Prospects

Calgary Flames Prospect Roundup: Jack Beck is back!

The Calgary Flames may have won ten in a row, and elsewhere in prospects land, they are making a name for themselves around the world. Ten prospects had at least three points this week, headlined by Matthew Phillips with a massive six-point week. The Stockton Heat keep rolling, picking up two more wins this weekend over Bakersfield, and got production from both their top and second lines. Matthew Coronato had a beautiful goal for Harvard, which we highlight below, and we have a brand new standout performer this week. Let’s dive into it!


Welcome to the TWC Calgary Flames prospect update. Each week, we’ll take a dive into how the Flames’ prospects have done in their respective leagues. 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.

Want to see where all the Flames’ prospects are playing this year? Check out our map visualization here:


Standout Performer

Jack Beck – Ottawa 67’s

GPGAPP/GPNHLe
This week32131.0N/A
Season total16137201.333.1

Jack Beck is back! The Flames’ sixth round pick last year put up two goals and an assist in three really brutal games for the Ottawa 67’s. The team was demolished 7–2, 6–2, and 7–1 twice to Kingston and once to the North Bay Battalion, however Beck had his hand in three of the team’s five points and finished the week with just a -1 rating. Not bad for a team that allowed 20 goals against.

Here are his three goals. He did not score in the first game against Kingston but picked up the first goal for the 67’s against North Bay on a beautiful rebound:

He then got his second the same way he got his first; on a beautiful rebound again right in front:

Beck also picked up an assist on Tyler Boucher’s first goal of the season for the 67’s. He was the Ottawa Senator’s off-the-board pick in the first round of last year’s draft.

Beck has had a very weird year. He started the season on an absolute heater with 18 points in 11 games, and was rivalling Rory Kerins for the Flames’ best prospect this season. However, what looked to be a short-term knock became three months on the IR with little news. However, Beck is back and hasn’t missed a beat. He looks absolutely dynamic to this point in the season and again looks like an absolute steal for the Flames in the sixth round.

Given how little hockey he has played this season, there is a very good chance he is back in Ottawa next season to continue growing. If he can continue to produce at this pace, he will likely be challenging for the OHL’s scoring race the way that Kerins is doing this season, and that only bodes well for the Flames. Beck seems to do it all. If he can continue to score goals like this, he is going to be a major asset for the Flames:

Start talking him up now—Beck is going to be one of the Flames top prospects before you know it.

This and that

OHL

  • Not to be outdone, Rory Kerins had not one, not two, not three, but four goals this weekend. Check them out here:
  • Kerins also had a goal in the shootout to help the Hounds beat the Flint Firebirds earlier in the week. What an absolute steal Kerins has turned into for the Flames. He sits second in the OHL scoring charts, and is around the 1.70 point-per-game mark.

QMJHL

  • The Saint John Sea Dogs welcomed Ryan Francis back from injury this weekend, and he rewarded them with a big goal. Check it out here:
  • He has had ups and downs this season, but he remains over a point-per-game this season, which is where he should be at this point in his career. He sits 31st in points-per-game in the QMJHL.
  • Jeremie Poirier had two more assists this weekend, and sits third in Q scoring among defencemen. He is one of just four defencemen at or above a point-per-game in the league right now.
  • Yan Kuznetsov also had an assist for Saint John. He is just over a half-point-per-game at this point. Not bad for a stay-at-home defenceman.
  • Cameron Whynot and last week’s Standout Performer Cole Huckins both did not feature this weekend. They are both injured, but hope to be back in the lineup soon.

AHL

  • The Heat had a big week! They won their first game 4–3 in a shootout over Bakersfield in which Juuso Valimaki got the winner. They then pummeled Bakersfield in the return game by a score of 7–4.
  • The Heat’s top line was absolutely flying, with two assists for Glenn Gawdin, a goal and two assists for Jakob Pelletier, and a goal and five assists for Matthew Phillips. Three of those assists were primary for Phillips. Look at this stunner from Phillips from Gawdin after Pelletier hit the post:
  • Phillips has an NHLe of 45.0, which is absolutely massive for the AHL. For reference, Adam Ruzicka‘s NHLe when he was called up was 49.0. It’s probably time to call Phillips up.
  • Not to be outdone, the Heat’s second line put up massive numbers as well. Justin Kirkland had three goals and an assist, Connor Zary had a goal and two assists while Luke Philp had three goals himself. I think there is a good chance Kirkland gets an NHL look at some point. He’s big, physical, and has a great shot. He also had a great training camp earlier this year, which was definitely great for coach Sutter’s impression of him. If he can continue to do things like this, it almost feels like a no brainer:
  • On the blueline, Connor Mackey had a huge week, putting up four assists in the two games. He has been on fire with eight points in his last eight games. You absolutely love to see it!
  • The Heat seem to have one extra blueliner right now with Valimaki, Johannes Kinnvall, and Ilya Solovyov rotating in and out of the lineup. Solovyov played both games with no points while Kinnvall had an assist in his one game this weekend. He set up Mathias Emilio Pettersen for the Heat’s seventh goal, and it was a beautiful assist. Check it out:
  • Dustin Wolf picked up a win in his one start, but did allow four goals against. But hey, a win is a win and we’ll take it!

USHL

  • Arseni Sergeev was suspended this weekend after firing a puck at an official following a goal against. He did not play at all this weekend and there is no news on the length of the suspension.
  • No points this week for Ilya NIkolayev either. He remains on the team’s top line.

KHL

  • No games for Dmitri Zavgorodniy, as Sochi’s season has come to an end. Expect him back with Stockton soon.

NCAA

  • What a game for Matthew Coronato. He hit the post and scored an unbelievable end-to-end goal for Harvard. Check it out here:
  • He’s been playing right wing on the team’s second line for the last couple weeks, and has been steadily putting points on the board. Coronato is not having the exceptional season he did last year for the Chicago Steel in the USHL, but that is to be expected when moving to a much tougher league in the NCAA. He continues to play in all situations for the Crimson, and should see his production improve as the season wears on.
  • As much as I would love to see it, I think there is a low chance that Coronato signs his entry-level contract at the end of this season. The Flames took Yan Kuznetsov out of the NCAA after his second season and then had to send him to the Q as he was not ready for AHL action at that point. This, combined with the fact that his numbers have been good but not exceptional in Coronato’s rookie year probably give the Flames enough to justify keeping him at Harvard for one more season. For Coronato, to get one more year of a degree at arguably a top university in the world is not bad either.
  • Demetrios Koumontzis continues to be sidelined with an injury so no fit check this week.
  • Josh Nodler continues to struggle. He has been bumped down to the third line in Michigan State, and had no points again this week.
  • Mitchell Mattson played one game of hockey but still has no points.

Swedish hockey

  • What a week for Lucas Feuk! He had two goals and three assists in the Swedish HockeyEttan. He is just slightly below the point-per-game level at this point, but it is the third division of Swedish hockey, and a fourth-round pick in the NHL should be pushing for the SHL from the J-20. He likely is done with the Flames’ organization after this season.
  • Speaking of players pushing for the SHL, WIlliam Stromgren played in two games in the SHL with Rogle BK. He did not have a point with the big club, but played on the third line on the left side.
  • He also had a goal and an assist with the J-20 side this week, which is always good to see. This was an odd pick for the Flames at the time, especially with the number of excellent looking players available at the time.

ECHL

  • Daniil Chechelev had a bit of a “meh” week. He lost his first game then was beat in a shootout in a very good performance. His numbers were pretty much the same from start to finish.

WHL

  • One player who has quietly been on a tear is Lucas Ciona. He picked up a goal and two more assists this week, and is slowly closing in on the point-per-game pace. Is this production real or just him being on a heater is still to be determined but to put up a 0.7 ppg in his D+1 season is a good sign for him.
  • Cole Jordan did not put up any points this weekend while playing on the Moose Jaw Warriors’ third pairing. He has had a really rough year with injuries hampering his season. He just needs to get into a groove I think in order to really produce.

NHLe Leaderboard

NHLe is a metric used to estimate a player’s offensive output at the NHL level from their point totals in their respective league. Here are the Flames’ current top 5 (bracketed numbers denote movement from the previous week)

  1. Adam Ruzicka (AHL) 49.0 (Same)
  2. Matthew Phillips(AHL): 45.0 (+1)
  3. Rory Kerins (OHL): 44.5 (-1)
  4. Jakob Pelletier (AHL): 39.9 (+1)
  5. Glenn Gawdin (AHL) 38.6(-1)

Overall regular season totals for all Flames prospects

Forwards

PlayerPositionGPGAPP/GPPIMNHLeTeamLeague
Jack BeckLW/RW16137201.3633.1Ottawa 67’sOHL
Lucas CionaLW411513280.77316.8Seattle ThunderbirdsWHL
Matthew CoronatoRW251110210.81219.3Harvard CrimsonsNCAA
Walker DuehrRW33510150.51817.9Stockton HeatAHL
Mathias Emilio PettersenC/LW3448120.4813.9Stockton HeatAHL
Lucas FeukC/W101120.20N/AVasterviks IKHockeyAllsvenskan
C/W1999181.010N/AVasby IKHockeyEttan
C/W50220.4N/ANybro IFHockeyEttan
Ryan FrancisRW/C4000000Stockton HeatAHL
RW/C24721281.21427.2St John Sea DogsQMJHL
Glenn GawdinC/RW381225371.04538.6Stockton HeatAHL
Cole HuckinsC281213250.95120.7Acadie Bathurst TitansQMJHL
Rory KerinsC/LW473049791.72244.5Soo GreyhoundsOHL
Justin KirklandC/W391410240.65124.7Stockton HeatAHL
Demetrios KoumontzisLW2347110.518N/AArizona State Sun DevilsNCAA
Mitchell MattsonC201230.244.1Michigan State SpartansNCAA
Ilya Nikolayev C361328411.13925.2Tri-City StormUSHL
Josh NodlerC/RW3257120.4410.4Michigan State SpartansNCAA
Jakob PelletierC/LW401525401.01839.9Stockton HeatAHL
Matthew PhillipsC/RW381924431.11045.0Stockton HeatAHL
Luke PhilpC/RW391512270.71027.5Stockton HeatAHL
Martin PospisilC/W3069150.55519.9Stockton HeatAHL
Adam RuzickaC13106161.2249.0Stockton HeatAHL
William StromgrenLW431220300.816N/ARogle BK J20J20 Nationell
LW11233.00N/ARogle BKChampions HL
LW4000000Rogle BKSHL
Eetu TuulolaRW3686140.43415.5Stockton HeatAHL
Connor ZaryC2958130.42017.9Stockton HeatAHL
Dmitri ZavgorodniyW/C6000020Stockton HeatAHL
W/C100330019.8HC SochiKHL

Defencemen

PlayerPositionGPGAPP/GPPIMNHLeTeamLeague
Jake BoltmannRHD32112130.42611.2Notre DameNCAA
Cole JordanLHD201450.3306.2Moose Jaw WarriorsWHL
Johannes KinnvallRHD80660.8029.9Stockton HeatAHL
Yan KuznetsovLHD12000000Stockton HeatAHL
LHD122570.6413.5St John Sea DogsQMJHL
Connor MackeyLHD40521260.76425.9Stockton HeatAHL
Jeremie PoirierLHD381028381.02423.3St. John Sea DogsQMJHL
Colton PoolmanLHD350660.2146.8Stockton HeatAHL
Ilya SolovyovLHD333360.2147.2Stockton HeatAHL
Cameron WhynotLHD30312150.53411.6Halifax MooseheadsQMJHL

Goalies

PlayerPositionGPGAASV%RecordShutoutsTeamLeague
Daniil ChechelevG233.380.90010-9-31Kansas City MavericksECHL
Tyler ParsonsG0000-0-00Stockton HeatAHL
Arseni SergeevG291.720.92923-4-16Tri-City StormUSHL
Dustin WolfG272.290.92920-3-30Stockton HeatAHL

Want to know more?

Still want to know more about the Flames prospects? Check out our interviews with a number of prospects down below:

Yan Kuznetsov

Ilya Solovyov

Dustin Wolf

Jeremie Poirier

Ryan Francis

Matthew Phillips

Demetrios Koumontzis

Jake Boltmann

Which prospects are you most excited about? Let us know below in the comments or on social media.

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