
He believes that reputation, combined with the momentum surrounding a new arena, will make Calgary increasingly attractive to players over the next five to 10 years.
“Calgary’s got a reputation for, whatever reason, maybe it’s the Dome or the winter, but I feel like the more guys that come out of there, the more guys have good things to say about the organization,” he said.
“Calgary is a good place to go and play. I don't have anything bad to say about Calgary. I loved it there. My family was happy there.”
For now, Coleman is happy in Minnesota, skating on the second line and enjoying life 15 minutes from his brother and family. He’s looking forward to catching up with his remaining Calgary buddies Wednesday night at Jonathan Huberdeau’s house, where he’s volunteered for the important duty of helping with the babies after the wives’ night out.
He’s also been keeping tabs on his former team, watching games when the time difference allows. The Flames’ difficult start hasn’t escaped him, but he knows what comes with the territory when veterans are shipped out and prospects and draft picks come in.
“I’d imagine it’s not a huge surprise,” he said of the Flames’ 2-6 start.
“I think everybody knew there’d be a little bit of pain before it bore some fruit. I would imagine it's just kind of expected that when you have that much turnover, and that many young guys coming in there's going to be some growing pains throughout the process.”
Coleman will always want his old buddies to succeed. And when he comes back Thursday, to what will surely be a rousing ovation, he’ll find a city that helped shape his family, a franchise he helped lead and an arena that somehow grew on a guy who initially thought it resembled junior hockey.
Five years can do that.
They can even teach a Texan to say “eh,” buy cowboy boots, and build his future just down the road.
Just don’t ask him to convert the kilometres.
