WATERLOO REGION — As a kid, Ben Jones was the standout centre in Waterloo minor hockey.
Across the region, Cole Schwindt was an up-and-coming forward on the Kitchener minor hockey circuit.
Though two years apart in age, the pair of future NHLers watched each other develop from afar at local rinks and, later, in the Ontario Hockey League.
Now, all these years later, the duo can finally call themselves teammates.
It’s all the result of two transactions within about 24 hours earlier this month that saw the pair end up with the Calgary Flames.
It started with Jones.
The 23-year-old Waterloo native hit the open market after five years as a Vegas Golden Knights prospect and was scooped up July 21 by the Flames on a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000.
The next day, Schwindt was part of a blockbuster trade that saw him, forward Jonathan Huberdeau, defenceman MacKenzie Weegar and a conditional first-round draft pick head to the Flames from the Florida Panthers in exchange for star winger Matthew Tkachuk and a conditional fourth-round pick.
“I had no idea that there was a move in the works,” said Schwindt, who played for the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads as a teenager.
The 21-year-old was with former Kitchener Jr. Rangers teammate Cole MacKay at a cottage on Matinenda Lake, near Blind River, when the news broke.
The longtime pals where deep in the bush with no cellular service when a random text from Schwindt’s uncle popped up briefly mentioning the trade. The duo jumped in a boat and jetted to an area with better reception to get all the details.
“My phone blew up,” said Schwindt. “There are two days in the whole year where I don’t have phone service and it just happened to fall on a weekend where one of the biggest moves of my life occurred.”
Both Schwindt and Jones are in similar spots.
After three years in Vegas’ system, Jones got his first taste of the show when he appeared in a pair of games with the Golden Knights this past season.
“I’m a fourth-year pro and it’s getting to the point where I need to really solidify what kind of a player I am and where I fit in, in the organization from an NHL standpoint,” said the former Niagara IceDogs player. “It’s coming down to the wire here to put my fate in my own hands. I’m not an 18-year-old kid anymore.”
Schwindt also got a taste of the NHL by playing in a trio of games for the Panthers in his second year as a pro.
“It sounded like the Flames really wanted me and for a player that…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at "ice hockey" – Google News…