While the gifts may be starting to pile up under the tree, the Calgary Flames’ prospects spent the week putting piles of points on the board. The Calgary Wranglers picked up two wins this week, and were led by huge weeks from Jeremie Poirier and Connor Zary. Of course, Dustin Wolf was the key to it all, carrying the team to two big wins. Elsewhere, Lucas Ciona put up four points in Seattle and we have a brand new Standout Performer this week, also from the WHL. 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: Parker Bell – Tri City Americans (WHL)
Parker Bell has been quietly very good all season long, but this week he dialed it all the way up, recording a massive seven point week. He scored two goals, one at 5v5 and one on the power play, then added five assists for seven points in three games. Here are his two goals:
He also got into a fight with the Victoria Royals’ Alex Edwards, but was roundly beat in that contest. Take a look at that here:
Bell has flown under the radar for most of this season for a number of reasons. First, he’s been quite good but not really outstanding across the board. He has had a pretty even split of primary and secondary assists this season, which is usually a sign that a good chunk of his assists are luck-based as opposed to skill based. This week alone, three of his five assists were secondary.
On top of that, Bell’s numbers have been good but nothing outstanding so far this season compared to the rest of his team and the league. He sits third on the team in points with 33, but is one of the only players with a positive plus/minus on the team. The WHL is a very good league this year, and Bell sits 43rd in scoring so far. He is also 51st in points-per-game this season, just marginally behind Lucas Ciona of the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Bell is on pace for 78 points in his D+1 year, which is really impressive, but will need to impress even more if he wants to earn a contract with the big club in a year or two.
Flames prospect happenings
AHL
- The Wranglers had just two games this week, picking up a 3–2 win over the Manitoba Moose then picking up a 4–1 win over the Ontario Reign.
- Yan Kuznetsov got his second goal of the season this week, an absolute bomb from the point that would stand as the game winner against Manitoba. Take a look at it here:
- Jeremie Poirier also got a goal this week, with a wicked shot as well. Take a look:
- Poirier also added two assists this week for the Wranglers, bringing him up to 15 on the season. He’s currently fourth on the team in points and leads all U-21 defencemen in points in the AHL right now.
- One player who has really impressed of late is Emilio Pettersen, who had three more assists this week. He is sneaking his way up to being a point-per-game player fort the Wranglers this year. He could be a candidate for a call-up in time, but is looking like an increasingly good pick for the Flames from 2018.
- Dustin Wolf saw his numbers trend further upwards this year. Again, he’s looking too good for the AHL. Wolf was particularly impressive in the Wranglers’ 4–1 win over Ontario, where he stopped 37 of 38 shots faced.
BCHL
- A goal and an assist for Cade Littler this week. He’s still a point-per-game player, but it is still the BCHL.
ECHL
- Both Rory Kerins and Ilya Nikolayev found their way back to Rapid City this week after a brief recall to the AHL. Kerins got into a game in the AHL, but Nikolayev has yet to find his way into the lineup.
- Kerins had no points in the ECHL this week, but Nikolayev recorded three goals. Take a look here:
- Lucas Feuk also recorded an assist this week.
- Daniil Chechelev’s numbers moved the right way this week, and he sits eighth in the ECHL in save percentage. Chechelev has won 12 games this season, but still has not recorded a shutout. All in due time.
OHL
- Jack Beck remains injured.
QMJHL
- Two assists for Cole Huckins in Sherbrooke. He’s been quietly just around the point-per-game mark this season. After a tire fire of a season last year, it’s great to see this level of consistency.
- He has been playing in the top-six, bouncing between the top and second line and playing on both the left and right wing.
- Another assist this week for Cam Whynot. Neat!
WHL
- Lucas Ciona also had a huge week in the WHL. After a few very slow weeks, the 2021 sixth-round pick had a goal and three assists for the Seattle Thunderbirds. He’s been playing mostly on the team’s second line this season
- Cole Jordan will be out for the rest of the season.
NCAA
- The NCAA is on pause for the holidays.
