It was a special afternoon for a pair of new Calgary Wranglers players on Friday, as defenceman Simon Mack and forward Carter King made their debut appearances in the American Hockey League after joining the club on amateur try-out deals earlier this week.

While the result wasn’t spectacular, with the Wranglers losing by an 8-3 score to the San Jose Barracuda, the game represented a homecoming for King. The 23-year-old Calgary product just signed his entry-level deal with the Flames after spending four seasons at the University of Denver, captaining the team in his final season with the club.

Following King’s AHL debut against the Barracuda, he reflected on getting to play in the Saddledome for the first time.

“It’s good to be home,” said King. “It’s been a place I’ve always loved growing up here. To be able to play in the arena that I’ve been watching the Flames play for so long, it’s a cool feeling.”

While the result wasn’t what King had hoped for, he appreciated the opportunity to get his feet wet in the AHL.

“Yeah, it’s a good experience,” said King. “Obviously the game didn’t go the way we wanted it to go and that always kind of puts a damper on it. But for me, just to be able to get out there and get a game in and kind of feel it out and see what it’s like, it’s an important process for me. After this, it’s just about building and keep growing.”

King started the game between Rory Kerins and Ty Tullio on the club’s top line, then midway through the game, with the Wranglers chasing, Sam Honzek swapped onto their line for Kerins. Following the game, King received praise from interim head coach Joe Cirella for his face-offs. The primarily King-related highlight of the game, though, was a breakaway chance in the second period that sailed just wide of the net.

“I think that’s part of the process of getting comfortable and getting acclimated is just trying to slow your head down and not rush decisions like that,” said King.

After four seasons playing in the NCAA, King knows he’ll need to make some adjustments in pro hockey. He noted some of the differences he noted in his debut.

“Yeah, I think you can tell that everyone’s playing with their head up and they’re moving the puck quick,” said King. “And so that speeds up the game itself. You know, guys have a plan when they get the puck and it’s about anticipating plays and being ready for them. And that part is going to definitely be a learning process for me, but that’s definitely one thing I noticed out there.”

King functionally replaced fellow NCAA product Sam Morton in the Wranglers’ lineup on Friday, with Morton getting the afternoon off after making his NHL debut with the Flames – and scoring his first goal – on Thursday night. Considering that Morton entered the AHL this season after a similar NCAA experience, King agreed that he can learn from Morton’s experiences adjusting to pro hockey.

“Yeah, absolutely,” said King. “I think it’s so important to be able to get to know those guys that have gone through some similar experiences because, you know, they’re going to have some good insight for you on what things that they might have struggled with that you’re also struggling with and how to get through that. So I’m excited to get to know him a little more here in the coming days now that he’s back. But yeah, it’s really important to get those details from him.”

The Wranglers conclude their 2024-25 regular season schedule on Sunday afternoon when they rematch against the Barracuda.