Veteran used his time with the AHL Wranglers to focus on attributes needed to regain a spot on the big-league roster
A trip to the minors stung Jordan Oesterle, but the Calgary Flames defenceman who was summoned back to the big club on Wednesday returned with a renewed sense of his game and what he can bring the club.
Oesterle, who was dispatched to the AHL Calgary Wranglers earlier this month despite his $925,000 salary, used the time to reset his game, working on his play while enjoying plenty of ice time instead of playing the woe-is-me card.
“I was one of those young guys down there, seven, eight years ago, and just tried to help those young guys out the way I could and have fun,” said Oesterle, who may return to the Flames lineup for Thursday’s home clash with the Dallas Stars.
Oesterle, 31, was an opening day starter after a solid pre-season, but struggled in the clash and ended up playing only four of the Flames’ first 10 games.
He was sent to the Wranglers on Nov. 3, and during his first minor-league games since the 2016-17 campaign, collected eight assists in 12 games.
More importantly, he keyed on how he needed to perform once he returned to the big club.
“Just being a lot harder to play against,” he said. "I went there and didn’t focus on offensive stuff, focused more on the d-zone and being difficult to play against.”
It appeared Oesterle will be paired with Nikita Zadorov against Dallas, and the coaching staff expects an improved player compared to the one who was out of sync, albeit while the whole team was floundering.
“He can really skate, so he can put himself in positions where he can get to pucks first,” coach Ryan Huska said. “That’s the one thing we want from him, make the right, hard play with the puck. He did a good job with the Wranglers.”