Feature Photo: Getty Images
Jonathan Huberdeau has many reasons to be smiling these days.
“Everything is great, just amazing,” the 31-year-old Calgary Flames forward told NHLPA.com. “I feel very lucky in so many ways.”
It is understandable why he would.
On the ice, the veteran winger is having his best goal-scoring campaign as a member of the Flames, posting 18 goals in 45 games, including four game-winning goals as part of 32 points.
Huberdeau has also been a strong presence on the defensive side and is consistently called upon to play in a variety of situations, including on the penalty kill.
“I want to play a complete game,” said Huberdeau. “I want to be a player who can be depended on in any situation – that’s what I try and do every shift. I want to be counted on by my teammates and my coaches.”
They aren’t the only people he has impressed.
One of his biggest fans, his mother, Josée, got to see her son’s difference-making ways during the team’s recent moms (albeit abbreviated) trip.
After a 4-1 home loss on Jan. 4 to Nashville – many of the moms took in the action from a suite at Scotiabank Saddledome – the Flames gave their special guests something to cheer about in Anaheim three days later when Huberdeau netted the overtime winner in a 3-2 victory over the Ducks at Honda Center.
“The trip was awesome,” said the native of Saint-Jerome, Quebec. “It was great to spend time with my mom and all the other moms. It was my first mothers’ trip with my mom, so it was special.
“I think it was fun for my mom to just live everything – to be at the rink and spend time with the other moms. Everyone, the players and the moms, were smiling and having fun. It’s fun to spend time one-on-one with your mom – usually it’s with your dad.”
The trip was cut short due to the devastating fires in California when Calgary’s game against the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 8 was postponed, but Huberdeau treated Josée to a particularly memorable moment back in Calgary when he scored the game-winning tally in the third period against Los Angeles in a 2-1 triumph.
Huberdeau saluted his mom seconds after the goal, catching her eye as she and the other moms celebrated the win.
“My mom has taught me so much. All of my values in life, to be a good person, to be responsible and to be good to other people – it’s all her. I left home around 16 to go play hockey, but she always supported me and called me.”
Josée still does.
“To this day, she texts every game day to say good luck,” said Huberdeau. “After the game, win or lose, she will text me. She is always there for me. She is a good person and that is what I love about her.”
Huberdeau also had the opportunity to enjoy a home-cooked meal courtesy of his mom before she went back to Quebec.
“She made my favourite meal. She went to the grocery store in the morning and got everything.”
What was on the menu?
“It’s escargot to start – the way my mom makes it is so good – and then it’s beef kabobs with a bed of rice and three-pepper sauce.”
Come this spring, it will be meals for three when Huberdeau and his partner, Catherine, welcome their first child, a son, in June.
The veteran of over 870 NHL games took to Instagram to share the news.
“We are very excited,” said Huberdeau. “It’s a new chapter in my life and I am ready for it.”
Advice from teammates has already been making the rounds.
“No sleep is the big one,” he said with a laugh. “The big thing for us is we just want to have a healthy baby.”
Huberdeau, the hockey player, would cherish a chance to see some playoff hockey this season.
The two-time NHL All-Star has appeared in 26 career NHL playoff games but not since 2021-22 with the Florida Panthers.
“That’s what we all push for, to get the opportunity to win the Cup,” said Huberdeau. “I want to play the best I can and help the team win games.”
It’s been a winning formula for Calgary’s No. 10 this season.
“I think there is so much to look forward to.”
Words that Huberdeau can apply to every aspect of his life.
