EDMONTON - Certainly, those fiery Battles of Florida linger in the mind's eye.
But part of the allure of spending his prime in Alberta was a rivalry - THE rivalry - that the NHL is best known for.
Tonight, MacKenzie Weegar will get his first taste of the Battle of Alberta as the Flames and Oilers clash on the nightcap of Hockey Night in Canada.
"Growing up, I loved watching the games when Iginla was here," Weegar said. "Before that, it was Lanny McDonald and all those guys, watching the highlights of the glory days. But most recently, I loved watching when Brian McGratton was here - how he had such a presence and could take over the Battle of Alberta. Even going back to last year when I was in Florida, with Looch and the guys here now, you know.
"It doesn't matter where you are in this league, you always see glimpses of it and people are always talking about it. A lot of the highlights are usually physical and with a lot of goal-scoring, so those are the games you want to be a part of."
"Tonight?
"I can't wait."
And neither can we.
While Weegar is no stranger to the hostilities that brew between two arch-enemies, the 'BOA' is a beast unto itself.
They split the regular-season series last year, each winning a pair before meeting in the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
While that was going on, Weegar, Jonathan Huberdeau and the Presidents' Trophy-winning Florida Panthers were entangled in their own regional clash, dropping their second-round series to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"We saw them a lot," Weegar said. "Usually, that's what gets a rivalry going. In the COVID season, when we played them nine or 10 times, I think after every whistle, there was a scrum or a fight going on.
"LOTS of physical activity.
"Hey, it's exciting for the fans and everybody and it gets you more engaged as a player. Obviously, the biggest thing for both teams is the two points - you always focused on that the most - but an exciting game is always fun."
Weegar, who had a pair of helpers in almost 21 minutes of ice time in Thursday's 5-3 win over the Avalanche, thrives when things get physical. In fact, it was, perhaps, the most impressive thing about the 28-year-old's game in that season-opening victory.
He's incredibly mobile and distributes the puck as well as anyone, but it's that 'edge' that quickly endeared himself to the C of Red.
Officially, he was credited with three hits - and on each, he flattened his man and sent him cascading to the ice.
This was no more apparent than in the third period when he tracked the 6-foot-4, 215-lb. Mikko Rantanen in the corner, engaging him at the bottom of the faceoff circle before pummeling him into the wall. Then, he gave him one last dig to the chest as the puck skittered to safety.
Timber!
Sounds like a player that's ready for the Battle of Alberta.
"I don't mind that at all," Weegar smiled when asked about the physicality. "It's part of the game and I grew up watching that era of hockey. Bringing it into my game, I obviously love to play physical, too. Like I said, it gets you more engaged and more into the game right away. Plus, it always helps with the crowd is buzzing and we expect a pretty loud barn tonight."
Weegar was an absolute stud in his Flames debut. He finished the night with a 65.22% possession rate and a 75.21% expected goal share - and when he was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Flames had 73.33% of the scoring chances and more than half of the high-danger looks.
Those are monster numbers.
And yet, true to form, Weegar isn't satisfied. He knows another stiff test awaits him tonight with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the high-flying Oilers.
"There's been lots of teaching over the last couple days since the win," Weegar said. "But to start the season with a win and gain a little confidence by beating the Cup champs, that's huge. It's always a good feeling.
"But I think there are still a lot of things we need to improve 5-on-5 and against a team like Edmonton who has a lot of speed and thrives on that transition game, we need to pay close attention to that tonight. For us, it starts in the D zone and carries on to the rest of our game.
"But it's definitely a confidence booster."
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