It’s the NHL’s training-camp equivalent of being seated at the kids’ table at a family holiday dinner.
Yes, Mark Jankowski is still suiting up at the other end of the hall, lumped with the long-shots and up-and-comers in what is usually the visitors’ locker-room while the established veterans enjoy the comforts of the home headquarters at the Saddledome.
More and more, though, the 23-year-old centre is making a case that he deserves to eat with the adults, that he’s ready to roll up his sleeves and dig into full-time duties with the Calgary Flames this season.
There were signs Saturday that he is inching closer to that goal.