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| Last updated at 8:28 AM on 06/12/07 |
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Bonavista native Adam Pardy. |
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Pardy in the big time 
Bonavista native still smiling over call-up to Calgary Flames
DARCY MACRAE
The Telegram
Adam Pardy wasn't in the Calgary Flames' lineup Tuesday night when the club hosted the St. Louis Blues, but that didn't stop him from soaking in all that comes with playing in the NHL.
"It's everything (I expected) and more," Pardy said during a phone call from the Saddledome during Tuesday night's game in Calgary. "It's first class."
Pardy found out Monday he had been recalled by the Flames from their AHL affiliate in Quad City, Ill.
The day started off normally, with the 6-foot-4, 220-pound defenceman joining his Quad City teammates for their usual morning skate. But on his way off the ice after practice, Pardy was pulled aside by Quad City head coach Ryan McGill and informed Flames' general manager Darryl Sutter had called and wanted Pardy on the next flight to Calgary. Finding out he was on his way to the show was a moment Pardy won't soon forget.
"It was pretty exciting. It was a bit of a shock, but exciting," Pardy said. "It's something I've been pushing for."
Dark days
There were days Pardy wondered if he'd ever get a shot at playing in the NHL. When he left Bonavista in 2002 to play junior hockey on the mainland, he became entangled in a nasty dispute when the junior A club he was playing for, the Antigonish Bulldogs of the Maritime league, refused to grant him a release so he could join the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Although the major junior team wanted him in its lineup, Pardy instead had to spend the season playing Tier II.
Pardy eventually joined the Eagles at the beginning of the 2003-04 campaign, but he hadn't yet faced his last hurdle. Fresh out of the Q in 2005, he found himself playing more games in the ECHL than the AHL in his first pro season. However, Pardy never quit working, even if it did appear he was moving further away from the NHL instead of closer to it.
"It seemed so far away," Pardy admits. "But I had a good training camp this year and realized how close I was (to making the Flames). Once you get a taste, you want more."
Pardy came close to cracking the Flames' roster out of training camp this fall and even after the team sent him to the AHL, he knew it could only be a matter of time before he was given another opportunity.
"It was in the back of my mind," said Pardy. "You have to realize that and use the time (in the AHL) to stay ready and stay prepared."
Pardy skated in the pre-game warmup for Calgary Tuesday, but did not dress for the game against St. Louis. He said the Flames haven't told him when he could play his first NHL game and haven't let him know if he is in Calgary for the long haul or just a brief stop.
"I'm just taking it day by day right now," said Pardy. "Hopefully, a time comes when I get a chance to play."
dmacrae@thetelegram.com
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06/12/07
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