Europe
- Huge congratulations to Topi Ronni for earning a call for Team Finland at the World Juniors this year. He will join William Stromgren as the two Flames prospects at the tournament.
- Both of the Flames’ European prospects are gearing up for the tournament in Atlantic Canada later this month, and did not play at all in their respective leagues this week.
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)
- Matthew Phillips: 59.8 (Same)
- Jakob Pelletier: 43.0 (Same)
- Connor Zary: 39.9 (Same)(Tie)
- Ben Jones 36.3 (-1)
- Jack Beck: 34.4 (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 | 10 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 1.30 | 4 | 34.4 | Ottawa 67’s | OHL |
| Parker Bell | LW | 28 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 1.18 | 37 | 29.2 | Tri-City Americans | WHL |
| Lucas Ciona | LW | 28 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 1.21 | 28 | 30.0 | Seattle Thunderbirds | WHL |
| Matthew Coronato | RW | 11 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 1.36 | 6 | 31.3 | Harvard Crimsons | NCAA |
| Walker Duehr | RW | 25 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 0.58 | 12 | 23.1 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Mathias Emilio Pettersen | C/LW | 20 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 0.84 | 12 | 33.5 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Lucas Feuk | C/W | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0.29 | 10 | N/A | Rapid City Rush | ECHL |
| Cole Huckins | C | 31 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 0.84 | 39 | 19.6 | Sherbrooke Phoenix | QMJHL |
| Ben Jones | C | 24 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 0.91 | 15 | 36.3 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Rory Kerins | C/LW | 18 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 1.00 | 0 | N/A | Rapid City Rush | ECHL |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.40 | 0 | 15.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL | ||
| Adam Klapka | RW | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.29 | 25 | 11.6 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Demetrios Koumontzis | LW | 18 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0.44 | 10 | 12.7 | Arizona State Sun Devils | NCAA |
| Cade Littler | C | 28 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 1.07 | 18 | 11.4 | Wenatchee Wild | BCHL |
| Ilya Nikolayev | C | 21 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 0.81 | 23 | N/A | Rapid City Rush | ECHL |
| Josh Nodler | C/RW | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.25 | 6 | 8.1 | UMass | NCAA |
| Jakob Pelletier | C/LW | 25 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 1.08 | 4 | 43.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Matthew Phillips | C/RW | 20 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 1.50 | 6 | 59.8 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Martin Pospisil | C/W | 17 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0.31 | 19 | 12.4 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Topi Ronni | C | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.20 | 2 | 8.9 | Tappara | Liiga |
| 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2.50 | 2 | N/A | Tappara U20 | U20 SM-sarja | ||
| Cole Schwindt | C/RW | 23 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 0.77 | 6 | 30.7 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| William Stromgren | LW | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3.00 | 0 | N/A | Rogle BK J20/Brynas IF J20 | J20 Nationell |
| LW | 26 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0.19 | 6 | 9.3 | Brynas IF | SHL | |
| Connor Zary | C | 25 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 1.08 | 33 | 39.9 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Defencemen
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLe | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Boltmann | RHD | 18 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.11 | 27 | 3.0 | Notre Dame | NCAA |
| Cole Jordan | LHD | 17 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0.41 | 15 | 10.2 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL |
| Yan Kuznetsov | LHD | 22 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0.33 | 6 | 13.2 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Jeremie Poirier | LHD | 25 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 0.78 | 14 | 28.3 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Ilya Solovyov | LHD | 23 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0.23 | 14 | 9.2 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Cameron Whynot | LHD | 28 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 0.46 | 12 | 10.7 | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL |
Goalies
| Player | Position | GP | GAA | SV% | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniil Chechelev | G | 18 | 2.85 | 0.916 | Kansas City Mavericks | ECHL |
| Arseni Sergeev | G | 10 | 2.57 | 0.919 | University of Connecticut | NCAA |
| Dustin Wolf | G | 20 | 2.33 | 0.921 | Calgary Wranglers | 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.
Photo from @CalgaryWranglers on Twitter.
