Justin Kirkland's journey from nightmarish accident to Calgary Flames dream

CALGARY – Justin Kirkland’s recollection of the worst day of his life is still fuzzy.

“I just kind of woke up in the back of an ambulance, trying to figure out, ‘what’s going on?’” said the Flames forward of a horrific January 2023 afternoon. 

“Then I wake up in a hospital, my wife is by my side, she’s crying and I’m pretty in and out of it, so unsure what is going on.

“I just remember Dallas Eakins was there. He was the head coach of the Ducks at the time. He was sitting with my wife, making sure she had company and she didn’t feel alone.”

Kirkland was on his way to the Honda Center in Anaheim to play his eighth NHL game, a full eight years after being drafted by Nashville.

At long last he was living his dream, until his truck side-wiped an SUV, careened across several lanes of the northbound 5 freeway and crashed into the centre median.

He was lucky to be alive.

“Some pretty severe head trauma and some facial fractures, and stuff like that, that required surgery,” said Kirkland Tuesday, reflecting on the damage.

“Mentally was probably the toughest part. The head and the wounds heal. But it was trying to figure out how to go about moving forward from that, it definitely took me a while.”

Three months of endless appointments, assessments, rehab and concern had him bouncing between when he might be able to return to the game he loves, to whether he’ll ever play again. 

“As we progressed through it, I think hockey kind of started to kind of go on the back burner, and I started to look at really what's important in life,” he said.

“And I think it kind of gave me a little bit of a new perspective that hockey's not the be-all, end-all. It's family and friends and stuff like that, and going through the process and having the support that I did, it kind of helped me balance between hockey and family.

“Hockey was always, always on the forefront. This is what I want to do and what I have to do. And that kind of forced me to take a step back and sort of look at the big picture of things.”

His decision to return to the game late that season saw him promptly waived and demoted by the Ducks.

“It was a long road, and when I came back at the end of the year I don't think I was quite ready,” said Kirkland, who has played more than 400 games in the AHL chasing his NHL dream. 

“But I was on a one-year contract, and my health was a bit of a concern. So my thought was, ‘Let's try to get through these last few games and prove to Anaheim, and also the rest of the league, that my health is not a concern and I'm okay to play.’ 

“It was a crazy year, something you look back on and very, very happy and proud to be on the other side of it.”

Given the path he’s taken to get to this, his third call-up to the NHL, it’s easy to understand the flood of emotions that washed over him, and all those close to him, when he scored his first NHL goal Sunday in Edmonton.

A big one too.

“My wife's so supportive. I get back from Edmonton at midnight and she's on the front steps of the street dancing in her pyjamas, smiling,” beamed the 28-year-old Winnipeg native.

“I have these amazing people in my life, helping out so much, so to be able to share with her and come home that night, have a little celebration when I got home. It was very special.”

The last two lads who scored their first NHL goal more than 10 years after being drafted are both goalies, Linus Ullmark and Tristan Jarry.

No wonder he still has over 150 texts of support to respond to.

“It was overwhelming, it was crazy, it seemed everyone that I've ever crossed paths was reaching out, and the support was amazing to see,” said Kirkland, who put his phone on Do Not Disturb Monday so he could relish the moment with his wife.

“I’m just trying to enjoy all of this and take it all in.

I’ve had so many emotions, I haven't stopped smiling in 48 hours.”

He said seeing his goal on the highlights still gives him “goosebumps and chills,” as did receiving support from the man who sat next to him and his wife in the hospital that horrible day.

“He was one of the first guys who texted me when I got called up, and the first guy to text when I scored,” said Kirkland of Eakins, who is coaching in Germany. 

“He’s a classy man and I’m lucky to have crossed paths with him.”

Kirkland’s story of perseverance has resonated in Calgary, where the fans’ connection to a team pegged as a bottom-feeder has grown through a shocking 4-0 start.

Kirkland was summoned from the farm last week after a Kevin Rooney injury and the recent loss of Cole Schwindt on waivers.

Once Rooney is cleared to play, the team will have more tough roster decisions on their hands.

Kirkland’s storybook promotion saw him front and centre again on Tuesday when he picked up his first NHL assist and made two painful blocks in the final minute he said, “felt good.”

“Any way I can help the team win that’s what I want to do - I’m just riding the wave,” said Kirkland, thrilled to join his new big-league buds in the mountains Wednesday for team building. “I want to take all the emotions and everything, and let it ride, and enjoy each day. I don’t know what’s coming the next day, so enjoy it while I can.”