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He logged 17:22 of icetime — 20 shifts, in total — that night, although he swears he’d barely blinked before the final buzzer sounded.

“It was a huge day. I was really thankful,” Kylington said prior to Saturday’s late clash with the Edmonton Oilers’ up-and-comers at South Okanagan Events Centre. “It’s the thing I’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid — getting your first game under your belt and just experiencing the whole NHL atmosphere. I’m not satisfied. I want more games, obviously, but it’s coming. I just try to work hard and show the organization and the coaches that I’m close and I want to get more games and get full-time.

“I’m just trying to show the coaches and obviously get a roster spot for opening night. Of course, I’m going to be disappointed if I’m not, but I know that I’m close and I’m just going to keep working and show myself and everybody I can play on this level.”

Kylington would really have to dazzle during main camp and exhibition to stick around the Saddledome into mid-October, but the 19-year-old is arguably the most fascinating prospect in the Flames’ pipeline.

He’s a world-class skater and a creative thinker.

As the youngest full-timer in the AHL last season, he was sometimes quarterbacking the power-play in Stockton.

But most importantly, he’s becoming less and less, uh, exciting, in his own defensive territory.

“You don’t really see a lot of mistakes or him running around his own zone anymore. That’s the one difference we see with him,” said Heat head coach Ryan Huska, who is once again running the bench for the Flames at the annual rookie shindig.