'He’s the absolute best': Lomberg, Flames a perfect marriage

CALGARY — Samurai man-buns in warmup, and tarps-off interviews after the game, it’s clear Ryan Lomberg isn’t your garden-variety NHLer.

Partying like a rock star with the Stanley Cup while working out as many as four times a day last summer, the chiselled winger has carved out a reputation as one of the league’s most unique role players.

Mikael Backlund calls the 29-year-old one of the best teammates he’s ever had.

Justin Kirkland said he’s never had more fun playing with anyone in his career.

Madison Kirkland calls him her maid of honour, as that’s what he was when she and Justin married four years ago.

Proving his versatility, Lomberg was the best man too.

It’s a story worth telling, as it demonstrates an endearing charisma that has made him a fan favourite since his return to Calgary.

Flashback to the dog days of the pandemic, when Lomberg and Kirkland were sharing a few year-end drinks in Stockton.

“Lombo asked what I was up to the next day and I said, ‘Funny you ask, because I’m getting married tomorrow,’” recalled Kirkland of a hastily-arranged ceremony with his longtime girlfriend, involving nothing more than a justice of the peace and their dog in a local rose garden.

“He said, ‘can I come?’

“I didn’t think he’d remember, but he texts in the morning.

“We pick him up and he’s wearing a golf shirt and jeans, and he’s got a bouquet of flowers for Madison.”

Hardly a wedding crasher, even if the bride and groom didn’t have him — or anyone else — on their guest list.

“I think the more Kirky and I have talked about it, I think I invited myself to the wedding,” smiled Lomberg, whose initial offer was simply to try helping out in some way.

“When he told his now wife, she was like, ‘why the hell would you invite him,’ type thing? But it ended up working out, because I was like the human tripod — I held up two phones, I had his family watching on Facetime in one hand and her family watching on Facetime in England on the other hand, and everybody was able to kind of be a part of it. So it was cool.

“It's obviously incredible now that we're all together again.”

The Kirklands feel the same way, as do legions of Flames fans and teammates thrilled the energetic 29-year-old is back on their side.

It’s only been a handful of months since Lomberg won the Stanley Cup in Florida and returned to a Flames organization that gave the undrafted University of Maine product a five-year run with Stockton in the AHL.

He’s been a perfect fit, providing constant energy on a fourth line that has been as consistent as any despite a rotating cast of characters by his side.

“Oddly enough, I remember talking to my wife kind of halfway through the year and I called it, I kind of had a feeling that I'd be back,” Lomberg said of his ties with Calgary.

“Ever since I left I’ve always kept tabs and stuff, and with (former Stockton coaches) Cail (MacLean) and (Ryan) Huska behind the bench now, there was a lot of familiarity. They know exactly who I am as a person, as a player, and they thought I could help. And I thought the same way.”

Despite playing less than 10 minutes a night Lomberg has made his presence felt by throwing his five-foot-nine, 184-pound frame around while providing endless positivity on the bench and in the room. A team leader.

He garnered league-wide attention recently when he issued more than half dozen heavy lefts to the jaw of Nathan Bastian, knocking the six-foot-four, 205-pound Jersey winger out of action ever since.

What may surprise many is that he’s not a lefty.

“No, not predominantly, it’s just throughout the years you learn and it’s kind of trial by combat,” said Lomberg, who worked with boxing coaches who taught him to throw with both hands.

“In that situation, it was kind of the only thing available.”

The way Lomberg sees and approaches the game has changed dramatically since he played just 11 NHL games as a Flames callup between 2017 and 2019.

He has no designs to be anything but a fourth-line mucker, who sees himself more as a nuclear deterrent than an aggressor.

While he’ll certainly answer the bell, he’s not out there looking for fights like he might have in his youth.

“You kind of live and learn throughout the years, and adapt as a player and the way the game's going,” said the Toronto-area native who learned plenty in his four years and almost 250 games with the Panthers.

“There's not a lot of guys out there that just fight. So it's more about the situation in the game and the game within the game. That's something I've learned a lot about. Especially when your team's playing well, your guys are up and you have the momentum, that's certainly not the time to do something to give them an opportunity.

“In the past, I would have fought just to fight. But you learn to pick your spots more, and that way it's more impactful and the guys respond better to it.”

That was certainly the case following the Bastian beating, which serves further notice that he’s not a man to be messed with.

“That brought some juice to the team for sure — how much bigger was that other guy?” asked Backlund after the scrap.

“Lombo is one of the best teammates I’ve ever had. He brings it every day, passion, energy… he’s pretty nails.”

The kind of guy who’d do anything for a pal, including standing in as best man/maid of honour/flower boy and videographer.

“He’s the absolute best — you’re happy when you’re around him,” said Kirkland.

“You sit beside him on the bench, he’s constantly talking, constantly chirping. It’s all positive energy, so it’s nice to be reunited with him.”

A perfect marriage, for everyone involved.