If there had been any doubters left -- those skeptical folks from the I'll-believe-it-when-I-see-it school -- Saturday morning surely served as the final straw.

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New Calgary Flames forward Todd Bertuzzi takes part in the team's first day of training camp at the Pengrowth Saddledome Saturday, Sept. 20.

Photograph by : Stuart Gradon for Calgary Herald

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Todd Bertuzzi -- a full-fledged member of the Calgary Flames?

Yup. Right there. Can't miss him.

Not only was the large chap actually on the Pengrowth Saddledome ice -- red practice jersey (sleeves pushed up high onto his elbows pads, as usual), flaming C on the front, No. 7 on the back -- he was skating with . . . you guessed it

. . . Jarome Iginla and Daymond Langkow.

For serious chroniclers of the squad, their first line rush arrived at 8:58 a.m.

Which had the media, post-practice, quizzing the fast friends about their point-producing potential.

"I think it's pretty good, obviously -- those guys, they're top-notch players,'' said Langkow. "Ever since I've been here, I've been able to play with Iggy, (Kristian) Huselius, (Alex) Tanguay, guys like that. And now Bertuzzi. So it's been fun for me, I'm looking forward to it.''

Of course, nothing is set in stone.

Remember two years ago? A new-fangled combination of Matthew Lombardi, Iginla and Tanguay made a short-lived splash in the National Hockey League pre-season. That trio was never heard from again.

Saturday's afternoon session, by the way, featured Michael Cammalleri working with Mikael Backlund and Rene Bourque. Meanwhile, Matthew Lombardi, Dustin Boyd and David Moss formed another unit.

But for now, Iginla and Bertuzzi and Langkow are the camp's buzz-makers.

"Passes were pretty crisp,'' said Langkow. "It was a good first ice session.''

Yes, first ice session. Which is worth noting.

Because nothing much gets solved on a quiet morning in September.

"Obviously, you're not going to get a lot out of it on Day 1,'' said Bertuzzi. "I think we were basically just going over our systems and all that, but, yeah, it's exciting. It would be nice to get some early chemistry. Hopefully, we can get clicking early.

"We know each other enough, where everyone likes to play and likes to go, and where they want the puck. That will come pretty easily. You have the making of a very good line -- it's just a matter of coming together.''

Iginla was asked how long that knitting might take.

A tough question -- because it doesn't always happen. Sometimes, for whatever reason, three quality forwards never make music.

"It's hard to say,'' answered Iginla. "I think we can get going from the start -- that's our goal -- but it takes games. There's not really a day that it clicks.''

As thrilled as Bertuzzi was by Saturday's alignment, he wasn't interested in playing the role of first-line forecaster.

"You can always throw huge expectations on it and predictions . . . but, at the same time, it's about this team,'' said Bertuzzi. "It's not about individual goals.''

After the morning's initial line dashes, the next series of drills had called for two-man units.

With Langkow and Iginla together, Bertuzzi paired off with Kris Chucko, a kid from the West Coast.

(And, yes, a former supporter of the Vancouver Canucks -- "Don't tell anyone,'' he chuckled afterward.)