Rankin returns to the Saddledome as a member of the Calgary Flames Staff
Every inch of the Scotiabank Saddledome seems to hold a different memory for Connor Rankin.
He can point out where he scored a natural hat trick in a single period to power the Calgary Hitmen past the Kootenay Ice in Game 7 of their 2014-15 WHL playoff showdown.
He remembers the roar of the crowd as he helped his Mount Royal Cougars defeat the University of Calgary Dinos in double overtime in front of more than 10,000 screaming university students in the 2020 Crowchild Classic.
These days, he’s making memories high above the ice as a member of the Calgary Flames Data and Analytics department.
It’s one of the most secretive sectors of any pro hockey club- but Rankin still does his best to explain what, exactly, his role is.
“There’s two sides of it,” Rankin explained. “There’s the analytic department, then there’s the eye test. I kind of like to kind of call myself the middle guy, like the hybrid guy. Understanding what the numbers mean, and how we collect the numbers, and then obviously, watching the games, and seeing how those kind of collide.”
“My day-to-day is just watching a ton of hockey and looking at a ton of numbers and trying to translate those numbers into what the Calgary Flames can use in their everyday roles.”
It’s an increasingly important role for all NHL teams.
Just not the one Rankin thought he’d be playing as he sits shoulder-to-shoulder with his colleagues high above where he and his teammates would cram into the home bench.
“Every kid has the dream of making the NHL or at least playing pro hockey, whether it’s in the AHL or in Europe,” Rankin, a North Vancouver product, said. “I was getting to that age of starting to look at that, and the Vancouver Giants were going through their Memorial Cup run and with all those amazing players… Looking back, it was never a discussion with me or my family about what route to take or anything like that. We knew the WHL offered so much and being so young and not knowing what your future holds and with that scholarship package, it was kind of a no-brainer.”
Rankin followed those dreams to Tri-City and, later, Calgary, where he maintained an important role on the top line and even earned the Hitmen’s Humanitarian of the Year award in 2015.
Through 339 games toiling in the junior ranks, he put up 121 goals and 147 assists in 339 regular season games and gained a reputation as a numbers guy with a fascination for statistics- something the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, which owns the Calgary Flames as well as the Hitmen, took notice of.
But as his junior career winded down, big decisions loomed.
Rankin attended development camp with the Pittsburgh Penguins and later cracked the main camp roster for the Edmonton Oilers, where he shared the ice with the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
He even suited up for a handful of games with the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals, but Rankin ultimately opted to use his WHL Scholarship to combine hockey and education with the Mount Royal Cougars in the Canada West.
“Sometimes in the best cases, it doesn’t happen,” Rankin added. “I mean, I was a high draft pick in the WHL and ended up using my scholarship. It goes to show that nothing’s ever promised no matter how good you are at a young age, things can always happen. It’s an option to keep playing very competitive hockey in USPORTS and getting free education.”
Rankin had an immediate impact on and off the ice, leading the Cougars and the Canada West in his first full season with 17 goals and 18 assists in 26 games and being named an Academic All-Canadian three times.
Little did he know the NHL dream was simply taking on a new form.
The now-28-year-old wasn’t too far into his tenure at MRU’s accounting program when he got the fateful call, suggesting he give the Calgary Flames’ Director of Statistical and Video Analysis, Chris Snow, a call.
The pair clicked, and Rankin was able to take on part-time work with the Flames while continuing his studies and graduated to a full-time position under his new mentor after getting his degree.
“People know how much that he (Snow) changed the Calgary Flames in a positive way and how all the information he had in his head and innovation ideas that he has was incredible,” Rankin said. “You have to be confident with your job and if you don’t know something, trust your instincts just go and do it and be yourself and trust that you know the answers to these questions. And you know, he was amazing for that.”
Snow passed away in September after a more than four-year-long battle with ALS.
He was 42-years-old.
“You’re definitely missing a big piece on your team,” Rankin said. “He affected my life in so many other ways. He was a boss, but he was also a friend. He was a mentor. He was everything to me in that in that way and he’s helped me along in my life… I always say to myself, I’m just grateful to have known him.”
Rankin, and the rest of the Data and Analytics department, still wear purple pins on their jacket to pay tribute to their friend.
Another memory the perennial student of the game hangs onto as he walks into the Saddledome yet again, still tabulating his numbers, and still chasing championships.
The 2023-24 campaign serves as the 31st year of the WHL Scholarship program. Established on a League-wide basis in 1993-94, nearly 8,000 WHL Scholarships have been accessed, representing an investment of over $35 million by WHL Clubs. This season, WHL Clubs will contribute in excess of $2.5 million to the 350 WHL graduates utilizing the WHL Scholarship.
Administered by the WHL Office, WHL Scholarships are solely funded by the ownership of the WHL member Clubs. Every player who plays in the WHL is eligible to receive the WHL Scholarship. For every season played in the WHL, players receive a guaranteed, full year of WHL Scholarship including tuition, textbooks, and compulsory fees to a post-secondary institution of their choice. The WHL Scholarship is a fully guaranteed academic scholarship with no requirement to play university hockey to qualify. The WHL graduate can apply the funding to any post-secondary or career-enhancing program of his choice, including trades schools or professional career training programs.
In addition to the WHL Scholarship players receive upon graduation from the WHL, all current WHL players are encouraged to enroll in post-secondary courses and these courses are also fully funded by WHL Clubs. On average, 150 current WHL players take post-secondary courses while playing in the WHL. The financial assistance received for post-secondary studies while playing does not impact on the WHL Scholarship benefits a player is entitled to upon graduating from the League. The WHL and Athabasca University have partnered to offer, through an online distance education platform, full-accredited university courses to any WHL player interested in further pursuing post-secondary studies while playing in the WHL.