The Visitors' Book, October: Detroit's Bench Remembers the Saddledome
The Saddledome's last season, from the other bench. Calgary-born William Nylander, Blake Coleman's ovation and two ex-Flames on Detroit's staff, on what the building meant.
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26 dispatches
The Saddledome's last season, from the other bench. Calgary-born William Nylander, Blake Coleman's ovation and two ex-Flames on Detroit's staff, on what the building meant.
"Nothing matters. Nobody cares. We're all going to die." Four starts, 127 saves, a pet rabbit named Tito and the goalie theory that made it all the way to the world's largest podcaster, Joe Rogan.
Calgary handed green hard hats to the first 2,004 fans, put the 2004 jerseys back on, let Chris Sutter drop the puck, and beat the team the '04 Flames knocked out in round two.
Anthony Dillett of the Dakota Student on what the C looks like at North Dakota now that Cole Reschny wears it in games that count.
Ryan Huska is in the NHL's hot-seat conversation after the worst start in franchise history, and Elliotte Friedman says Calgary is the team everyone's watching. We separate the firing talk from the numbers, and ask whether a rebuild coach is running out of time.
Four days after the Flames waived him, Connor Zary played his first AHL game since 2023-24, scored off a Dryden Hunt pass and was named first star.
On the night the Flames fell to 0-2 in Vancouver, their farm team finished a weekend sweep at the Saddledome, and a rookie defenceman did a bit of everything.
The Flames brought a "rat" into the province on purpose, then scratched Brennan Othmann for the Saddledome's farewell opener, a 6-1 loss to Seattle.
Flames prospects Carson Carels and Cole Reschny at North Dakota media day: draft night on the farm, captain at 19, and coach Dane Jackson on both.
UND holds its media day today, and the season it opens has a date already circled: North Dakota against Michigan State in Texas on Oct. 31, with four Calgary first-round picks on the ice.
In August the side of Scotia Place that Calgary watches from was still a green box. Five weeks later it is white panel and gold, and the Saddledome spent Saturday night hosting a farewell tour of its own.
North Dakota's players voted a sophomore their captain on Wednesday. Cole Reschny, the Flames' 2025 first-rounder, is the first underclassman to wear the C at UND since Dave Hakstol in 1990-91, and the youngest ever.
Five of the seven most penalized Wranglers are gone, and so are eight of the nine defencemen who played regular minutes. Calgary answered on July 1 by signing three defencemen in an afternoon. Here is who is actually left to do the hard part in 2026-27.
We walked the block again this afternoon. The west and north faces of Scotia Place are being clad in metal panel, the east face is still bare green wrap, and the only side Calgary watches from is the side that hasn't changed.
Thirteen years after he walked from Toronto to Parliament Hill, Fleury spent Sunday morning walking downtown Calgary with the Breaking Free Foundation.
Hockey Canada suspended five players from the 2018 world junior team on Wednesday, including a former Flame. The suspension covers Hockey Canada programs and nothing else, and the organization did not say why the penalties differ.
Putin and Xi, a global pandemic, a war in Ukraine, an NHL suspension, and a Chinese team that plays in Russia. Somehow four men from Calgary ended up in Saint Petersburg. We got nothing back.
Wyttenbach scored twice more as the United States closed the showcase with a 7-2 win over Canada, finishing with eight points in four games. Cole Reschny had the best per-game rate of any Calgary prospect in Windsor.
A day after his box score showed three second-period assists, Cole Reschny tells TSN how Canada erased a 3-0 deficit against Finland: hits, pucks deep, and wearing the other team down. He also opens up about wearing the C for the first time.
Reschny, back in the lineup after Wednesday's scratch, set up all three of Canada's second-period goals in a 5-3 comeback win over Finland, then scored the shootout winner in a bonus post-game session. Sweden rallied from 2-0 down to beat the U.S. 5-2 in the early game.
We walked the block in late July. Steel now wraps the whole bowl at Scotia Place, the Saddledome opens its farewell season October 1, and the same contractor is behind both buildings.
Stockselius broke a third-period tie and added an empty-netter as Sweden beat Canada 5-3 Wednesday. Ethan Wyttenbach's point streak continued in a 3-2 loss to Finland, six points through three games.
Wyttenbach followed a three-assist opener with two goals Monday, five points through two games. USA White beat Sweden 6-4 in the late game, with Jack Hextall picking up a power-play assist.
Five of the Flames' eight prospects in Windsor took the ice Sunday as the World Junior Summer Showcase opened. Carson Carels and two more are still to come this week.
The Chiefs unveiled a $3 billion stadium with a swooping saddle-shaped roof. Calgary's own account had one line for it, in the Saddledome's farewell season.
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