Cochrane's Dillon Dubé got caught in the numbers game as he made his best attempt to once again start the season with the Calgary Flames.
With the signing of NHL veteran Tobias Rieder and highly touted Restricted Free-Agent (RFA) Matthew Tkachuk re-signing with the club on Sept. 25 pushing the Flames to the brink of the salary cap, the writing was on the wall for the skilled Cochranite, who will now start the season with the Flames minor league team in the Stockton Heat, mostly due to the fact he doesn't have to clear waivers where each team in the NHL would have a chance to claim him.
He made it tough on the team, tallying the game-winning assist during a 1-0 victory in a rookie showcase game between the Flames and provincial rival Edmonton Oilers on Sept. 7. He followed that up with a stellar performance playing on the Flames top line where he flanked Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau in the team's third preseason game on Sept. 18 against the San Jose Sharks.
The Cochrane kid didn't disappoint in his audition on the top line as he had an assist on Monahan's first period snipe before adding a goal.
Dubé undressed Sharks goaltender Antoine Bibeau with a nice backhand-to-forehand deke that stood up to be the game winning goal in a 6-4 victory.
“I say ‘building my game each game,’ but a lot of it is building my game for my future,” Dubé said after the victory against the Sharks in an interview with Postmedia's Wes Gilbertson. “They have such a great development plan here. They’ve had such good players brought up through their organization, so there’s a lot of trust in the management here and if I play good enough and they think I belong, then I’ll stay here. And if I need some more seasoning in the American League, then so be it. It’s just coming out here and trying to play my best every night and give them what I have.”
While the result is disappointing, Dubé will return to the place where he lit the world on fire. In his 37 games with Stockton, Dubé had 15 goals and 24 assists for 39 points to go along with his NHL totals of one goal, four assists and five points in 25 games with the Flames and will more than likely be one of the first players called up to the Flames when injuries strike.
The Heat will begin their season on Oct. 4 in Denver against the Colorado Eagles while the Flames will also be in Denver to face the Colorado Avalanche the night prior for their season curtain raiser.
