This comparison is a compliment.<\/p>\n
Although Joel Farabee, a couple of years back, might not have interpreted it that way.<\/p>\n
Since arriving at the Saddledome and especially since he has been one of the Flames\u2019 most consistent forwards throughout this season, some have described Farabee as a \u2018Blake Coleman Lite.\u2019<\/p>\n
If you pride yourself on reliable two-way play and providing a mix of sandpaper and secondary scoring pop, that is not a bad name to be mentioned alongside.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so funny because before I got traded to Calgary, Colesy was one of my most disliked guys to play against,\u201d Farabee told Postmedia prior to the Olympic break. \u201cAnd I think it\u2019s just because of how good he is. He\u2019s one of those guys that can play up and down the lineup. He can play power play. He can play penalty kill. He can play on your first line or he can play on your fourth line.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can really do it all and I think I would agree that I try to resemble that, at least to a certain degree. There are obviously differences in our game, but I think we do have similarities and try to play the game a similar way, and that\u2019s hard work first. I\u2019d say neither of us have the elite, elite skill. But we work hard and I think that\u2019s what creates a lot of chances for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
This comparison is, of course, topical because Coleman\u2019s days in Calgary likely are numbered.<\/p>\n
The 34-year-old winger is a prime candidate to be moved during the 12-day sprint between the end of the Olympic roster freeze and the NHL\u2019s trade deadline.<\/p>\n
Coleman has missed the past dozen games due to injury, so the Flames are already getting a glimpse of life without their shutdown-line staple.<\/p>\n
But, perhaps, in the 25-year-old Farabee they already have a guy who can offer many of the same attributes. That is certainly not to suggest they won\u2019t miss Coleman if he\u2019s traded to a contender, simply that they won\u2019t scan the roster and think, \u2018Well, who the heck could do that job?!?\u2019<\/p>\n
It\u2019s worth noting that during Coleman\u2019s injury absence, Farabee has been subbing in his usual spot on Calgary\u2019s first penalty-kill unit. He is now tied for the league lead with four shorties.<\/p>\n
What does the coaching staff like about Farabee?<\/p>\n
\u201cBlake is kind of a guy that does everything for us,\u201d said Flames head coach Ryan Huska, who didn\u2019t protest when asked if this comparison was valid. \u201cOn the ice, he\u2019s an emotional leader. Off the ice, an all-round good guy that people want to be around. And Joel has a lot of those same characteristics.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one thing that stands out about Joel for me is he\u2019s willing and able, I guess I would say, to fulfill any role. Whatever the team needs, it\u2019s \u2018Yep, not problem, I\u2019ll do that,\u2019 whether it\u2019s the fourth-line left wing spot, if he\u2019s the first-line right-winger, if it\u2019s penalty kill or power play. And that\u2019s very much what Blake Coleman is all about.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Joel has grown a lot in his year and a bit since he\u2019s been here and he\u2019s touching the games in a lot of different areas. So it\u2019s a very good comparison.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to forget that Farabee, who turns 26 later this month, is very much in the right age range to be a factor in the Flames\u2019 long-term plans.<\/p>\n
He is actually a few months younger than Martin Pospisil, who is so often lumped with the future wave. He is a Year 2000-born player, just like Kevin Bahl and Adam Klapka.<\/p>\n
Valuable experience<\/p>\n
On top of that, Farabee is already the most experienced of the Flames\u2019 20-somethings. He is on track to play his 500th career game in the opening week of next season and that amount of been-there and done-that is valuable to an organization that is going through a rebuild.<\/p>\n
Remember, too, that Coleman was approaching 30 when he emerged as one of the NHL\u2019s ultimate glue guys. It can take some time to grow into this sort of reputation and role.<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like my numbers this year don\u2019t really tell the whole story. I feel like I\u2019ve been playing really well, in my opinion,\u201d said Farabee, who hit the Olympic break with 12 goals and 23 points and as the only Flames winger to suit up for all 56 games so far in the 2025-26 campaign. \u201cI kind of know, at this point of my career, that I\u2019m not going to be a guy who is going to have 100 points or probably won\u2019t score 30 goals. But I think the role I play and being able to help with the penalty kill and being able to play up and down the lineup, I take a lot of pride in that.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince my time in Philly to now, I think I\u2019ve really come a long way in my defensive game and just being responsible and someone that you can trust in the last minute or two of a game. And that stuff means a lot to me. I take a lot of pride in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sounds a lot like You-Know-Who, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s obviously won the Stanley Cup,\u201d Farabee said of Coleman, who has two championship rings from his time in Tampa. \u201cSo when you see a guy that you play a similar style with and he\u2019s gone on and won it, you definitely look at what he\u2019s doing. He\u2019s such a good pro in the way he takes care of his body and the way he comes into practice every day. And I think for me, at the point in the career that I am, just to see how dialled he is into his away-from-the-rink stuff and the stuff that you guys probably don\u2019t see a lot, it\u2019s really special.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting to play with him, it\u2019s awesome. Just getting to learn from him and talk to him and become his friend and teammate, it\u2019s been really special for me.\u201d<\/p>\n