Tuesday night against the Kings, Farabee will face his next test with that letter sewn to his sweater. And coincidentally, Los Angeles’ arrival at the Scotiabank Saddledome (GET TICKETS) also means Farabee will get to link up across from one of the veterans who helped show him the ropes as a youngster in Philadelphia.
“I try to act or represent a lot of what Scott Laughton did in Philly and what he taught me,” said Farabee. “I was a super young guy and Scotty was taking that next step in his career. Just one of those guys that would invite young guys to dinner, go out of his way to make other guys feel welcome and things like that.
“And his play always backed it up, too, with just how hard he played and how much he cared.”
Farabee’s teammates – including the one that followed him from the City of Brotherly Love to Wild Rose Country – have noticed just how quickly he’s become a key cog on the ice, and a figurehead in the room.
And for Morgan Frost, who knows Farabee better than anyone in the Flames room, it’s pretty neat to have a front-row seat to his good buddy’s career progression.
“Joel definitely deserves a letter. He’s been a leader all year. especially on the ice, I think, just the way he’s been playing,” Frost explained recently. “It was different to see him with it and it was kind of funny at first, but he deserves it and it’s a great honour.”
“All year, he’s been growing into a leader on the team,” Calgary captain Mikael Backlund added Sunday. “Since the day he got here, we saw what he can do on the ice.
“Plays the game the right way, does the little things right.”
Farabee is under contract in Calgary for two more seasons once the 2025-26 campaign is complete. And over the final dozen games of the season, he’s got a shot at hitting the 20-goal mark for the third time in his NHL career.
But more important than the points, the time on ice or the short-handed prowess (his four shorties are tied for second in the NHL, a group that includes teammate Coleman), the relationships he’ll build, the mentorship he’ll do on and off the ice, will be felt in the Flames dressing room for years to come.
If you asked me at the beginning of the year, if we were going to lose those guys (Rasmus Andersson, MacKenzie Weegar and Nazem Kadri), I would have probably said ‘Absolutely not,” said Farabee. I think it was just one of those things where some guys have to step up.
“I think not just myself, but the other guys see that too, and take pride in being guys that help these young guys that are coming up.”