The Calgary Flames announced Saturday morning that they have recalled forwards Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr from the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL.
The move coincides with forward Brett Ritchie being placed on injured reserve, unable to play on the team’s upcoming road trip in Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, and Nashville. The Flames usually like to travel with an extra forward and defenseman, so the recall itself is unsurprising.
In a corresponding move, the Wranglers recalled Rory Kerins, Ilya Nikolayev, and Matt Marcinew from ECHL Rapid City.
Jakob Pelletier
Pelletier is a 21-year-old left-shot LW from Quebec City, standing at 5’10” and 180 lbs. Most recently, he has played on the Wranglers’ top line with Matthew Phillips and Connor Zary.
This marks the first time that Pelletier is on an NHL roster. He was drafted by the Flames in the first round of the 2019 draft, and had a dominant junior career with the Moncton Wildcats and Val d’Or Foreurs in the QMJHL. He amassed 107 goals and 275 points in 2010 QMJHL games.
He also won a silver medal with Team Canada at the 2021 World Junior Championship where he put up seven points in seven games.
Pelletier transitioned to the AHL in 2021-22 putting up a very impressive 27 goals and 62 points in 66 games. Pelletier set the new Stockton rookie scoring record last year, and has had a dominant start to the 2022-23 AHL season with 15 goals and 34 points in 31 games, good for eighth overall in AHL scoring.
Walker Duehr
Duehr is a 25-year-old right-shot RW from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He stands at 6’2″ and weighs 209lbs. Duehr was signed by the Flames following a four-year NCAA career with Minnesota State Univ. (Mankato). He’s a big bruising forward with some skill, who got into one NHL game last season.
He put up 11 goals and 23 points in his first AHL season with the Heat in 2021-22, and has 10 goals and 16 points in 31 AHL games this season with the Wranglers.
As intriguing as it is to see Pelletier called up to the Flames, Duehr is a prototypical Darryl Sutter type player, and is an extremely similar player to the injured Ritchie. It’s more likely that Duehr slots in for Ritchie, but time will tell.
