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https://calgarysun.com/sports/hockey...ames-farm-club

As long as their schedules don’t overlap, Matthew Phillips is typically tuned in for every Calgary Flames game.

“I just see a guy that does not want to be denied,” praised Heat head coach Mitch Love. “He plays his best hockey when something is on the line. When we lose hockey games, often the next night, Matt Phillips is one of our best players, and that just shows you how competitive he is and how much he’s grown as a young pro, in terms of his leadership qualities. He’s a quiet leader but, man, for a guy who’s something like 5-foot-7 and 150 lb., he goes to the real crusty areas of a hockey rink to try to help his team win and that’s contagious among your group when a guy like that is doing that, especially when he is one of your better players and one of your leading scorers. And that’s something that he brings every night.

“Knock on wood, it’s very rare to have a night where I walk away from the rink and think, ‘Oh man, Matt Phillips didn’t bring it tonight.’ ”

As he pushes for a call to join them, this farmhand forward treats any Flames game like a bonus video session.

“I find it helps a lot when you watch those guys, especially with how our systems are modelled after what they’re doing,” Phillips said. “What I always look for is execution and how guys, within the system, see plays unfold and where they make their passes and how to relieve pressure and all that. Because I think that stuff does translate, and I find myself in similar positions throughout games. And I try to key in on the power-play stuff too because you can learn a lot. Obviously, Calgary has a lot of very skilled guys up front and how they distribute the puck on the power-play, those are good guys to watch and learn from.”