Kadri excited to add Heritage Classic to varied list of outdoor games

Then there was the NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe on Feb. 20, 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the League staged two outdoor games with no fans for television on a golf course on the lakeshore in Stateline, Nevada. Kadri played for the Colorado Avalanche in the first game, a 3-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights. It was 34 degrees at face-off at noon PT, but the game was delayed by sun after the first period and resumed with temperatures in the 20s in the dark at 9 p.m. PT.

“It’s always a fun adventure, the outdoor destinations, more so the magnitude around the actual game,” Kadri said. “Once you drop the puck, it seems like just another ordinary game besides the wind and the sun and kind of battling the weather aspect. But yeah, man, it’s great.”

This will be Kadri’s first Heritage Classic and the 20th anniversary of the NHL’s first modern outdoor game, a 4-3 win for the Montreal Canadiens against the Oilers before 57,167 at the same stadium Nov. 22, 2003.

The Heritage Classic celebrates hockey’s outdoor roots in Canada in particular. Growing up in London, Ontario, Kadri was like so many Canadian kids, with a backyard rink. Some of his buddies went all-out with their backyard rinks, with boards, netting, everything.

“They’d even throw some paint on the ice,” Kadri said. “It wasn’t, like, any Picasso by any means. It was more so the idea. It made it feel extra special. It’s something that I’ll never forget.”

It was as wholesome as hockey gets.

“We’d always pick up some shinny games and have some hot chocolate after,” Kadri said. “You’d talk about whose house you were going to next week and kind of plan it all out, map out the teams and the format, as kids. That’s kind of what these outdoor games do, is bring that little kid out again.”

This also will be the first time the Battle of Alberta will be played outdoors, and the largest crowd to see a game in the rivalry.

“It’s epic,” Kadri said. “Of course, a lot of history and tradition, and any time you have that it makes a good recipe for a rivalry. Any time both teams are competitive also, I think it kind of adds a little fuel to the fire, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing now. It’s a great time for the Battle of Alberta.”

The Flames would love to win in Edmonton. They lost to the Oilers 4-1 in the Western Conference Second Round in 2022, then went 1-2-0 against them last season and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs by two points.

Kadri is 3-1-0 in NHL outdoor games. The forecast is partly cloudy with a high of 37.

“Let’s keep it rolling,” he said. “Hopefully the weather holds up and it’s a beautiful day and we can have some fun.”