Ryan Huska is out of the background, into the spotlight as the Flames' new coach

CALGARY — Flames fans can be forgiven for not knowing much about Ryan Huska until last week.

“You know what? The only time I’ve ever been stopped in Calgary by someone who said, ‘Are you Ryan Huska?’ was from someone I played against in the Canadian Little League final who happens to be here,” smiled the Calgary Flames’ new coach.

“He played for Glace Bay and I was playing for Trail, and he recognized me at Co-Op.”

It speaks to just how under the radar the 47-year-old has flown the last five years as the Flames assistant coach.

Or to how little he shops.

Either way, a visit to his Aspen Woods home in southwest Calgary confirms just how quietly he’s gone about his business in the hockey world since winning three Memorial Cups as a player.

Despite the best efforts of his wife, Denise, he has no photographic evidence of his one NHL game with the Blackhawks.

The only picture of him in NHL action is from an exhibition game with the Hawks that sits in a small frame in the basement, amongst his son’s mini-sticks, and a framed puck of his first win as an AHL coach.

“That’s probably the only thing you’ll see of me from my time with Chicago,” said Huska, a third-round pick of the Hawks who waited three years into his pro career for his one and only NHL spin.

“I don’t have the jersey from the game or anything. 

“I mean, who thinks of grabbing it at the time? I figured it was just the first of many games ahead.”

Video of his five minutes and 50 seconds of big-league fame, dating back to the 1997-98 season, sits stuffed in a box under the stairs, where a VCR tape kept by his father has not been unpacked since his passing in 2014.

“I’m surprised (12-year-old son) Luke hasn’t seen it,” laughed his 20-year-old daughter, Hanna, as 18-year-old Olivia giggles alongside on the family couch.

“It would be a quick watch,” laughs Huska, casting an adoring gaze at his two daughters, home from Queen’s University in plenty of time to celebrate dad’s coaching promotion.      

As one would expect, Huska distinctly remembers the night he was summoned from Indianapolis as a wide-eyed 22-year-old to replace injured Brent Sutter in a lineup featuring Chris Chelios, Gary Suter and Tony Amonte. 

“My first shift I got hit so hard into the stanchion at the end of the bench that I didn’t know if I could get up,” laughed the defensive centre, who played alongside Jim Cummins and Kevin Miller. 

“It was in Chicago Stadium, so I remember the anthem and looking at the crowd a lot, smiling.

“Another thing I thought was kind of cool was being able to play against Jarome (Iginla).”

Yes, as fate would have it, it was against the Flames. 

Iginla and Huska’s relationship goes back to when they billeted together in Kamloops, when the former was a 16-year-old rookie with the Blazers and the latter an 18-year-old alternate captain. They won two Memorial Cups together, and as a recent dinner at the Memorial Cup in Kamloops confirmed, their friendship endures.

“He was always a humble guy who was a good, thoughtful leader on and off the ice who looked after us young guys,” said Iginla, a recently-added Flames consultant, who was surprised to learn Huska has toiled in relative anonymity in Calgary. 

“Now people are going to stop him everywhere.

“He works so hard behind the scenes.

“Teams have to have those guys that don’t get the credit — they call them glue guys and he was a glue guy in Kamloops.”

In his final year with the Blazers, Huska finished just four points behind Iginla, scoring 27 goals and 67 points in 66 games.

While Iginla, Darcy Tucker and Hnat Domenichelli starred on the first line, Huska played against the opposition’s top players on a line with Shane Doan and Tyson Nash.

“All Tyson and I did was shovel it to the right side for Shane, and he would do the rest,” joked Huska, forever humble.

Born in Cranbrook but raised in Trail, B.C., Huska started dating Denise in Grade 10, a relationship that saw him marry his best friend in 2000, just as he played his fifth and final year of pro hockey.

The son of an RCMP officer, Huska made a promise to his parents when he left for junior that if he wasn’t an NHL player by age 25 he’d go back to school.

“I made that deal and I decided I’m going to honour it,” he explained.

“Partly because I had shoulder surgery and wasn’t able to start camp, but also because you come to the realization, ‘This isn’t going to happen for me.’”

He returned to Kelowna, where he spent three years finishing a business degree while working as a financial advisor with RBC Investments.

During that time he accepted an offer to help coach the Kelowna Rockets, and Denise had their first child. 

“The financial world was something I really wanted to get into,” said Huska, 47, who said his passion for investing later led to endless stock chats with Flames deskmate Marty Gélinas.  

“I still love it in my spare time, but once I started coaching I realized I’d rather be behind a bench than behind a desk.”

Five years as a Rockets assistant turned into seven more as the head coach, where a Western Hockey League championship and several other stellar seasons led to a four-year stint as the Flames’ AHL boss.

A keen listener who has learned from teammates, coaches and colleagues throughout his hockey career, the key to his success has always been his ability to communicate — something his daughters playfully roll their eyes at.

“Ya, he has always been very clear on expectations, all the time,” laughed Olivia. 

“He’s hard working, very caring and always puts his family first — that’s his number one thing.”

Luke, who followed in dad’s footsteps by playing in the Canadian Little League Baseball championship, is also a talented hockey player who will attend Edge School in the fall.

Although tough to balance an NHL coaching gig with shuttling three young athletes around town for games and practices, Huska does his best to watch them live or on video every chance he gets.

And throughout their journey he can always be counted on for endless support and, of course, guidance. 

“I think it’s important nowadays,” he said of the communicating he’s known for.

“Players are always at their best when they know exactly where they stand.

“It’s no different for my kids, and no different for me.”