Cochranite Dillon Dubé and his Calgary Flames teammates picked up their first win of the young National Hockey League (NHL) season after the hometown Flames defeated the rival Vancouver Canucks in Calgary's home opener on Oct. 6 with Dubé's family and friends in attendance. “I haven’t really thought about coming out of the tunnel yet, because that might be a little too much right now,” Dubé said a few days before the game. “But it’s going to be … awesome.” The young Cochrane athlete logged 12:51 of ice time in what turned out to be a 7-4 victory for the hometown hockey heroes with Dubé registering one shot on goal as well as one hit while playing once again on a line with NHL veterans James Neal and Derek Ryan. Surpringly enough, the Flames home opener was Dubé's first regular-season showing of any sorts at the Scotiabank Saddledome since he was a Western Hockey League (WHL) rookie at the age of 16. The Kelowna Rockets didn’t visit Calgary the following winter, and at both 18 and 19, he missed his could-be homecoming because he was busy representing Team Canada at the world juniors. “It’s going to be an incredible feeling, being able to play here,” Dubé said prior to Saturday’s home-opener, just his second appearance at the big-league level. “But I’m trying to not think about it too much … I can’t get too amped up before, kind of like last game. I think I need to start getting comfortable with myself around the atmosphere of this league, because every single game is going to be crazy. “It’s not Tuesday night in Tri-City or Kelowna on a Wednesday. I mean, there are great fans everywhere, but this is next level. Every single game is going to be hyped up, no matter where you go. “So it’s time to start getting used to it and feel like you belong with all the atmosphere around it.” Dubé, who was taken in the second round (56th overall) by the Flames in 2016, spent last season playing junior hockey with the Rockets and 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 a league championship after winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2015. During his last year as a junior, Dubè 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 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 defeating the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Oct. 9, the Flames will continue their three game road trip tonight against the St. Louis Blues with puck drop going at 6 p.m.
