CALGARY—Among the thousands of frozen fans that shuffled into McMahon Stadium for the Heritage Classic on Sunday afternoon, James Fedirko looked a little lost.

While Montreal Canadiens jerseys rivaled Flames sweaters in number at the NHL’s second outdoor game of the season, Fedirko’s blue and white Maple Leaf jersey was one of only a few scattered through the freezing stands.

“We wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Fedirko said, cuddled close to his 11-year-old son, Daniel, who looked a touch more sensible in his Habs jersey.

The outdoor game, from where Fedirko sits, is a brilliant idea. It’s not about visual quality or comfort in a gritty sport like hockey. Come on, a true fan bears the elements — the brutal, beautiful elements that spawned a national pastime.

But Fedirko, who moved to Calgary from Toronto for work five years ago, couldn’t help but wonder why a game that celebrates history and heritage has yet to feature his beloved Toronto Maple Leafs.

“It’s the biggest market in hockey and there hasn’t been a heritage game? They think this is big here in Cowtown? It would be nothing compared to what would happen in Toronto, if Montreal and Toronto played,” he said, framed in a balaclava and toque in the minus 8 C chill.

“We would fly out. For sure, there wouldn’t even be a question.”

The NHL has touted its outdoor games as a booming success. This year marks the first time the league has held two games outside, with the Winter Classic in Pittsburgh between Sidney Crosby’s Penguins and Alex Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals on New Year’s Day.

Leafs GM Brian Burke says the team is interested in hosting one of the league’s major events — the all-star game, the entry draft, an outdoor game — but the demand is great league-wide.

“I think ultimately, absolutely we want to get to every Canadian market for sure,” said John Collins, the NHL’s chief operating officer during a media scrum at the Heritage Classic this weekend.

“Toronto has a lot of strong thoughts about how we would stage a game and where we would stage a game. You know it’s a great market, we want to do something there.”

The problem is: where? Two venues come to mind immediately, but both face serious limitations. The Rogers Centre certainly has the seating capacity, but the roof is sealed shut in the winters.

“It becomes kind of an arena game, but bigger,” Collins said of the unappealing and purpose-defeating idea.

The other is BMO Field, which would make a stunning visual setting, next to the lake with the city’s skyline framing the stadium. But with a little more than 22,000 seats, it makes little economic sense as a venue for a Heritage Classic.

“Maple Leaf Sports (and Entertainment) has talked about adding seats as their natural growth plan. I think right now it’d be a little tight,” Collins said of the BMO Field option.

“But I think ultimately that that would be the plan for Toronto.”

The NHL is still considering the best way forward with its winter games. No plans have been set for next season, and the league isn’t sure if it will stick with two outdoor games, expand further or go back to one.

But the outdoor game, on a sponsorship level, is taking off. Brian Jennings, the NHL’s executive vice president of integrated marketing, says the success of each outdoor game has built upon the last. And this Canadian version has been particularly special, he said, with “iconic” Canadian brands such as Tim Hortons, Scotiabank, Canadian Tire and BlackBerry throwing in their support.

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“The great part about this is there’s no shortage of people that want to participate and cities that want to host it,” Jennings said during Sunday’s game. “Certainly, Toronto would be an incredible market for us.”

In Calgary, the Heritage Classic filled an appetite for an outdoor, uber-Canadian experience.

Whereas the Winter Classic is more of a spectacle of size — 68,000 people attended this year’s edition in Pittsburgh — Jennings says the Heritage Classic connects to something distinctly Canadian.

“In Canada it is very much about saying, ‘This is the unique birthright of Canada,’” he said. “Canada is hockey, hockey is Canada.”

The Calgary Herald is dedicating 24 of its pages to the spectacle on Monday. Most of the 41,000 fans that parked themselves on “Heritage Classic” seat cushions stayed right to the end of the Flames’ 4-0 win over the Habs.

They rose to their frozen feet, they clapped, they cheered, they roared — even though the closest seats provided the worst views, the setting sun made the ice look grey, the puck bounced around like a tennis ball.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so frustrated in my life playing hockey,” lamented Habs defenceman James Wisniewski of the ice conditions in the loss.

But to the fans, the shared celebration of the sport seemed more valuable than the actual game.

Among them were Dave Gardner, decked out in a Habs jersey, and Dylan Gardner, his 26-year-old son, proud supporters of the Leafs. The family from Vernon, B.C., also wants to see a Heritage Classic pit their favorite teams against each other in an outdoor game.

“They’re Canada’s teams,” said Dylan.

“That would be the best Heritage game,” said Dave. “You’ve got to have a rivalry. That’s what hockey’s all about.”

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