Flames' Oliver Kylington opens up on mental health struggles: 'I almost hit a wall'

Calgary Flames defenceman Oliver Kylington has spoken out publicly for the first time on the mental health struggles he faced that prevented him from playing last season.

The 26-year-old sat out the entirety of the 2022-23 campaign for what was described as personal reasons by then-general manager Brad Treliving. Kylington instead opted to spend the year back home in Sweden.

“It was a challenging year for me personally,” Kylington told hockeynews.se in a wide-ranging exclusive interview. “Things that (had) been going on in my family for a long time and it’s been escalating for the worse.”

The Stockholm native added that he had suppressed his feelings and neglected his emotional well-being, ultimately exacerbating the issue and leading to his decision not to play last season.

“The way I took care of my problems made me feel very bad,” he added. “I almost hit a wall and it got to a point that it was enough.”

Kylington experienced a breakout season in 2021-22. Appearing in a career-high 73 games, the smooth-skating blueliner saw dramatically increased usage and posted a career-high nine goals and 31 points. He was expected to once again be a key contributor for the Flames last year.

After it was announced that he would miss training camp, then later the entire campaign, Calgary struggled to replace his production. The Flames cycled through pairings in their top four, unable to find the right mix, and ultimately missed the postseason.

Now, Kylington says he’s eager to reintegrate himself into a new-look Flames team — one potentially at a crossroads having already dealt leading scorer Tyler Toffoli and with multiple others in limbo. Kylington is thankful for the support the club provided him throughout the process.

“I love to play hockey and that’s all I want to do, (and) I’m happy now (to be) feeling better and I can focus on the right things,” the defenceman said. “I’m doing really well right now and I’m looking forward to a new season.”