Calgary Flames defenceman MacKenzie Weegar wasn’t sure what to make of Martin Pospisil early on in the 2023-24 season.
Despite not cracking the Flames roster out of training camp, Pospisil was called up in early November and immediately made an impact. The 24-year-old provided plenty of physicality, averaging a team-leading 17.82 hits per 60 minutes through his 63 games. That quickly saw him become a fan favourite, though early on, Weegar was unsure of the 24-year-old.
In a recent appearance on the Missin’ Curfew podcast, Weegar explained that Pospisil practices with the exact same intensity fans see from him in games. While he admitted that he absolutely loves the Slovakian forward now, that wasn’t the case from the get-go.
“One of those guys that you love to have on your team but hate to play against,” Weegar said. “He’s definitely made a name for himself this year. He made a name for himself day one of practice. We had our history, it was pretty funny. The boys will probably be laughing. We did this two-on-two in the corner, and it was first practice. They dump it in, and he reverse-hits me hard. I was like, ‘I can’t believe this. You’re going to reverse hit me?’
“So I banged my stick on the glass, started screaming at him. He does the same thing on the ice, skates away; he’s got the tinted visor. I wanted to bury him. I didn’t do anything, and the practice went on. But now, getting to know him more and more, I respect him so much more because he practices exactly like he plays. He was all over me; it wasn’t just that practice; he was all over me for the rest of the year. He’d forecheck me hard in practice, he’d trip me or whatever. … He’s actually a great guy, he’s hilarious. He’s absolutely ripped up and jacked. That just kind of goes to show you what kind of guy he is on and off the ice. I love having him.”
Martin Pospisil practices like he plays and that didn’t go over well with MacKenzie Weegar 😅
🎥: @MissinCurfew pic.twitter.com/ZPxS6QaWsR
— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) June 7, 2024
Flames management clearly loves the intensity Pospisil brings as well, as they gave him a two-year, $2 million contract extension in early February. He should continue to be a polarizing yet exciting player to watch for years to come.
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