WASHINGTON, D.C. – The moment Ryan Huska pulled Joel Farabee aside Saturday morning will stick with the 26‑year‑old for a long time.
You could see it in the way he talked about it afterward, still a little wide‑eyed, still a little emotional.
Huska told the Flames winger he’d be wearing a letter above his heart — an ‘A’ — for home games moving forward. And for a player who has spent the past two seasons reshaping his identity, his role, and his voice, it hit hard.
Farabee admitted he didn’t want to “jinx it,” so he didn’t call anyone.
But he did what any guy in his shoes would do: he snapped a photo of the Blasty jersey hanging in his stall, the crisp white ‘A’ stitched above the Flaming Horsehead, and sent it to his closest buddies. He still keeps the picture on his phone.
“It was pretty cool,” said Farabee of seeing his jersey with a letter on it for the first time in his pro career.
“It definitely means a lot.”
It meant even more when he went out that night and played like a guy determined to prove Huska right.
Farabee didn’t just wear the letter, he owned it. He took over the team goal‑scoring lead with a late breakaway winner, added two assists, and walked away with the red jacket from Mikael Backlund as player of the game.
The groundwork for the moment was laid hours earlier, when Huska gathered five players — Farabee, Connor Zary, Kevin Bahl, Matt Coronato and Morgan Frost — and delivered a challenge. With Nazem Kadri and MacKenzie Weegar gone after the deadline, the leadership vacuum was real.
“The door is open,” Huska told them. “We need more.”
Farabee has been giving more for months. Huska singled him out because of his energy, his voice, and his willingness to put the team ahead of himself, whether that’s grinding in the middle six, killing penalties, or filling whatever hole the lineup springs on a given night.
“I feel like I’m in that age group where I’m not quite a young guy anymore, but I’m not quite an old guy,” he said.
“I feel like I have a good voice with talking to the young guys versus talking to the older guys.”
When Farabee arrived in Calgary, he was still wrestling with what kind of NHLer he was supposed to be. He’d been a scorer in junior, a skill guy in college, and a tweener in Philadelphia. But in Calgary, he’s found his niche.
“To play in the NHL for years and years, you have to realize who you are,” he said.
“I kind of understand that I’m that middle six and help on the power play or help on the PK. I take a lot of pride in filling spots in whatever the situation would call for.”
That’s leadership. And it’s why he’s wearing a letter now.
On Monday, with Kevin Bahl wearing the A in the absence of injured Zach Whitecloud, Farabee was at it again.
You don’t need a letter to lead.
Down 3–0 after a brutal first period, the Flames clawed back with a three‑goal second, sparked by rookie Matvei Gridin’s sharp‑angle finish.
Then came the penalty kill that will be replayed in team meetings for years.
First, Blake Coleman scored shorthanded. Then Farabee intercepted a bump‑back pass, raced deep into Washington’s zone and fed Yegor Sharangovich for another shorty — two on the same kill, something Calgary hadn’t done since 2018. Only one other NHL team has done it this year.
Even though Washington stormed back in the third to win 7-3, the message was clear: this team isn’t folding. Not with Coleman. Not with Farabee. Not with the young core being pushed to lead.
“We lost some good friends and teammates, but the guys coming in have stuff to prove, and we have stuff to play for too – we want to prove to the coaches we belong here,” said Farabee.
“That’s gonna be the story of our team,” added Coleman of the gutsy comeback they failed to build on in the third.
“There won’t be any quit in this room. We’re gonna have guys that fight every night, and the game’s not over till it’s over. I thought we had the momentum going into the third and just didn’t quite take advantage of it.”
That’s the culture Farabee, Coleman and Backlund are helping build: “You can’t win on skill alone,” said Farabee.
Farabee is a bridge between eras, a player who has lived the grind, embraced the role, and earned the respect of both the veterans and the kids.
He’s the right guy to wear the ‘A’, and you don’t get the feeling he’ll ever stop trying to prove it.
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