A brief history of Flames outdoor experience

It’s time for the 2019 Heritage Classic! While regular season outdoor games have become a little commonplace – this will be the 28th in National Hockey League history – it’s not like every NHL player has played in one. Several Calgary Flames players have played in outdoor contests, but a lot of them will be heading outdoors for the first time.

Talbot is dressing for his fifth outdoor game with his fourth team, which is definitely some kind of weird record. He was Henrik Lundqvist’s backup in two Stadium Series games in 2014 for the Rangers, backed up in the 2019 Stadium Series for the Flyers, and actually played in the 2016 Heritage Classic for the Oilers.

Lucic also played for the Oilers in the 2016 Heritage Classic.

The two veterans who survived the Flames’ rebuild, Giordano and Backlund both suited up in Calgary’s 4-0 win over Montreal in the 2011 Heritage Classic. They’re not just the only two Flames still around from that game, they’re the only players from their team even playing in pro hockey aside from the ageless Jay Bouwmeester.

Way back in college, Gaudreau played two outdoor games at Fenway Park. He played in 2012’s Frozen Fenway and 2014’s Frozen Fenway. He had two goals in the second game.

Kylington played for the Stockton Heat in their 2015 outdoor game, presented as part of the Golden State Hockey Rush. He’s the only player that suited up for Stockton that’s still with the Flames organization.

This will be the first pro outdoor game for everyone else on the roster: David Rittich, Rasmus Andersson, TJ Brodie, Derek Ryan, Tobias Rieder, Matthew Tkachuk, Sean Monahan, Travis Hamonic, Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Michael Frolik, Andrew Mangiapane, Alan Quine and Sam Bennett.

(I would’ve thought Frolik would’ve snuck into a game during his time in Chicago, but he was with the Jets before the NHL started putting the Blackhawks in every dang game.)