Bollig Stays in Contract with Flames Teammates’

It’s not the same as seeing them at the rink every morning, doing dinner on the road and sometimes dropping the gloves in their defence.

But from 1,500-plus km away, Brandon Bollig hasn’t lost contact with his Calgary Flames buddies.

“I still talk to those guys quite a bit,” said Bollig, the rough-and-tumble winger who was demoted to AHL Stockton in the final round of training-camp cuts and hasn’t been seen at the Saddledome since.

“Definitely, when guys are saying, ‘We miss you’ or ‘We wish you were still up here’ or ‘We could use you,’ things like that, it’s nice to hear. It’s nice to know guys appreciate what I bring to the table.

“Not only were they my teammates, but I also became good friends with them and will probably remain good friends with some of those Calgary guys for the rest of my life. So it’s nice to know that regardless of where I am, you still keep in touch, you still chat with them.

“I obviously hope to be back up there with them … I’d prefer that, but it’s still nice to hear from them.”