WALKER DUEHR EMERGING AS STANDOUT FOR FLAMES

Over these past few days, there has been plenty of pinch-me material for Calgary Flames call-up Walker Duehr.

After a weekend win, the rookie fourth liner was strolling toward the home locker room when he was stopped by a team staffer. Thanks to his two-point performance, he needed to spin-o-rama and head back down the tunnel for a first-star twirl.

In his next outing, Tuesday’s crucial 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at the Saddledome, he notched his first game-winning goal in the NHL. This time, the rugged right-winger was selected as third star.

Those post-game salutes, Duehr admitted, are “kind of surreal.”

“In my shoes, you don’t get to do that too often,” he said with a grin. “You’re not always getting those accolades.”

While the C of Red has been buzzing — and understandably so — about the arrival of top prospect Matt Coronato , another former collegian has arguably been the Flames’ most impactful forward in the past couple of contests.

Duehr, signed as an undrafted free agent in 2021 after completing his stint with the NCAA’s Minnesota State Mavericks, has buried in back-to-back games. Both were biggies.

After the San Jose Sharks pulled ahead with a pair of quick strikes in the second period of Saturday’s matinee, Darryl Sutter tapped his fourth line — also featuring Milan Lucic on left wing and Trevor Lewis at centre — for a momentum-turning shift. The Sharks were leading for all of 25 seconds before Duehr wired a one-timer to even things up.

The emerging fan-fave later assisted on Nazem Kadri’s winner, showing impressive control as he fended off a hat-trick of would-be defenders on the entry and eventually funnelling a puck to the blue paint for a garbage goal. As this aw-shucks South Dakotan summed up afterward: “When you can get on the scoresheet, it’s always a nice feeling to help the team win.”

The 25-year-old Duehr did exactly that … again … in Tuesday’s tilt with the Kings. In the late stages of the opening frame, he converted a rebound — or maybe it was a bank pass? — off the end boards to boost his squad to a 2-1 lead. The score stayed that way for the next 42 minutes as the locals gained important ground in the playoff chase.

Heading into Friday’s matchup with the Canucks in Vancouver (8 p.m. MT, Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan), the Flames are now only two points back of the Winnipeg Jets for the final wildcard in the Western Conference.

“He’s big, he can skate, thinks the game and he’s a good team player,” Sutter said of Duehr, who was recalled for a second time in late February and certainly looks like he’s staying put. “Players like that, the way they’re measured is wins and losses. That’s how it’s measured for those guys that play roles. It’s no different than a Looch or a Lewy. That’s what they do.”

In that case, the offensive oomph is a nice bonus.

In four games since being scratched, an indication that the coaches weren’t seeing enough of his usual speed and tenacity, Duehr has been credited with two goals, a pair of helpers, eight hits and 13 shots on net, the second-highest total on the team over that span.

He’s now up to six goals and 10 points in 21 big-league loggings this season, impressive pop for a guy averaging 10 minutes of ice in a bump-and-thump role.

“My main focus every night is bringing that energy and that power forward game to kind of wear down the other team, and then also making sure I’m responsible,” Duehr said. “And when I do get my looks in the offensive zone from creating turnovers on the forecheck and whatnot, it’s just about trying to make the most of them and capitalizing on ’em. I’ve been able to gain some confidence here with every game and some chemistry with my line mates, but my main focus isn’t really on goal scoring and producing offensively. Obviously, I’m trying to make plays, but the main focus is just trying to play a hard north-south game.”

The Flames are, of course, hellbent on moving north in the standings.

While they need just one victory to draw even with the Jets, it’s best to treat this as a three-point gap since the Winnipeggers will likely secure the tiebreaker. The Nashville Predators aren’t going away either, especially with a pair of games in hand. (The Flames and Jets each have seven dates remaining, while the Predators will play nine more.)

On Tuesday, after firing five shots on net and then tacking on a few seconds of unofficial ice time for his third-star spin, Duehr insisted that he’s “just taking it as a regular game” in these high-stakes showdowns.

Easier said than done, but that approach seems to be working for him.

“When I signed my NHL contract, if you had told me that I would have 20-something games under my belt by now, I don’t know if I would have believed you,” said Duehr, who chit-chatted with three or four organizations after his final college campaign before determining that Calgary seemed to be the best fit. “It’s always the goal and I would have crossed my fingers that was the case, but you never can believe it until you’re actually living it out.

“It’s a really cool feeling playing out on the ice-sheet with NHL guys and being in the locker-room with all these guys that you’ve grown up watching and kind of idolizing,” he continued. “But when you’re able to go out there and score a goal or contribute just with a good shift, a couple good hits or something like that, and you get a tap on the shinpad from some of these guys saying, ‘Hey, good job,’ I’d say that’s an even cooler feeling.

“It’s really cool to be able to have an impact on the game, for sure.”