The Western Hockey League’s Victoria Royals only road-trip to his hometown once each season, so family and friends of Calgary-raised Matthew Phillips have had Friday’s date circled for a long while.
“My cheering section might fill up half the rink,” Phillips quipped.
If he achieves his long-term goal of cracking the Calgary Flames’ lineup, his fan club at the Saddledome will be twice that size.
The Flames hollered Phillips name in the late stages of the 2016 NHL Draft and although you don’t find sure-things in the sixth round, the five-foot-seven — “maybe five-foot-seven-and-a-half” — forward prospect has the type of skill-set and offensive instincts that are worth a shot in today’s NHL.