[sureLoss]

http://calgaryherald.com/sports/hock...t-well-do-that

News Update

After his collegiate career ended in heartbreaking fashion Friday in a double-overtime loss at the NCAA’s Northeast Regional, Calgary Flames prospect Mark Jankowski didn’t immediately go searching for a pen and a professional contract.

What he needed right away was an IV machine.

“He was pretty sick,” said Flames GM Brad Treliving of Jankowski, Calgary’s first-round selection in the 2012 NHL Draft and, for the past four winters, a centre with the Providence College Friars.

“After the game, I think he had about three IV bags he went through. He was down a quart, so we said, ‘You know what, let’s talk tomorrow and see where we’re at.’ We have been in touch with his representative a lot — obviously after the game and (Saturday) morning and we’ll talk a little bit later and see where this thing goes.

“But he probably needs a day to get better a bit.”

One carrot the Flames could dangle in negotiations is a late-season look-see at hockey’s highest level, which would also burn the first year of Jankowski’s entry-level pact.

That’s certainly a possibility, but Treliving hinted Saturday that he would prefer to see the Friars grad report to Calgary’s farm club. The Stockton Heat have nine dates remaining on their regular-season slate.

“Listen, he’s finished his four years and he can become an unrestricted free agent in August, so there are leverage points that he has,” Treliving said. “At this particular stage, getting him down to the American League, learning that, getting an idea of how hard it is and getting around the coaches and getting around the players … I think that’s the next step for him in his development. But we’ll see how it all plays out.”

“My feeling was, ‘Is there risk of him going back for his fourth year? Absolutely,’ ” Treliving said, referring to the possibility that Jankowski could eventually walk as a free agent. “But when you just boil it down to what’s right and wrong, that’s what was in the best interests of the player — to go there and be the guy and take on a little more. That comes with risk. We were prepared to do that risk because we think it’s in the best interests of the player. And if you do the right things, you’ll get the right return.

“I think what you wanted to accomplish in a senior year, we accomplished that, in terms of a real good development year. Now, he’s ready for the next step.”