'You’ve got to produce': Flames' Connor Zary knows the score on his role

CALGARY — Connor Zary knows the clock is ticking, and he’s ready to rewrite the script.

After bursting onto the scene as an electrifying call-up three seasons ago, the skilled Calgary Flames winger has seen his offensive momentum stall out.

Beset by injuries and a lingering lack of production, the 2020 first-round pick finds himself at a career crossroads. 

And he’s the first one to point it out.

“This is a big season for me,” said the 24-year-old, who has two seasons left on his three-year deal worth $3.7 million annually.

“You want to either build off what you did last year or change the narrative around yourself, and I think it was a bit of a down year for me.

“I think I know who I am as a player, but it's going out there and showing it, and it's doing it and proving it. You’ve got to produce. You’ve got to do it on a night-by-night basis, trying to help the team win and trying to create plays that create scoring chances. That's what I have to do, is prove that to people and prove that to myself, and know I have the ability and the confidence to do that.”

Indeed, things haven’t worked out as well as he or the organization had hoped when they drafted the Saskatoon native 24th overall in 2020, prompting word to leak this summer he was being shopped around by GM Craig Conroy.

There were no takers, setting the stage for Zary to up his stock here.

“I love being here, it's home for me,” said Zary, dispelling any notion he’d rather be elsewhere.

“My brother lives here, and this is the sixth year I've been with this organization. So there's nothing that for any reason I would say I don't want to be here. I think that's totally wrong, and that's never been the narrative.”

He heard the rumours, did his best to distance himself from social media over the summer, and retreated to Saskatoon to surround himself with family, friends and a skating coach.

What he couldn’t ignore, however, was his own performance.

Now that his future revolves around point production, not potential, Zary is the first to admit that last season was a disappointment. With just 12 goals and 25 points in 74 games, he realized he simply wasn't as physically prepared as he thought he was coming off previous ailments.

“I think it was a bit of a down year,” said the former Kamloops Blazers captain, who was drafted as a centre, but used in Calgary as a winger.

“You think you're ready coming off injury, but I think it just had a slow start, and that kind of ate away. Maybe my strength wasn't quite there. But I feel like now I had a really good summer. I know I did the right things, and I want to get right after it from the start.”

With that in mind, Zary altered his summer regimen, changing his diet and leaning heavily into cardio and power skating.

Head coach Ryan Huska acknowledges that unlocking Zary's full potential comes down to execution, pace and capitalizing on golden opportunities — much like Zary did as a rookie when he and Martin Pospisil were early-season call-up sensations on a line with Nazem Kadri.

“He had a little bit of a tough stretch from that point forward with some injuries along the way, but he's a very gifted player,” said Huska. “Our challenge with Connor is to find a way to use a little bit more pace and speed in his game to allow him to be around the puck more because when he has the puck, he makes the right decisions.”

While there has been a chicken/egg debate over the opportunities Zary has been given as a bottom-six regular, Huska plans to open the season with Zary on the second line with Ryan Strome and Yegor Sharangovich.

“I don't think there's a narrative that has to be changed with him,” said Huska. “I feel like we know what he is. We know he's a very good hockey player, and what we would like to see is him get off to a great start. We need that from him as a team, and I think he needs that for himself as well, so he can really, really dig in on that belief that he's a great player and he's someone that can help our team win.”

At the end of the day, the excuses are gone.

Conroy, who drafted Zary, still believes in his raw abilities, and the coaching staff is handing him the offensive reins. 

Now, it’s up to Zary to make good on the opportunity, and prove that his best hockey in a Flames sweater is still ahead of him.