Crowning the 2021–22 Calgary Flames Halloween costume champion

The spookiest night of the year has come and passed, and the Calgary Flames players and prospects put on one heck of a show with their costumes. Numerous Flames went all out with their looks, with some embodying classic characters from TV and movies, while others went off the board with costumes that were far more niche. We have compiled all the ones that we could find online and have ranked them based on their creativity and execution, with one costume coming out as this year’s Calgary Flames Halloween costume champion. Check them out:

Ilya Solovyov

After featuring in his first professional game this past weekend, the Flames seventh-round pick and his new wife put on a show with a twin devil look for Halloween this year. While the idea is pretty mainstream (who hasn’t been a devil for Halloween?) the execution is exemplary—from the fake blood to the full robe, the couple has it all this year.

Score: 3/5 stars

Milan Lucic

Lucic went all out for his costume this year, sporting a full Deadpool costume. His wife Brittany did not go as Deadpool’s partner Vanessa Carlyle, but instead opted for Batgirl. You cannot fault either for execution: Both costumes clearly took a lot of work to put together and turned out spectacularly. The only thing stopping it from being a full five stars is that the couples costume theme isn’t perfect. That said, a very good Halloween look from Team Lucic.

Score: 4/5 stars

Mikael Backlund

Team Backlund put out two looks this year. The first was the angel and devil, with Backlund reprising the role of the good. This is a look he models on the ice night-in and night-out as the Flames’ most consistently good player, but seeing him in white tights and wings is definitely a new one. Don’t expect him to be getting any calls from Victoria’s Secret anytime soon however.

His wife Frida is sporting a very good devil look (albeit not as well done as Team Solovyov). The next costume, the family look, is the Backlunds dressed as a family of sharks a la doo-doo-doo-doo-doo. They even got a costume for the dog, and if there was ever a costume that deserves full marks it is this one. Incredible work, Team Backlund.

Score: 5/5 stars

Juuso Valimaki

The Flames’ Finnish defenceman has been in a fierce battle to retain his roster spot this season, but he has managed to put out one heck of a costume. He and his soon-to-be wife Vilma reprised the iconic roles of Gru and the minion from Despicable Me. Vilma has the look down to a tee, while Juuso is rocking a scowl reminiscent of Coach Darryl Sutter when the Flames take a penalty in the offensive zone. Excellent work from these two.

Score: 4.5/5 stars

Dan Vladar

Who else would netminder Dan Vladar be for Halloween but Darth Vader. He and his wife Andrea put on a look from a galaxy far, far away reprising the roles of the Star Wars villain and Leia Skywalker, as well as dressing the dog up as Baby Yoda from Disney’s The Mandalorian. While slightly mismatched adding Baby Yoda, the look is so well-done across the board, it deserves full marks.

Score: 5/5 stars

Blake Coleman

The Colemans came to Calgary with two Stanley Cups under their belt, and came to play for the crown of best Flames Halloween costume this year as well. The family is rocking a Coleman Camping look this year, with the whole family dressed up and ready to go brave the elements this fall. Between the kids rocking the full flannel look, the Coleman cooler, and the cutoff shorts, this is the full meal deal for Halloween. Easy full marks for the Colemans.

Score: 5/5 stars

Demetrios Koumontzis

The oft forgotten 2018 fourth-round pick, Demetrios Koumontzis put on a Halloween costume foe the ages. Reprising the role of Tommy Shelby, the leader of the Peaky Blinders, Koumontzis has the look down to a tee going into the arena today, with the pocket watch, hat, and double breasted suit all perfectly aligned. Minus the very modern (and probably much needed) coffee, the ASU Sun Devil senior has it all put together this year. Not the most unique look, but a very well done one from the desert.

Score: 4.5/5 stars

Rasmus Andersson

Fresh off a summer wedding and the birth of their first child, Rasmus Andersson and his wife Tessa showed us the world with this look from Aladdin. Rasmus had the full blue face look and all, modelling a very Will Smith genie, while Tessa had Princess Jasmine down to a tee. As good as this look was, they clearly did not coordinate with a fellow Swede, and happened to wear the same costume this year, as described below.

Score: 3.5/5 stars

Elias Lindholm

Uh-oh, Lindholm and his wife Annica put on the same look as the Anderssons, sporting the Aladdin and Jasmine look as well. However, unlike his fellow Swede, Lindholm’s look is the more iconic Robin Williams genie as opposed to the modern remake that Rasmus opted for. Still, of all the costumes in the world, this could have been avoided.

Score: 3.5/5 stars

Winner: Nikita Zadorov

We have a winner: Nikita Zadorov and his wife Aleksandra take the cake this year with their couples costume of Karl Lagerfield and his cat, Choupette. Lagerfield was the creative director of Chanel, Fendi, and numerous other fashion brands, but in 2013, cat sat Choupette for fashion model Baptiste Giabiconi and effectively refused to give her back until Giabiconi gave her to him as a Christmas gift. A unique man, Lagerfield once expressed a desire to marry Choupette in 2013 if marriage between humans and cats were legal.

Choupette has appeared in numerous fashion shoots and was allegedly the inspiration behind a handbag released in 2013. And while Lagerfield passed away in 2018, his iconic style lives on forever. A very unique look from the new Flames blueliner, and for this he and Aleksandra earn the honour of being the 2021–22 Calgary Flames Halloween Costume Champions.

Spooky finish to October hockey

Halloween has come and gone and now the Flames have their first in-game action of November tomorrow at home versus the Nashville Predators. With a lot of costumes on display, the Flames are having fun both on and off the ice. After all, they’re one of the hottest teams in the league right now, most recently posting back-to-back shutouts. As the playoff race heats up, the Flames can look back at October and see that they’ve done immensely well at scaring many of their opponents into losing, or even not scoring.