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‘Not that man.’
That was, as Blake Coleman recollects, the sentiment contained in the Tampa Bay Lightning locker room after opposing sparkplug Ryan Lomberg scored an extra time aim on behalf of the state rival Florida Panthers throughout a playoff sequence a couple of years again.
‘Not that man.’
That’s what each different 5-foot-something within the NHL, even a rookie call-up who was hellbent on making a reputation for himself, would have been pondering as they lined up throughout from one of many NHL’s true heavyweights.
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As many bear in mind from his first stint with the Calgary Flames, Lomberg proved his fearlessness by choosing a battle with Ross Johnston, completely ignoring a measurement mismatch of roughly eight inches and not less than 50 kilos.
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And when you had been questioning this summer time if the Panthers had been getting any sleep within the days that adopted their Stanley Cup triumph, you’d scroll by way of your social media feed, see one other photograph or video of Lomberg in life-of-the-party mode and say to your self: ‘Positively not that man.’
He clearly buckled down instantly after his championship bender as a result of he completed second on the Flames’ fitness-testing charts on the outset of coaching camp.
“He performed the longest of anyone in our group, simply gained a Stanley Cup, and he didn’t take any day off,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska praised. “He missed catching Backs (Mikael Backlund) by just a bit bit. That’s one thing I’m actually pleased with, and that’s one of many huge the reason why we introduced him into our room.”
There’s little doubt that Lomberg, 29, shall be beloved in that room.
Already is.
“He’s simply the most effective, he actually is,” beamed blue-liner MacKenzie Weegar, Lomberg’s teammate in Florida and now as soon as once more in Calgary. “I’m glad to have him again right here. He has a lot power, charisma, however he’s additionally a man with plenty of integrity.
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“I feel he has an identification to him. He’s quick. I imply, he’s the ‘Lomberghini,’ proper? He seems good on the market with the hair flying round. However he additionally has a giant engine on him. He drives exhausting. He performs exhausting. He performs like he’s eight toes tall. And even on the robust nights, he’s the man who’s all the time essentially the most optimistic, has essentially the most power.
“He brings the boys collectively. He’s an awesome locker-room man. I simply don’t have anything however nice issues to say about him.”
After chasing down a Stanley Cup in Florida, Lomberg selected to return to Calgary as an unrestricted free agent. He inked a two-year contract with an annual cap hit of $2 million US.
In case you’re curious who was most excited to get this deal carried out, it might be a coin-flip between the rambunctious left winger and normal supervisor Craig Conroy.
The Flames have talked at size about being tougher to play towards and Lomberg, as a fixture on the fourth line, shall be a ringleader in that regard. His pace and willpower must be an asset on the penalty kill and he’ll be there to supply a pick-me-up if a teammate is struggling or to stay up for any individual who was simply cheap-shotted by an opponent.
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“This was someplace I noticed myself being again, someplace I wished to be,” Lomberg mentioned. “And it’s undoubtedly a time within the group the place I really feel like I might help in a number of methods.
“I really feel like, personally, I can get essentially the most out of it for myself and I’ll have the ability to, I imagine, assist this crew greater than every other crew.”
Chances are you’ll not understand that Lomberg logged solely 11 big-league appearances, totalling barely 70 minutes of icetime, throughout his preliminary tour with the Flames. This feisty ahead would possibly maintain some form of franchise document for the quickest ascent to fan-fave standing, not less than amongst guys who had been by no means thought-about hot-shot prospects.
The ‘Lomberghini’ final revved on the Saddledome through the 2018-19 marketing campaign, with simply two roster holdovers from his first go-round with the membership.
Workhorse rearguard Rasmus Andersson described his returning buddy as “a magnificence” and added, “I do know the love Conny had for him, so it didn’t shock me in any respect once we signed him.”
Backlund, the present captain in Calgary, has by no means forgotten that Lomberg as soon as earned a suspension for speeding to his defence, reminding: “After I bought hit by (Matt) Dumba, he simply flew proper off the bench. He didn’t even assume twice about it. That claims rather a lot about him and I’ve been grateful for him doing that for me.”
