Andersson loving life in Calgary, letting his game shine through

Rasmus Andersson is letting his game show through.

But the defenseman, a 22-year-old with just 72 National Hockey League games under his belt, hasn’t been shy to let his personality shine through, either.

The long-haired, scruffy-bearded blueliner is loving life with the Calgary Flames.

“It’s all fun,” says Andersson, who has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 61 games this season.

“You want to come in every day and have a smile on your face. It’s obviously easier when we win or when we’re doing well. It’s one of those things that if they want to joke around with me they can joke around with me. I don’t take it too serious. Most of the guys know that, so I think that’s why a lot of guys joke around with me a lot.

“You have to have fun when you’re at the rink.

“I try to keep a light mood as much as I can. Not maybe every day, but as much as I can. You just try to take it with a grain of salt a little bit, sometimes.

“It’s fine. It’s fun.”

Andersson, now an NHL regular after spending two seasons with the Stockton Heat of the American Hockey League, is definitely having fun.

At, sometimes, the expense of his teammates.

“He was shy at first, the first couple call-ups two years ago and last year,” says veteran, and fellow Swede, Mikael Backlund. “At times he talks a little too much to me, I think, but he’s a funny guy. Everyone really likes him a lot.

“He’s more of a chirper, if anything, especially with me. Or [Andrew Mangiapane]. They have history, too. In the room he’s more, ‘lets go guys,’ just trying to push the guys or get the room going a little bit. When we play two-touch he can be a little more vocal and relaxed and himself more.”

Andersson’s play has allowed him to relax and settle in.

The right-shot rookie rearguard is averaging 15:19 of ice time while skating, primarily, in Calgary’s third pairing with fellow rookie Oliver Kylington. But he’s also seen late-game spot duty alongside Norris Trophy candidate Mark Giordano, and has assumed the role beside the captain sporadically over the past few weeks.

It’s been a maturation off the ice that has led to success on the ice for the No. 53 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.

“He’s growing up,” says Mangiapane, teammates with Andersson in both the Ontario Hockey League and AHL prior to reuniting for 22 skates in the show.

“He’s definitely matured from when he was in Barrie and when we were living together in Stockton. It’s good. I’m happy for him and happy how he’s playing and the way he’s growing as a person and as a player.”

Mangiapane isn’t the only one in Calgary that can chart Andersson’s growth.

“Most of the maturing has come off the ice for him and I think that’s allowed him to become an effective, key player for us on the ice,” admits Flames assistant coach Ryan Huska, who was behind the bench in Stockton for Andersson’s two seasons in the minors.

“When he first broke in with us he really didn’t have an idea of what the importance of conditioning and nutrition…any of that stuff. The time the organization put in with him, I think he started to figure out that if he wanted to play in the NHL and have a pretty good life, that he had to make sure he managed himself away from the rink.

“Since that early year in Stockton he’s been really good. I think the results have followed, which has made it easier for him to believe in some of the changes that he’s made with his lifestyle away from the rink.

“On the ice, I don’t think a lot’s changed. He’s always had great composure with the puck. He’s just got a lot of confidence right now. Now I think he really feels like he belongs in the NHL and that he is an NHL player. I think that’s why he’s having quite a bit of success right now.”

The success has been clear.

Andersson, recalled in the infancy of the 2018-19 campaign, played well enough in the early going to usurp veterans like Michael Stone and Dalton Prout.

The humor is a product of that play.

He’s getting comfortable.

“We’re just getting to see the tip of it now where he’s starting to get more comfortable around the room,” Huska says. “He’s a vocal guy. He talks all the time. He enjoys being around. He’s just full of life all the time…sometimes on the ice too some of the things he says or comes up with, they’re pretty good.

“I think it’s important. This is a long season and you need to have a group that enjoys coming to the rink. A lot of times that’s the personalities that you have. If you have all the same guy it rarely works. When you have different pieces that fit well together you have the makings of a good group and Ras fills one of those roles for us, for sure.

“I think it’s a belief in himself now that’s a big thing. He had that in Stockton when he was with us. He’s having success now and that’s something we hope will continue.”

Oh, it will.

Mangiapane is sure of that.

“For as long as I’ve known him he’s been like that,” Mangiapane reveals.

“His first year when he came to Barrie he was pretty quiet actually, but it could’ve been because of the language barrier. He didn’t want to say too much or say the wrong thing. After the first couple months then you started to see his true colors.

“He’s always joking, always teasing, always giving it to people.

“He can seize the mood whenever things aren’t going the way you want it to. You always come to the rink and he acts the same. He’d tease guys. It’s normal. You’re used to it.

“It’s just who he is. It’s pretty funny.”

There’s a line, though.

Andersson, though just a freshman in the league, understands that.

It’s not all fun and games.

No matter how much he’s enjoying the ride.

But, undoubtedly, he is.

“You’ve got to know when it’s serious,” Andersson says.

“Games are serious. We’re all different before games. Some guys like to sit in their own bubble and some guys like to talk. We’re all different. Some are in their own bubble and some guys like to joke around and relax.

“It’s one of those things where it has to be fun to be here. You have to enjoy it. But when it’s serious it’s serious. At the same time you can still joke around.

“If it’s not going to be fun here it’s not going to be fun anywhere.”