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Justin Kirkland, currently working through his recovery from a major knee surgery, hopes he hasn’t played his last game in the Flaming C logo.
Justin Kirkland, currently working through his recovery from a major knee surgery, hopes he hasn’t played his last game in the Flaming C logo.
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Justin Kirkland probably figured his popularity had peaked. Around these parts, it’s hard to top fan fave for the Flames.
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But as part of a promotional shoot with a charitable plus, the injured forward was recently treated to the employee-for-a-day experience at one of Calgary’s Costco locations.
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Sure, it’s sweet to be mobbed by 19 teammates after scoring a shootout winner, but you should see the crowd that forms when you’re serving up those freebie food samples.
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After all, who doesn’t love a complimentary snack?
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“I did take a few samples while I was there,” beamed Kirkland, who was apparently going with the one-for-you, one-for-me approach. “I made sure to enjoy it.”
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It’s another sort of nibble, his first taste of life as an NHL regular, that has fuelled Kirkland through his ongoing rehab from season-ending knee surgery.
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The 28-year-old has not been on skates since late November, and he won’t hit the ice for a while yet. He’ll tell you there have been good days and bad days along the way.
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Wednesday should be one of the good ones, with the announcement that Kirkland is the Flames’ team nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, an annual nod to the NHLer “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.” The selection was made by the Calgary chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
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“Finding out, I was pretty speechless,” Kirkland said. “And then I had the time to sit down and reflect, and it’s amazing. From two years ago, where I was at, to now … I always believed in myself, but I didn’t know that I would ever get to this point. So to be nominated for an award like this is definitely special and hits close to home.”
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Two years ago, Kirkland was recovering from a motor-vehicle accident that he initially feared could cut his career short. That’s far from the only reason that he immediately comes to mind when words like ‘perseverance’ and ‘dedication’ are being tossed around.
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Remember, Kirkland toiled for most of the past eight seasons in the minors. He was supposed to start this current campaign with the AHL’s Wranglers, had even cleared waivers and been assigned to the farm team, but was called up after one of the regulars was injured on opening night.
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He introduced himself by scoring his first big-league goal in an Oct. 13 edition of the Battle of Alberta.
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He had logged 21 appearances before ripping up his knee, more than tripling the total on his NHL resumé, and was establishing himself as an every-nighter for the Flames.
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Fans couldn’t get enough of his story or his shootout move, which was successful on three of four fall tries.
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It seems that everybody knew his nickname, ‘Costco,’ which helps to explain why you may have spotted him greeting shoppers, folding clothes, stocking shelves, boxing groceries and scarfing samples at the Heritage Gate location in late March. (The store rewarded his efforts with a $5,000 donation on his behalf to the Stroke Recovery Association of Calgary.)