Prospects

Calgary Flames Prospect Roundup: It’s time to call up Matthew Phillips

This was an enormous week for the Flames’ best prospects. Matthew Phillips had seven points for the Wranglers, as the team won two of their three games. Jakob Pelletier and Ben Jones had four points apiece, and Rory Kerins and Jeremie Poirier each recorded five for their respective teams. 14 prospects had multi-point weeks, including a number of new faces. There’s so much to talk about, let’s dive right 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.


Standout Performer: Matthew Phillips – Calgary Wranglers (AHL)

PeriodGPGAPPPGPIMsNHLe
This week32572.330N/A
Season total181313261.44457.4

Even if the Calgary Flames were 10–0 in their last stretch (they weren’t) and even if things were clicking up and down the lineup (they aren’t), Matthew Phillips’ performance so far this season would justify him being called up to the NHL. He leads the entire AHL in points with 26 in 18 games, and his 57.4 NHLe is among the highest in the league. These numbers are absolutely insane.

This week, Phillips continued his phenomenal start, putting up two more goals and adding a whopping five more assists for seven points in three games. The Wranglers scored 12 goals this week, and Phillips’ fingers were on more than 50% of those goals. For his work, Phillips was named the AHL’s Player of the week. Take a look at his two goals here:

There is very little to criticize Phillips for that is within his control. He’s fast on the ice, able to create chances out of very little as exemplified in his first goal. He also has a wicked shot that can beat goalies clean from distance. On top of all of this, he has a compete level that gets him position right in front of the net for tip-ins and screens. All this despite being just 5’8″ in height.

Phillips has been hearing he is too small to play hockey for his entire career. From his pre-junior days, to junior hockey, to pro hockey, and now for the NHL, but at each and every level he has proven the doubters wrong. The Flames desperately need to give him a look, if for no other reason than to evaluate what they have in him at the next level. There is simply no reason not to anymore, they have nothing to lose.

Flames prospect happenings

AHL

  • The Wranglers went 2–0–1 this week, losing only to Shane Wright and the Coachella Valley Firebirds in overtime.
  • Jakob Pelletier went off this week, putting up three goals and an assist. He sits tenth in the AHL in scoring currently.
  • It was a bit of a slower week for Connor Zary, who recorded two assists. He is 20th in the league currently.
  • Walker Duehr also had a huge week for the Wranglers, scoring three goals in three games this week. He and Ben Jones, who had a goal and three assists, have been quietly putting points on the board effectively this season. Take a look at one of Duehr’s goals here:
  • On the blueline, Jeremie Poirier had a huge week, recording a goal and four assists for the Wranglers. His goal was the overtime winner against Abbotsford earlier in the week. Take a look at it here:
  • The rookie Poirier is currently fifth in AHL scoring among defencemen with 15 points in 18 games this season. He probably won’tbe called up to the Flames anytime soon, but if he continues to grow his two-way game, he could be in the NHL sooner than many expecred initially.
  • Cole Schwindt picked up a knock, and is listed as day-to-day with a lower body injury.
  • Finally, Emilio Pettersen has quietly been very good for the Wrang,ers and recorded two goals and an assist this week. Not bad at all!

BCHL

  • Two assists for Cade Littler in the BCHL. He’s a point-per-game player still this season.

ECHL

  • Once again, Rory Kerins showed he is too good for the ECHL. The forward had two goals and three assists this week for Rapid City, and is desperately in need of a longer look in the AHL.
  • After a very slow start, Ilya Nikolayev is really starting to turn it on. The Russian forward had four assists this week to bring him up to 11 points in 16 games this season. Neither he nor Kerins should have been in the ECHL in the first place, but there are too many older players and prospects in Calgary for them to have room for both of them at this point.
  • No points again for Lucas Feuk.
  • Daniil Chechelev saw his numbers dip just a touch, but he is still the second-best netminder in the league by save percentage at this point in the season. It may not be a bad idea to give him a short look in the AHL given how poorly Oscar Dansk has been this season. Dansk is rocking an abysmal 0.871 save percentage in five starts this season.

OHL

  • Jack Beck is still injured. Boo!

QMJHL

  • Our Standout Prospect of the week last week, Cole Huckins, had three more assists this week. He is just under a point-per-game this season.
  • Cameron Whynot added an assist this week for the Halifax Mooseheads, and is just under a half-point-per-game this season. Not bad, but probably should be a bit better.

