Rugged winger Garnet Hathaway checks in for second stint with Flames
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How do you greet a pal you seldom see during the winter months?
A hug?
A handshake?
In the case of Calgary Flames callup Garnet Hathaway, summoned from the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat and arriving at the Saddledome on the same day that his longtime chum Chris Kreider was visiting with the New York Rangers, best to stick with something a bit more subtle or sneaky.
“I went to high school with (Kreider), played on a line with him. His sister is like my little sister. His parents are like my second parents,” Hathaway said. “I saw him standing on the bench quick during our pre-game skate, but you can’t talk much, especially in my situation. You just kind of give a wink or a quick wave.
“But it was great to see him.”
Hathaway spotted a lot of familiar faces upon Saturday’s arrival.
His summer training group in Foxborough, Mass., includes a handful of Rangers regulars — captain Ryan McDonagh, Kreider, fellow forwards Kevin Hayes and Jimmy Vesey and so on.
And, of course, the wrecking-ball right-winger is no stranger at the Saddledome.
The 24-year-old Hathaway made his NHL debut for the Flames just hours after the trade deadline last season and stayed up for the next month, crashing and crunching his way to fan-favourite status and even chucking knuckles with bearded blue-liner Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks.
Although Hathaway was a scratch for Saturday’s late date with Kreider and the Blueshirts, you couldn’t smack the smile off his face as he started his second stint at hockey’s highest level.
“It means everything. I’ve been working my butt off all year, all my life, to get here,” Hathaway said. “I was happy with how I played last year and I think that gave me confidence, and I know I can play in this league. Same as last year, I’m not going to dip my toe in the water.
“I got a few less text messages from my buddies (after the latest callup) but it’s the exact same mentality. You always have to be ready every shift. You have to play your game. You don’t switch. You don’t get called up and switch from an energy guy, like I try to play, to a Johnny. That’s not how it works. You have to keep your identity.”
That identity hasn’t changed much.
Hathaway crashes and bangs now, just like he did with the Brown University Bears and, before then, with the Phillips Academy Big Blue in Andover, Mass.
“He had a tremendous work ethic back then and was a great player back then, and he’s just gotten better,” Kreider said of his high-school linemate. “He’s gritty. He plays hard, finishes his checks, goes to the tight areas. He’s got skill, though. He has a nose for the net and a good head for the game, and you know what you’re getting from him every single night.
“And he’s not an easy player to play against, by any means.”
That’s why he’s back in Calgary.
In 14 appearances for the Flames last winter, Hathaway racked up 50 hits. To put that in perspective, several of his teammates played 60- or 70- or even 80-some games and weren’t credited with that many collisions.
“With this young guy, just knowing him and watching him from last season, I don’t think much will change in his play,” said Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan of Hathaway, who had three goals and a hat-trick of helpers in eight outings at AHL Stockton before Saturday’s recall. “He brings good energy. He brings work ethic. He drags guys into the battle. He does a lot of good things, and I think that won’t change for him. That’s the way he has played down there, that’s the way he’ll play up here and that’s what makes him not only a good callup guy but a guy that when you bring him up here, you can put him in and it gives you some life.
“I think for him, he’s just going to stay the course of how he plays … That’s exactly what we’ll tell him — we don’t want him to change anything.
wgilbertson@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/WesGilbertson
