Welcome to the TWC Flames prospect update. Each week, we’ll take a dive into how the Flames’ prospects have done in their respective leagues. With the ongoing pandemic, not every league is currently playing. Here is this week’s league status report:
AHL
The AHL has finally started in the States! The Canadian Division, where the Stockton Heat will play, will start February 12th but there is no agreement for Ontario AHL teams to play yet. The Belville Senators (Ottawa) and Toronto Marlies (Toronto) will be playing on the road to start the season. Every other province has already approved the AHL’s return to play. The Heat will play at the Saddledome starting February 21st against Toronto.
QMJHL
Quebec teams continue to bubble, but there have been some COVID concerns. Last week, there will be three bubbles with four teams in each. Nova Scotia teams have also resumed playing, but New Brunswick teams still await the all-clear from health officials. Some teams including Cape Breton have begun to allow fans into the stadiums.
WHL
After some delays, the WHL has committed to playing a 24 game season. Alberta-based teams have gotten the go ahead to start the season on February 26. The Calgary Hitmen will play at Seven Chiefs Sportsplex on Tsuut’ina Nation.
The US Division will begin on March 19, but there is no update for teams in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, or British Columbia. Good news for Dustin Wolf, less good for Connor Zary.
OHL
Still no news on a start date.
NCAA
Both the Big-10 and Hockey East are back at it again, but some teams are having issues with COVID-19.
RUSSIAN LEAGUES
Full steam ahead in Russia with all three leagues, MHL, VHL, and KHL currently operational. While there have been numerous cases of COVID-19, this has not slowed the league down much, with just the occasional game being cancelled.
SWEDISH LEAGUES
The SHL and Allsvenskan are operational currently.
The J-20 Nationell has been cancelled due to numerous cases of COVID-19.
Prospect breakdown
Although there are numerous leagues on pause, the Flames have done what they can to get their players playing. With the AHL due to start shortly, expect many more Flames’ prospects to get started again. To learn more about the various leagues where the Flames players are playing, check out our guide on all major hockey leagues outside North America.
We have defined a prospect as a skater who has played fewer than 65 NHL games, and is younger than 25 years of age. All data is from QuantHockey and EliteProspects. We also use an NHLe calculator built by Christian Roatis (@Croatis) which is used to estimate a player’s equivalent point total in the NHL based on how they are performing in their respective league. The calculator uses the difficulty of the given league combined with the ease at which a player puts up points to determine the NHLe.
Let’s get into it.
This and that
- Another strong week for Lucas Feuk in the HockeyEttan. He had a goal and three assists for Kalix HC, and looks to have fit right in. Downside is this is Sweden’s third tier, so the level of competition is not as strong as when he was playing in the Allsvenskan.
- Arizona State played at home this week against the US Men’s National Team Development Program. They lost the first game, but picked up a win in the second. Friend of the Blog Demetrios Koumontzis picked up a goal in the second game. He is currently playing on the top line for ASU, who face off against Michigan State this weekend.
- Michigan State’s games this week were cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.
- Sticking with the NCAA, Jake Boltmann had a great game for Notre Dame. Although it will not show up on the scoresheet, his forechecking led to a goal for his team against Ohio State. Notre Dame hosts Minnesota this week, and Boltmann will be hoping to finally get on the scoresheet.
- No points this week for Friend of the Blog Yan Kuznetsov, but he has been a force for UConn. One of the youngest players on the team, Kuznetsov is playing on the top pairing and handles lots of penalty kill minutes. Despite being a defensive defenceman, he still puts up a half points-per-game, and has been a big part of the team’s rise through the rankings this year.
- On this side of the border, no points for Jakob Pelletier for Val d’Or. He did, however, hit the post on the penalty shot in the one game they had this week. Pelletier is playing top line minutes on a stacked team in the Q. He plays between newly acquired Nathan Legare and Samuel Poulin, both Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks.
- Across the pond, Ilya Nikolayev had a power play goal and an assist for Buran Voronezh this week. He has been quietly quite good in the VHL, Russia’s second highest league.
- Johannes Kinnvall is still injured in Sweden. Hopefully he is back soon.
Overall totals for all Flames prospects
Forwards
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | PPG | SHG | NHLe | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feuk, Lucas | LW | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | AIK | Allsvenskan |
| 8 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | AIK | J-20 Nationell | |||
| 9 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | Kalix HC | HockeyEttan | |||
| Francis, Ryan | C | 15 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 32.6 | Saint John Seadogs | QMJHL |
| Gawdin, Glenn | C/RW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | EHC Visp | National League | ||
| Kerins, Rory | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Soo Greyhounds | OHL |
| Kirkland, Justin | LW/RW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
| Koumontzis, Demetrios | LW | 16 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 15.4 | Arizona State Sun Devils | NCAA |
| Mattson, Mitchell | C | 18 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 | Michigan State Spartans | NCAA |
| Nikolayev, Ilya | C | 16 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 12.9 | Loko Yaroslavl | MHL |
| 37 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 10.9 | Buran Voronezh | VHL | ||
| Nodler, Josh | C | 18 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 13.7 | Michigan State Spartans | NCAA |
| Pelletier, Jakob | C/LW | 12 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 31.1 | Val-d’Or Foreurs | QMJHL |
| Pettersen, Emilio | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
| Phillips, Matthew | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
| Philp, Luke | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
| Pospisil, Martin | C/LW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
| 22 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 2 | 1 | HC Kosice | Slovakia | |||
| Ruzicka, Adam | C/RW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
| Sveningsson, Filip | LW | 35 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6.7 | MODO Hockey | Allsvenskan |
| Tuulola, Eetu | RW | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10.7 | Västerviks IK | Allsvenskan |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | SaiPa | Liiga | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL | ||
| Zary, Connor | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Kamloops Blazers | WHL |
| Zavgorodny, Dmitri | C/RW | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.0 | SKA St Petersburg | KHL |
Defensemen
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | PPG | SHG | NHLe | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boltmann, Jake | RHD | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Lincoln Stars | USHL |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Notre Dame | NCAA | ||
| Kinnvall, Johannes | RHD | 29 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 37.1 | HV-71 | SHL |
| Kuznetsov, Yan | LHD | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17.9 | UConn Huskies | NCAA |
| Lerby, Carl-Johan | LHD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
| Mackey, Connor | LHD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
| Poirier, Jeremie | LHD | 15 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 24.8 | St. John Sea Dogs | QMJHL |
| Poolman, Colton | LHD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
| Solovoyov, Ilya | LHD | 35 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 11.3 | Dynamo Minsk | KHL |
| Valimaki, Juuso | LHD | 19 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 37.1 | Ilves | Liiga |
| Yelesin, Alexander | RHD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Goalies
| Player | Position | GP | GAA | SV% | W | L | SO | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chechelev, Daniil | G | 21 | 2.58 | 0.912 | 8 | 7 | 3 | HK Ryazan | VHL |
| 15 | 2.20 | 0.931 | 11 | 3 | 0 | Russkie Vityazi Chekhov | MHL | ||
| Parsons, Tyler | G | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
| Wolf, Dustin | G | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Everett Silvertips | WHL |
| Zagidulin, Artyom | G | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
| 5 | 4.24 | 0.869 | 1 | 4 | 0 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | KHL |
Which prospects are you most excited about? Let us know below in the comments or on social media.
Photo credits: Arizona State Sun Devil Hockey
