Ben Street's NHL debut will be of the storybook variety.
The Coquitlam-born centre was recalled from the Abbotsford Heat by the Calgary Flames on Friday, and he'll play his first big-league game on Saturday in Vancouver against the Canucks. The game will be broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada.
Street was recalled to fill in for Mikael Backlund – the former Heat forward suffered a knee injury Thursday and will miss four to six weeks.
At the time of his recall, Street was leading the Heat in scoring with 12 goals and 19 assists in 44 games, and he was second in the AHL with 168 shots on goal.
HEAT INK ROLLHEISER
With goalie Danny Taylor departing to join the Flames earlier in the week, the Heat have already cycled through two backup goaltenders.
Tyson Sexsmith served as the No. 2 man behind Barry Brust during Wednesday's 6-2 loss to the Rochester Americans, but he was released from his professional tryout contract on Thursday in order to honour a pre-existing contract with Bolzano of the Italian league.
On Friday, the Heat brought in Chilliwack product Grant Rollheiser to serve as Brust's caddy. Rollheiser attended training camp in Abbotsford in the fall, and he'd posted a 7-8-3 record, along with a 3.37 goals against average and an .890 save percentage, with the ECHL's Utah Grizzlies this season.