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Lomberg additionally performed with Martin Pospisil at AHL Stockton and is now reunited with two of his former farm-club skippers — Huska and his assistant, Cail MacLean.
It’s not simply his previous buddies, nonetheless, who’re fired up about this low season acquisition.
“I bear in mind once we had been in Florida final yr, him and I had been going at it slightly bit,” mentioned Kevin Rooney, who was been working as Lomberg’s centre throughout coaching camp. “And as soon as we signed him, I used to be pondering, ‘Thank God, he’ll be on our crew now.’ He’s a man who simply brings everybody into the battle.”
“Yeah, I had some good run-ins with Lombo,” added Coleman, reminiscing on his personal keep within the Sunshine State, the place he gained back-to-back titles with the Lightning. “He’s exhausting to not bear in mind. He’s a firecracker. He’s a type of guys, he simply will get underneath your pores and skin. I do know he scored an OT winner towards us in Tampa (in 2021) and it was simply the one man you didn’t need to rating, you understand?
“However I do bear in mind after that sequence, for the way a lot I hated him on the ice, he was very respectful. He was simply doing his job. I feel he’s an awesome add for us.”
Lomberg proved over the previous two winters that he may be counted on as an every-nighter. He suited up for all 82 in 2022-23 and for 75 video games this previous season. With the Panthers including a few ahead leases on the commerce deadline, he dressed for eight playoff dates throughout their Stanley Cup run.
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Whereas the Cats would have cherished to maintain him, that pesky wage cap prevented it. It’s hardly a shock {that a} handful of different groups confirmed critical curiosity.
Lomberg returns to Calgary with what he describes as a extra mature sport — “Identical power, similar physicality, similar depth, all that great things. Simply type of extra direct with it, and smarter.”
He didn’t essentially appear like one of many grinders with a stunning move to Brayden Pachal for aim within the early levels of Monday’s exhibition towards the Seattle Kraken. (Lomberg, with three factors in as many pre-season outings and his spot on the roster assured, didn’t journey to Winnipeg for Wednesday’s tuneup towards the Jets.)
He additionally returns as a proud papa. He and his spouse have a son, a daughter and one other child on the best way.
“So we’re going to have three underneath three,” he mentioned.
That sounds exhausting, but when there’s a dad who can deal with it, it may be Lomberg.
“This man is only a ball of power,” Flames winger Jonathan Huberdeau mentioned on the primary day of coaching camp. “Even immediately, I’m respiration heavy and I simply go searching and he’s simply speaking, having enjoyable. I’m like, ‘Right here we go.’ He’s going to be an excellent chief for us. Simply the best way he handles himself, he’s all the time optimistic and that’s all the time good to have a man like that.”
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“He’s a champion, so I’m certain there’s plenty of groups that wished him,” Weegar added of Lomberg, who has 28 objectives, 50 factors and 359 penalty minutes in 257 profession contests. “The truth that he wished to come back again to this group, I feel it says rather a lot in regards to the gamers right here. And never solely that, however about our coach and our GM. He has an awesome relationship with them. Him being a champion that wishes to come back again right here, I feel it’s nice for our tradition.”
Lomberg is adamant that the exterior expectations for the 2024-25 Flames are method out of whack. He believes they’ll be higher than they’re getting credit score for.
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Whether or not this squad is stuffed with surprises or floundering close to the underside of the standings, the consensus is that this welcome-back winger shall be an necessary tone-setter and locker-room chief.
Huska characterised him as “uber-positive.” That confirmed at roughly 9:10 a.m. on a Sunday morning throughout camp, when Lomberg cashed a aim in apply and crashed into the boards in celebration, an enormous smile on his face.
Some gamers get their names engraved on the Stanley Cup and possibly let their foot off the gasoline slightly.
Not this man.
“After successful it, reaping all the advantages, and simply the interior feeling you get of engaging in one thing like that, it’s one thing I can’t even put into phrases,” Lomberg mentioned. “One thing I’ll inform the boys is it’s extra value it than you possibly can even think about.
“It’s tougher to attain than you possibly can think about, however the success you get inside and the whole lot that comes after, it’s method, method larger and extra highly effective than you assume it will likely be.”
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