When Cochrane hockey phenom Dillon Dubé heard the news that his dream of making the National Hockey League (NHL) with his hometown Calgary Flames will come true for their season opener on Oct. 3, he was ecstatic. “It’s special, but I can’t get caught up in it too much,” Dubé said after the news was made official. “I think for myself right now, a long part of the start of the season is going to be a tryout for me still and I really want to earn my spot to be an NHLer night-in and night-out. I really have to earn that. “A lot of guys in the locker-room have already accomplished that. Pretty much every single guy but me and (Flames rookie) Juuso (Valimaki).” "I just really believed I could (make the team). I had purpose behind everything I did every day this summer. I talked to my parents and I said, ‘even if it’s just us four and my brother who are the only ones who think I can make it that’s good enough for me because if I believe it. I think it can happen. I prepared for this moment for a long time to be here, and I think that helped me out a lot.’" The 20-year-old speedy forward earned his way onto the roster after he racked up four goals and two assists in the preseason. Dube will line up on Calgary's third line with NHL veterans Derek Ryan and James Neal, who have a combined 856 games played and 564 points between them when they faced the Vancouver Canucks last night in a game that didn't go Calgary's way. Despite preseason match-ups in Calgary's favour, the Canucks doused the Flames 5-2 on the West Coast. Dubé managed to add two of the Flames' 35 shots on net during the contest that saw Calgary out shoot the competition by 12. Dubé , who was taken in the second round (56th overall) by the Flames in 2016, spent last season playing junior hockey with the Western Hockey League's (WHL) Kelowna Rockets and has had a stellar career with the club. The Cochrane native, who was presented with the Rockets President’s Choice Award to recognize outstanding and significant accomplishments at their awards banquet in March, played in 203 WHL games, amassing 101 goals and 131 assists for 232 points. Those stats included the 38 goals and 84 points he posted in 38 games last year with the Rockets. He also helped guide Kelowna to become league champions after winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2015. During his last year of junior, Dubé also suited up as team captain for Team WHL during the CIBC Canada-Russia Series, where he tied a WHL record in points (two goals and three assists) and he is also the first Kelowna Rockets player ever to earn a spot on the Canadian World Junior team in back-to-back seasons. A season after coming home with a silver medal and finishing the tournament with three assists in seven games in 2017, he became the first player from the Kelowna Rockets to Captain Team Canada at the 2018 World Juniors in Buffalo, New York, this time helping the team to a gold medal. He had three goals and two assists in seven games that year. After taking on Vancouver in the season opener, Dubé and his Flames teammates will return home to Calgary for their home opener against the Canucks on Oct. 6. Puck drop for the game will go at 8 p.m. at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
