Martin Pospisil is “trending in the right direction.”
As long as that continues, the Calgary Flames are hopeful the sparkplug forward will return to practice early in the new year.
Pospisil has missed the entire season so far due to an undisclosed injury, but Flames general manager Craig Conroy confirmed a report out of Slovakia that there has been positive progress. That’s big news in his home country, too, since the 26-year-old speedster is already named to their Olympic roster.
It’s an encouraging sign that Pospisil once again has a stall in the home locker-room at the Saddledome. When a guy isn’t skating, you won’t spot his gear.
“He should start ramping up soon,” Conroy told Postmedia. “I talked to him (Thursday) and he’s feeling better on the ice. So I’m hoping as we get through into probably January, he’ll be back skating with the team. He said he felt good on the ice. No complications. So I think we’re trending in the right direction. There has been a couple setbacks, so I don’t want to say it 100 per cent, but I’m hoping in January he’s starting to be back with the team and then back playing again.
“Things can change but just talking to him, it sounds like he’s feeling much better.”
Pospisil exited an Oct. 1 exhibition game and while it was initially believed to be no big deal, he landed on injured reserve to start the season and has been out ever since.
The Flames haven’t divulged the exact details of what Pospisil has been dealing with. When he broke into the NHL in 2023, he talked openly about his history of concussions in the minors, so the sentiment among fans and well-wishers has been, ‘Jeez, I hope it’s not a head injury.’
Whatever the nature, the Flames will continue to be cautious and won’t rush his return. Pospisil plays a ferocious style — he racked up 301 hits last season, a new franchise record — and has his fair share of enemies around the league, so he’s not one of those guys who can blend in if he’s not feeling his best.
“He wants to get back playing, and we’d love to have him back sooner than later too,” said Conroy, who signed Pospisil in the summer to a three-year contract extension. “We’ve had a long period with no setbacks. We’ve been taking our time with it and hopefully in early January, he’s back skating with the team. I don’t know when he’d play, but hopefully once he’s up and ready to go and gets cleared, we’ll get him back out there.”
Kirkland determined to capitalize on call-up
Justin Kirkland could hardly wait to share the news.
And he didn’t have to.
Kirkland’s parents had just arrived for a visit Thursday when he received word that he was being called up by the Flames, back to the big leagues after a five-week stint with the AHL’s Wranglers.
“We had just unpacked their truck, had just got into the house, and all of a sudden I got a text from (assistant general manager) Brad Pascall to give him a call,” Kirkland said with a grin. “So getting to tell them, along with my wife, was pretty exciting.
“It’s nice to have family around when you get that sort of news.”
Calgary Flames forward Justin Kirkland battles Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher at Scotiabank Saddledome on Oct. 22, 2025.
The timing of Kirkland’s call-up was doubly fortuitous. With the NHL now in the holiday roster freeze, it’s guaranteed that the 29-year-old will be with the big club through Dec. 28.
Kirkland was set to be scratched for Saturday’s date with the Vegas Golden Knights but should soon enough be tapped for a chance to reclaim his job on the fourth line.
“He’s a good penalty-killer. At this level, he’s a strong guy in the faceoff circle. And he has the bigger body,” said Flames coach Ryan Huska of Kirkland, who is also an ace in the shootout. “So I think he gives us some options, whether we need someone in the middle of the ice or he has the ability to play on the wall.
“So he just does a lot of good things for us. When we asked him to go down, we wanted him to try to get his pace back up again and he has played a lot of games in a short period of time, which has been really good for him and I’m assuming is going to be really good for us.”
During his demotion, Kirkland mixed five goals and two assists in 14 appearances with the farm team.
“It was nice to go down and play a lot of minutes in all sorts of different situations,” he said. “I had a lot of puck touches, which makes a big difference. Hopefully, that can translate up here. If and when I get in, I’ll be ready.
“Getting back up here is exciting and now, it’s just waiting for your opportunity. When that opportunity comes, you try to grab it and run with it.”
Ice chips
The final event at the Saddledome before Christmas is Sunday’s Winter Wranglerfest, with Matvei Gridin, Rory Kerins and the Baby Flames hosting the San Diego Gulls in a holiday-themed affair. The puck drops at 2 p.m. and 2,500 gifts will be tossed into the crowd after the home team scores its first goal of the afternoon.