WHL

  • Lucas Ciona snapped his goal-scoring drought this week, adding a goal and three assists in three games. He is still a point-per-game player so far this season.
  • Two goals this week for Parker Bell, who is hovering around the point-per-game mark as well! You love to see it.

NCAA

  • One goal this week for Matt Coronato at Harvard. They played Michigan, one of the top programs in the country, They won the first game in a shootout, but lost the second 4–1. Coronato’s goal came shorthanded, and was Harvard’s fifth shorthanded goal of the season. Take a look here:
  • No points again this week for Josh Nodler. He has been bumped down to UMass’ second line.
  • A goal and an assist for Demetrios Koumontzis and Arizona State. He is now on the third line for the Sun Devils as a fifth-year player.
  • No points again for Jake Boltmann.

Europe

  • No points and no games for Topi Ronni this week.
  • William Stromgren played one game of hockey in the SHL, again on the fourth line, but did not record 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)

  1. Matthew Phillips: 57.4(Same)
  2. Jakob Pelletier: 46.6 (+1)
  3. Connor Zary: 39.9 (-1)(Tie)
  4. Ben Jones 39.9(Same)(Tie)
  5. Jack Beck: 34.4 (New)

Overall regular season totals for Flames prospects

Forwards

PlayerPositionGPGAPP/GPPIMNHLeTeamLeague
Jack BeckLW/RW10211131.30434.4Ottawa 67’sOHL
Parker BellLW21813211.002424.8Tri-City AmericansWHL
Lucas CionaLW19818261.372033.9Seattle ThunderbirdsWHL
Matthew CoronatoRW966121.33230.5Harvard CrimsonsNCAA
Walker DuehrRW186390.50819.9Calgary WranglersAHL
Mathias Emilio PettersenC/LW1446100.71828.3Calgary WranglersAHL
Lucas FeukC/W90110.116N/ARapid City RushECHL
Cole HuckinsC23910190.833119.3Sherbrooke PhoenixQMJHL
Ben JonesC17413171.001539.9Calgary WranglersAHL
Rory KerinsC/LW1379161.230N/ARapid City RushECHL
31010.33019.9Calgary WranglersAHL
Adam KlapkaRW111340.36814.3Calgary WranglersAHL
Demetrios KoumontzisLW144260.438N/AArizona State Sun DevilsNCAA
Cade LittlerC201010201.001610.7Wenatchee WildBCHL
Ilya Nikolayev C1629110.6921N/ARapid City RushECHL
Josh NodlerC/RW141340.2969.3UMassNCAA
Jakob PelletierC/LW18912211.17446.6Calgary WranglersAHL
Matthew PhillipsC/RW181313261.44457.4Calgary WranglersAHL
Martin PospisilC/W140330.21198.4Calgary WranglersAHL
Topi RonniC51010.2027.4
TapparaLiiga
21452.502N/ATappara U20U20 SM-sarja
Cole SchwindtC/RW1767130.77430.7Calgary WranglersAHL
William StromgrenLW13033.000N/ARogle BK J20/Brynas IF J20J20 Nationell
LW212240.1948.1Brynas IFSHL
Connor ZaryC18810181.001939.9Stockton HeatAHL

Defencemen

PlayerPositionGPGAPP/GPPIMNHLeTeamLeague
Jake BoltmannRHD161010.06271.6Notre DameNCAA
Cole JordanLHD172570.411510.2Moose Jaw WarriorsWHL
Yan KuznetsovLHD171450.29411.6Calgary WranglersAHL
Jeremie PoirierLHD18312150.831033.1Calgary WranglersAHL
Ilya SolovyovLHD170330.18107.2Calgary WranglersAHL
Cameron WhynotLHD2128100.48811.2Halifax MooseheadsQMJHL

Goalies

PlayerPositionGPGAASV%TeamLeague
Daniil ChechelevG122.890.918Kansas City MavericksECHL
Arseni SergeevG72.690.917University of ConnecticutNCAA
Dustin WolfG142.590.915Calgary WranglersAHL

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.


Photo from CalgaryWranglers.com.

Back to top button

Discover more from The Win Column

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading