Another big week for the Calgary Flames’ prospects. Both Ilya Nikolayev and Rory Kerins had at least five points, and both are inside the top 10 in scoring in their respective leagues. Dustin Wolf picked up three of a possible four points for the playoff-bound Stockton Heat, and was helped on with goals from Connor Zary, Matthew Phillips and more. Injury issues continue to plague the Flames’ prospects in the QMJHL but not Ryan Francis, who can’t stop putting points on the board.
So much to dive into this week!
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
Rory Kerins – Soo Greyhounds
GP | G | A | P | PPG | NHLe | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
This week | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2.0 | N/A |
Season total | 65 | 41 | 72 | 113 | 1.7 | 46.1 |
Rory Kerins just continues to dazzle on the ice. He added a goal and four more primary assists this week for the Soo Greyhounds. Take a look at his goal here:
Watch #23 on the play—he is everywhere. Kerins has this incredible ability to never give up on a play. His tenacity all over the offensive zone helped Soo get that goal, and even more than that it was his ability to just be at the right place at the right time to score. Remind you of another smaller sixth-round pick for the Flames from the OHL that currently sits fourth in team scoring?
Kerins currently sits second in OHL scoring with 113 points in 65 games. With just three games left in the season, Kerins already sits 169th all-time in points in a single OHL season. This puts him ahead of every current Flame who played in the OHL, including comparable Andrew Mangiapane.
It is just so incredible to see how the Flames are able to identify high upside players from the OHL and have them develop into league-leading forwards. Kerins will take his trade to the AHL next season, having signed his ELC last season. Expect him to try to continue to make an impact at that level. The jump is big, but if Kerins can continue to be an impact forward, he could be looking like another late round steal for the Flames.
This and that
OHL
- The Flames’ other OHL prospect Jack Beck played just one game of hockey. He and the Ottawa 67’s got demolished by the Hamilton Bulldogs in it.
- However, it was Beck’s birthday yesterday. Many happy returns!
QMJHL
- The Flames’ prospects in the Q are going through some injury issues. Cam Whynot has been in and out of the lineup this week, and did not record any points.
- Yan Kuznetsov remains sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
- Jeremie Poirier is back in the lineup after missing a few games. He had two more assists this week, and sits 42nd in league-scoring. He is also seventh in defensive scoring in the Q. He is going to be fun to watch next season in Stockton.
- Cole Huckins is also back in the lineup after a long absence from the team due to what appears to be off-ice issues. He started as an extra forward, but played yesterday on the second line left wing. He had no points this week.
- Finally, Ryan Francis simply won’t stop putting up points. This week he added a goal and two more assists. Take a look at the goal here:
- An absolutely sensational goal from the forward who should earn an ELC this season. Expect him in Stockton next season.
- Some interesting news from the Q: the Quebec Government has threatened to unsanction the league if they do not remove fighting completely. This is an evolving story which may ahve a ripple effect across the CHL.
NCAA
- The NCAA season is officially over.
- Off the ice, the Michigan State Spartans have relieved their head coach of his duties. This is where Josh Nodler and Mitchell Mattson played. Nodler, as you may recall from last week, will be at UMass next year.
USHL
- Ilya Nikolayev just keeps putting points on the board. The forward put up a goal and four more assists from the Tri-City Storm. He sits tenth in league scoring on the top team in the USHL. He is very good.
- Expect him to earn a role in Stockton next year, but probably not on an NHL contract. The USHL is a fine league, but he will probably need a good season or two to adapt to the game at that level.
- Arseni Segeev played in seven periods of hockey this weekend. He picked up a shootout loss in the first game, came in in relief for his partner in the third period of the second game, then won a wild 7–5 third game of the weekend.
- The final game helped the Storm set two records: the first for most goals in a single season with 233, and the second for the most penalty minutes in a game this year with 78. They also clinched the Western Division title in the USHL.
AHL
- The Stockton Heat picked up three of a possible four points this week, picking up a 3–2 shootout win and dropping a 6–5 shootout loss.
- Connor Zary picked up a big goal on the power play again this week. He has really come alive of late. Check out his goal here:
- As always Matthew Phillips continues to put points up. He added another goal this week. Take a look here:
- Phillips sits eighth in points in the entire league. Jakob Pelletier did not record any points this week, but still sits 17th in the league in points.
- The Heat got multi-point weeks from Justin Kirkland (2 goals), Luke Philp (2 assists), and Martin Pospisil (3 assists). Kirkland has been particularly good for the Heat this season, and is up to 20 goals on the year.
- Stockton lost Juuso Valimaki, Connor Mackey, and Adam Ruzicka to the Calgary Flames. Mackey in particular has been excellent in his stint with the Flames, making it very hard to justify taking him out of the lineup.
- Ilya Solovyov is currently out injured. He is listed as week-to-week.
- Dustin Wolf played both games this week, and currently sits fourth in save percentage in the entire league.
Swedish hockey
- Lucas Feuk and Vasby are through to the next round of the playoffs in the HockeyEttan. They play Hammers in the next round.
- William Stromgren and Rogle BK finished fourth in the J20 playoffs. They lost to Djurgardens in the semis then lost the third-place game to Orebro.
- Stromgren also featured in one SHL playoff game, as Rogle beat Oskarshamn in the quarterfinals. They now play Farjestad in the semis.
ECHL
- Daniil Chechelev picked up a tough loss in the ECHL, where he has found himself in the backup role for the team. However, he was recalled by Stockton this week, and should hopefully get into his first AHL game this time around.
WHL
- No points this week for Cole Jordan in Moose Jaw. He probably needs a some rest and a good reset in advance of next season.
- Lucas Ciona was back in the lineup for Seattle. He did not have any points.
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)
- Adam Ruzicka (AHL) 49.8 (Same)
- Rory Kerins (OHL): 46.1 (Same)
- Matthew Phillips(AHL): 43.4 (Same)
- Jakob Pelletier (AHL) 37.9 (Same)
- Glenn Gawdin (AHL): 33.1 (Same)
Overall regular season totals for Flames prospects
Forwards
Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLe | Team | League |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jack Beck | LW/RW | 34 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 1.2 | 14 | 31.3 | Ottawa 67’s | OHL |
Lucas Ciona | LW | 51 | 17 | 15 | 32 | 0.6 | 77 | 15.6 | Seattle Thunderbirds | WHL |
Matthew Coronato | RW | 34 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 1.1 | 14 | 24.3 | Harvard Crimsons | NCAA |
Walker Duehr | RW | 51 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 0.4 | 26 | 15.5 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Mathias Emilio Pettersen | C/LW | 52 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 0.4 | 16 | 16.7 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Lucas Feuk | C/W | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.2 | 0 | N/A | Vasterviks IK | HockeyAllsvenskan |
C/W | 31 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 0.9 | 14 | N/A | Vasby IK | HockeyEttan | |
C/W | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.4 | 0 | N/A | Nybro IF | HockeyEttan | |
Ryan Francis | RW/C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
RW/C | 45 | 20 | 35 | 55 | 1.2 | 32 | 28.9 | St John Sea Dogs | QMJHL | |
Glenn Gawdin | C/RW | 57 | 14 | 33 | 47 | 0.8 | 71 | 33.1 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Cole Huckins | C | 31 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 0.1 | 53 | 18.9 | Acadie Bathurst Titans | QMJHL |
Rory Kerins | C/LW | 65 | 41 | 72 | 113 | 1.7 | 43 | 46.1 | Soo Greyhounds | OHL |
Justin Kirkland | C/W | 58 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 0.7 | 67 | 28.7 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Demetrios Koumontzis | LW | 23 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 0.5 | 18 | N/A | Arizona State Sun Devils | NCAA |
Mitchell Mattson | C | 23 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.1 | 16 | 3.5 | Michigan State Spartans | NCAA |
Ilya Nikolayev | C | 54 | 22 | 45 | 67 | 1.2 | 79 | 27.5 | Tri-City Storm | USHL |
Josh Nodler | C/RW | 36 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 0.4 | 4 | 11.5 | Michigan State Spartans | NCAA |
Jakob Pelletier | C/LW | 59 | 26 | 30 | 56 | 1.0 | 22 | 37.9 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Matthew Phillips | C/RW | 57 | 28 | 34 | 62 | 1.1 | 16 | 43.4 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Luke Philp | C/RW | 58 | 21 | 22 | 43 | 0.7 | 11 | 29.5 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Martin Pospisil | C/W | 39 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 0.6 | 71 | 23.5 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Adam Ruzicka | C | 16 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 1.3 | 2 | 49.8 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
William Stromgren | LW | 44 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 0.8 | 18 | N/A | Rogle BK J20 | J20 Nationell |
LW | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | N/A | Rogle BK | Champions HL | |
LW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rogle BK | SHL | |
Eetu Tuulola | RW | 53 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 0.4 | 46 | 17.1 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Connor Zary | C | 48 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 0.5 | 32 | 19.9 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Dmitri Zavgorodniy | W/C | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.1 | 4 | 4.0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
W/C | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19.8 | HC Sochi | KHL |
Defencemen
Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLe | Team | League |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jake Boltmann | RHD | 40 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 0.3 | 28 | 9.0 | Notre Dame | NCAA |
Cole Jordan | LHD | 33 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 0.3 | 36 | 6.7 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL |
Johannes Kinnvall | RHD | 16 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0.5 | 4 | 19.9 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Yan Kuznetsov | LHD | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
LHD | 19 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0.4 | 8 | 10.2 | St John Sea Dogs | QMJHL | |
Connor Mackey | LHD | 53 | 5 | 31 | 36 | 0.7 | 83 | 27.1 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Jeremie Poirier | LHD | 58 | 13 | 38 | 51 | 0.9 | 38 | 20.5 | St. John Sea Dogs | QMJHL |
Colton Poolman | LHD | 54 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 0.2 | 16 | 8.8 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Ilya Solovyov | LHD | 46 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0.2 | 22 | 6.0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Cameron Whynot | LHD | 45 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 0.4 | 48 | 8.8 | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL |
Goalies
Player | Position | GP | GAA | SV% | Record | SO | Team | League |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Daniil Chechelev | G | 30 | 3.64 | 0.880 | 12-12-5 | 1 | Kansas City Mavericks | ECHL |
Tyler Parsons | G | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Arseni Sergeev | G | 39 | 2.08 | 0.918 | 27-6-1 | 6 | Tri-City Storm | USHL |
Dustin Wolf | G | 43 | 2.28 | 0.925 | 32-6-3 | 0 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Want to know more?
Still want to know more about the Flames prospects? Check out our interviews with a number of prospects down below:
Which prospects are you most excited about? Let us know below in the comments or on social media.