Right before the puck dropped on the 2017-18 campaign, the Calgary Flames threw a late-game plot twist into the off-season, inking future Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr to a one-year deal.

Now a couple weeks into his tenure in Alberta, the aura of Jagr’s illustrious, nearly three-decades-long career is already rubbing off on some of the Flames’ young guns.

That’s according to star defenceman Dougie Hamilton, who’s suiting up alongside Jagr for the second time in his young career, the two having shared a brief stint in Boston at the tail end of the 2012-13 season.

“He’s been great with the young guys,” Hamilton said to NHLPA.com’s Chris Lomon on Thursday. “We didn’t really know what to expect coming in. He’s been awesome with the young guys, teaching us different things. That’s been great for us. You watch him, learn from him and you ask him questions.

“He’s probably one of the smartest guys in the hockey world. It’s a great tool for the young guys to use.”

The knowledge imparted by the veteran goes beyond the purely technical, however, as Hamilton noted that there’s plenty to learn simply from Jagr’s unmatched love for the game – a love that’s allowed Jagr to jump off the bench into the chaos of an NHL tilt a total of 1,714 times.

“One of the biggest things I took from him when we played together in Boston is his passion for the game,” Hamilton said. “You could just see that his life revolves around hockey and he’s always thinking about it. You saw how he was always looking to get better and finding ways to achieve that – fixing his equipment, things like that. You could see that passion for hockey. I really appreciated seeing that. And he’s still the same way. He loves hockey. You can take away a lot from that.”

But serving as a mentor for the Calgary’s young guns isn’t the sole reason the Flames are handing Jagr $1 million (plus another potential $1 million in bonuses) this season. He’s also expected to perform, something Hamilton said shouldn’t be an issue given the skill still present in the 45-year-old’s game.

“Just having played against him in the past, you realize how good he is and some of the things he does,” Hamilton said. “You know why he’s had such an amazing career. He’s tough to get off the puck, tough to defend, he’s a big body and he has that ability to still make big plays. I experienced that in the last couple of practices.”

Though Jagr has just one point through his three appearances in a Flames sweater so far, the longtime NHLer has continued to grow his role with his new club, moving up from the third line to a spot on the top unit with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan.