Q&A: Flames GM Craig Conroy talks captaincy, getting 'swagger' back

PENTICTON, B.C. – Minutes after his team’s Young Stars lineup had finished its morning skate, Craig Conroy allowed his mind to wander when asked about the Flames’ last two first rounders – Sam Honzek and Matthew Coronato - skating on the same line. 

“I think back to when (Sean) Monahan and Johnny (Gaudreau) were in development camp together and scoring goals and how they had instant chemistry and stayed together as linemates for years,” smiled the Flames GM.

“In a perfect world they have that sort of chemistry.”

The world hasn’t been perfect for the Flames of late, prompting summertime front office moves that landed the team a new coach, Ryan Huska, and Conroy as the new GM.

As the team prepares to kick off a fresh new season in the Okanagan with many of its top rookies, we sat down with Conroy to talk one-on-one about some of the most intriguing issues:  

Sportsnet: What can people expect to see from Yegor Sharangovich, who you acquired in the Tyler Toffoli trade?

Craig Conroy: Smart, reliable, very good penalty killer. 

He's got a very good, deceiving shot. Good size, and he skates well, and I think with an opportunity for more ice time and a chance to play with better players than he did in Jersey last year, his upside is high.

I don't think he's been on the power play in the NHL yet, but maybe there's some power play opportunity, depending on what (power play coach) Marc (Savard) is seeing on the ice and how the exhibition games go.

He scored 24 goals in the one year and was very impressive, but last year he didn't get to play a lot.

SN: After missing a season for personal reasons, is Oliver Kylington in Calgary yet and what's reasonable to expect from him this year?

CC: He’s back in town, he's excited to be back and ready to get going with his teammates again. 

The one thing is he's a great skater, so I'm assuming he is in good shape. He just has to get that timing back. He might have had a year and a half off, but the other guys had three months off now and they're all getting back into it too. So this is a perfect time for him to kind of work his way back in. You know, a clean slate. 

SN: What is the plan for AHL MVP goalie Dustin Wolf? 

CC: We know Wolf needs to get NHL games this year, but we have two NHL goalies. 

The one good thing is we want Wolf playing. No matter what, we never just want him to be in a backup position, playing once a week. That doesn't help him. 

He's done everything he can and we have to find ways to get him in the games.

Is there a plan per se? I think everyone's got to sit down and talk about that. 

We have an idea of what we would like to see happen this year, but you just don't know how things are going to play out. It's going to be a competition. He's put himself in a great position – there’s not much more he can do.

SN: What’s the plan for Adam Ruzicka? Is he a fourth line centre, a top six winger?

CC: I think he's going to get chances at both. 

I think people are going to be moving around in these exhibition games, on different units. Ryan’s got a lot of ideas, but he wants to see if there is chemistry between certain players. 

It's going to be a fun camp, because I do think there's a lot of unanswered questions that hopefully as we go through, we start getting those answers.

SN: What has Jarome Iginla’s impact been as a team advisor?

CC: Unbelievable. I mean, first of all, to bring back one of the greatest of all time back to the organization… he just has that aura around him, and he's a Calgary flame again.

When we were in development camp, he's like, ‘I want to go down and talk to (Jaden) Lipinski and Honzek’ and this Hall of Famer is giving them all this advice.

He knows these age groups so well. 

SN: How would you describe the style that this team wants to play moving forward?

CC: You're always changing and adapting as you go along, but we want to be locked down defensively.

Offensively, let the guys be creative. Let them make plays. 

We don't want to be turning the pucks over but these guys nowadays are so good, so creative. We want to play up-tempo too. We want to play fast. We want to transition quickly and get the puck up.

The other thing is, when we get in those tight games, I want this team to get that swagger back. I didn't feel like we had it at times last year. We were in so many tight games, and it felt like maybe we were a little tight during the game. I remember when we were the Comeback Kids and I remember thinking I never was worried.

SN: You’ve made it clear you’ll name a captain soon.

Should it be an obvious decision?

CC: Some teams, they are.

I was in St. Louis and Chris Pronger became captain, but Brett Hull or Al MacInnis could easily have been captain.

In our situation it's not easy because I think we have a bunch of leaders, and people bring different things to the table. 

I'm not in the room every day, so I don't really know what's being said in between periods, pre and post. So, the coaching staff and the players need to give us some input.

In a Canadian market you need a captain and you need it to be the right person. 

That's why we're not going to rush it, we're gonna go to camp and (coach Ryan) Huska is going to bond with that player.

SN: If you do have to trade several of the pending UFAs who indicate they aren’t going to re-sign in Calgary, does that mean you're ‘retooling,’ ‘rebuilding,’ or how would you describe it?

CC: It's a good question, because you're always trying to reinvent the team as you move along in a salary cap.

Where did the young players fit in and grab a hold and be big parts of things this year? 

Those are things we're waiting to see. If one or two really grab it and run with it, and we have to make changes, then you're kind of seeing what's out there, what's available.