College coach believes Flames signing Connor Mackey has bright future

CALGARY, AB – Mike Hastings, over the phone from Mankato, Minn., is being quizzed about Connor Mackey.

Which, for the head coach of the NCAA’s Minnesota State University Mavericks hockey program, is nothing new.

Every week, all winter, NHL scouts were asking about the late-blooming blue-liner who ultimately inked an entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames.

“Put it this way — he made one team happy (Friday), and I think there were a lot of others that were disappointed that they weren’t the group that had the opportunity to sign him,” Hastings said.