Calder 'game ready' for another shot at NHL
| Tuesday, Nov 03 2009 10:15 PM
Last Updated Tuesday, Nov 03 2009 10:15 PM
A lengthy practice had finished earlier and every few minutes a handful of players skated off the ice at Rabobank Arena and to the locker room.
Finally, after standing in front of the net and practicing deflections for a few minutes, Kyle Calder skated off more than 30 minutes after practice officially ended.
Yes, a National Hockey League veteran who has played nearly 600 games at the highest level was the last one to leave the ice Tuesday morning.
Calder, who found himself without a job this season after playing the last two seasons for the Los Angles Kings, was signed by Anaheim last week and assigned to the Condors.
It's a strange assignment for a nine-year NHL vet, but this is a strange season for Anaheim, which does not have its own American Hockey League affiliate and has heavily stocked the Condors with prospects.
Calder is slated to play his first ECHL game Thursday, when the Condors travel to Las Vegas.
"They (the Ducks) wanted me to come here and be around their younger guys," Calder, 30, said of how he wound up in Bakersfield, two steps below the NHL in a normal season, "and I think it's a good situation. It's a good atmosphere around here."
Obviously, Calder would prefer to be playing for the Ducks, and that may well happen down the road.
"The No. 1 thing is coming down here, getting in shape and make sure I'm game ready if anything happens," Calder said. "I want to come to work, work hard and see what happens."
The extra work after practice on Tuesday was certainly to help get Calder prepare for his first game, but it also is a hint to the young Condors about the type of extra effort one needs to give to make it to a higher level.
"I just want to come in here and work hard," he said. "My game is about working hard, so I'm coming here and showing the kids what hard work is all about."
Calder had his best season with Chicago in 2005-06, netting 26 goals and 59 points in 79 games. He had 27 points (8 goals, 19 assists) for the Kings last season.
And now he's looking forward to a new experience.
"I'm excited," he said. "It seems like we've got a good bunch of guys in the locker room and they're having some fun. I've got some good friends that play (in the ECHL) and I think I'm really going to enjoy it."
Except for the ECHL rule requiring the use of a helmet visor.
"That's the tricky part for me," said Calder, who did not wear a visor in the NHL. "I'm not handling it very well, but you have to do what you have to do. It's like wearing glasses for the first time, I guess. It's something you have to get used to."
