Boarding group A, B or C?

That’s a detail you don’t have to sweat at the National Hockey League level.

“We’re very fortunate down here in Stockton. We have a very good setup — great rink, a great dressing room, great staff … ” said Calgary Flames’ farm-clubber Curtis Lazar, currently toiling with the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat after spending most of the past four winters at the highest rung.

“Probably the biggest difference is the travel. You’re not on the Air Canada charter plane where you’re sitting down in your reclining seat and eatin’ steak. I mean, we’re usually on Southwest Airlines in general seating, so you’re grinding to get either a window or an aisle seat.

“I’m a window guy — that’s where I go. But it all comes down to your seating — they have the A, B, or C group. If you’re in the C group, then you’re probably going to get a middle seat.

“But there are worse things in life. The chance to show up at the rink every day and work on my profession and have some fun with it … I’m in a very good position.”

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Whether he’s gazing out the window, stretching into the aisle or jostling for armrest space with a traveller on either side, Lazar is hoping he’ll soon be on a return flight to Calgary.

The 23-year-old forward made hockey history of sorts in October, becoming perhaps the first NHLer to essentially ask for a demotion to the minors.

Even with 245 nights of big-league experience, he figured after going unclaimed on waivers that a stint in Stockton was necessary to rebuild his game, to rebuild his confidence, to prove his ceiling was not limited to fourth-line dump-and-pumper.

For the past two months, far from the Saddledome spotlight in sunny California, he’s been doing exactly that.

“In our last game, I think I finished with 25 minutes. I mean, I haven’t come even close to that since probably junior,” said Lazar, a former standout for the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings and first-round selection of the Ottawa Senators in the 2013 NHL Draft. “You leave the rink after a game, win or lose, and you know you had an impact on the game. Penalty-kill, I’m usually the first one over to take a key faceoff. Power-play, I’m always the first one standing up at the bench because I want my unit to go. And then overtime, too, having the opportunity to finish the game on your stick.

“It’s been a lot of fun, and I’m really embracing it.”

Heading into Saturday’s home date with the state-rival Bakersfield Condors, the top affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers, Lazar is sitting second on the Heat with nine tallies and 10 assists in 24 regular-season outings.

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By contrast, he mustered just two goals and a dozen points in 65 showings with the Flames last winter.

Minor-league pop doesn’t always translate to production at hockey’s highest level — there are countless examples of that — but Lazar seems like a prospect again, something not often said about a guy who has already earned a few million bucks in the bigs.

The eyes in Stockton have been impressed with the way he’s utilized his speed and strength, with his willingness to hang onto pucks and with his leadership behind the scenes. He’s been effective at centre after mostly working the wing with the Flames, who acquired him from the Senators at the trade deadline in 2017.

“In the NHL, in the role I’ve been used in, your leash is very short. You’re more just chipping and chasing,” said Lazar, who averaged 9:51 of icetime per night last season, the lowest average among Flames’ full-timers. “But I come down here and I’m relied upon in all situations, which allows me to handle the puck. I think that’s a big thing, too — my puck skills have come back. I’m making plays that I wouldn’t have the confidence to do in the NHL … It’s that realization that when I’m coming one-on-one on a defender, he’s the one thinking: ‘What’s he going to do?’ Because I know I can get around him.

“I put in my third short-handed goal the other night. I’m actually leading the league in that stat,” he added, the pride evident in his voice. “When you’re killing a penalty, you’re not trying to score. But when I get the puck, I know, ‘OK, if I get a step, I’m gone.’ And when I think about the way I’m playing down here, 100%, I think it can translate to the NHL.”

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The hardest part now might be the waiting game.

Over the past few weeks, Lazar has watched fellow forwards Ryan Lomberg, Andrew Mangiapane, Alan Quine and since-returned Anthony Peluso pack their bags for a promotion to Calgary.

With the Flames snug against the salary limit, his US$1.05-million cap-hit might be working against him. The other recent recalls collect closer to the league minimum.

If there’s not a long-term job available, there could also be some worry about later losing Lazar on waivers. (After 10 games or 30 days of NHL duties, any waiver-eligible call-up must clear to be reassigned to the minors.)

“With the coaches and (Flames assistant general manager) Brad Pascall … I’m always asking for advice — ‘What can I work on?’ ” Lazar said. “When they come back to me and say they have to apologize because they don’t see anything in my game that I need to work on, I take that as quite the compliment. They’ve been impressed with everything, and I think that shows that I’m in a great place now. I’m ready for that chance and that call-up.

“I’m doing everything in my power to put myself in an outstanding position where at some point, I’m going to have to be given an opportunity back in the NHL. I deserve it. I’ve worked for it. But just because it hasn’t come, that doesn’t mean, ‘Oh, it’s December and I’m going to stop because the call hasn’t come.’ It’s going to happen. There’s no doubt about it. And when I do come up, the mindset is to come back there and re-establish my game in the NHL the same way that I did down here and never look back.

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“I’m still only 23. I think this is a year that I’m always going to look back on and say that I’m very happy that I’ve done this, but I’m definitely chomping at the bit to get back to Calgary.”

In the meantime, the coaching staff in Stockton is thrilled to have him around.

Lazar has been both marquee man and model citizen for the Heat.

“I think he deserves a lot of credit for how he has handled this change or this demotion, if you want to call it that. I would call it opportunity,” said Stockton’s skipper, Cail MacLean. “He’s been really positive about it. He’s taken it as a chance to make improvements in his game, and he’s carried himself with a lot of integrity down here, and the result I think is he’s made the most of it.

“I think it’s a really good lesson for other guys to learn, ‘Hey, there are going to be good and bad times.’ And if you consider this time in the American Hockey League to be adversity for Curtis, if you look at how he’s handled it, then you’re not surprised that he’s been captain of the world-junior team, that he’s played in the NHL, that he’ll play in the NHL again, that h e’s able to handle himself really well as a pro.