The Calgary Flames’ prospects continue to put points on the board this week. The Calgary Wranglers picked up three big wins this week and were led by one of their best defencemen.
Outside of Calgary, both Parker Bell and Lucas Ciona had huge weeks in the WHL’s US Division. Nearly every CHL prospect has already qualified for the playoffs at this point.
The Flames’ NCAA prospects are getting into playoff mode, with some already into the second round of their respective playoffs.
So much to get into 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.
Flames prospect happenings
AHL
- The Wranglers picked up three wins this week, one against the Coachella Valley Firebirds and two over the Colorado Eagles, but dropped one against the Eagles as well.
- Jeremie Poirier was the star of the week, recording two goals, two assists and a shootout winner to help secure the two points against the Eagles. Here’s one of his goals from this week, an absolute beauty:
- And take a look at his shootout winner here:
- Just unbelievable control by Poirier, who was described as having the best hands in his entire draft class. It’s still unbelievable that the Flames managed to get him in the third round.
- Both Ben Jones and Matthew Phillips had two goals and an assist as well for the team. Take a look at one of Phillips’ goals here, as he tied the game up at 5–5 prior to the Wranglers winning in a shootout:
- Adam Klapka also found his way onto the scoresheet in a big way, adding a goal and two assists. He’s had a very slow season, but it’s great to see him on the board more often.
- Dustin Wolf saw his numbers fluctuate a bit, but he was on the ice for three games this week. No games for Daniil Chechelev as a result. Chechelev has been sent down to the ECHL.
- Off the ice, the Flames traded Radim Zohorna (not a prospect) and acquired Dryden Hunt (also not a prospect). Hunt picked up a goal and an assist in his first game with the Wranglers. Take a look at his goal here:
- Zohorna meanwhile finished his time in Calgary with eight NHL games, and 29 points in 40 AHL games with the Wranglers. Thanks for the memories, Radim!
BCHL
- A big week for Cade Littler. The forward had a goal and three assists in just one game for Wenatchee. Again, take these numbers with a grain of salt, as his real mettle will be tested in the NCAA next season.
ECHL
- No points for Lucas Feuk this week in the ECHL.
- Both Ilya Nikolayev and Rory Kerins remain injured.
Europe
- One assist for Topi Ronni in the SM-sarjaa this week. He played on the top line in the junior league.
- He also featured in a game in Liiga this week, but was the 13th forward and did not record any points.
- No points for William Stromgren this week.
NCAA
- NCAA teams are preparing for their respective league’s playoffs. From there, 16 teams are selected to play in the Frozen Four from across the country. Harvard is a likely lock for the tournament, UConn have a good shot as well, while UMass and Notre Dame are in the running, but likely on the outside looking in.
- Josh Nodler’s UMass finished ninth in Hockey East, and play eighth seeded Boston College in the first round. 2022 fifth overall pick Cutter Gauthier plays for BC.
- Sticking with Hockey East, Arseni Sergeev gave up five goals this week, but his UConn Huskies still picked up the win over Boston College. They earned a bye in the first round, and will face the fifth-ranked UMass Lowell (not where Nodler plays).
- Matt Coronato and Harvard earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs, and now face Princeton in the second round. Harvard are the reigning champions, and will be one of the favorites in the playoffs.
- One assist this week for Demetrios Koumontzis. Because ASU is an independent team, they do not play in the playoffs. There is a chance that they earn a spot in the Frozen Four, but that seems very remote.
- Jake Boltmann and Notre Dame are officially done for the year. They lost to underdogs Michigan State over the weekend, which marked the first ever playoff series win for the Spartans. MSU is where Nodler and former prospect Mitchell Mattson played until last season.
OHL
- What a week for Jack Beck. The forward had two goals and three assists for the Ottawa 67’s and played on both the first and second lines. Take a look at one of his goals here:
- It’s great to see him really finding his game after numerous injuries. He is one of the Flames’ most exciting prospects in junior hockey.
QMJHL
- Another game, another point for Cole Huckins. The forward is closing in on a point-per-game pace.
- No points this week for Cam Whynot. He really hasn’t taken a step forward this season at all.
WHL
- Another big week for Parker Bell. The forward had three assists this week for Tri-City, but perhaps more importantly, he’s back on the team’s top line.
- The Americans sit sixth in the WHL’s Western Conference, and they have secured a playoff spot.
- Lucas Ciona also had a good week this week, putting up a goal and an assist for Seattle. He is now playing on the third line of the very deep WHL side.
- The Thunderbirds have won their division, sit at the top of the Western Conference and are one point behind the Winnipeg ICE for the league-lead.
- Cole Jordan will be out for the rest of the season.
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: 47.0 (Same)
- Jakob Pelletier: 43.4 (Same)
- Connor Zary: 34.3 (Same)
- Emilio Pettersen 32.3 (Same)
- Ben Jones: 31.9 (NEW)
Overall regular season totals for Flames prospects
Forwards
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLe | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Beck | LW/RW | 37 | 8 | 33 | 41 | 1.11 | 12 | 29.4 | Ottawa 67’s | OHL |
| Parker Bell | LW | 48 | 21 | 36 | 57 | 1.19 | 57 | 29.5 | Tri-City Americans | WHL |
| Lucas Ciona | LW | 54 | 26 | 43 | 69 | 1.28 | 83 | 31.7 | Seattle Thunderbirds | WHL |
| Matthew Coronato | RW | 29 | 19 | 14 | 31 | 1.14 | 12 | 26.2 | Harvard Crimsons | NCAA |
| Walker Duehr | RW | 41 | 15 | 11 | 26 | 0.63 | 36 | 25.1 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Mathias Emilio Pettersen | C/LW | 48 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 0.81 | 35 | 32.3 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Lucas Feuk | C/W | 42 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 0.29 | 16 | N/A | Rapid City Rush | ECHL |
| Cole Huckins | C | 56 | 25 | 26 | 51 | 0.91 | 70 | 21.2 | Sherbrooke Phoenix | QMJHL |
| Ben Jones | C | 56 | 13 | 31 | 44 | 0.80 | 45 | 31.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Rory Kerins | C/LW | 31 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 1.00 | 6 | N/A | Rapid City Rush | ECHL |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.33 | 0 | 13.2 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL | ||
| Adam Klapka | RW | 45 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 0.32 | 64 | 12.8 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Demetrios Koumontzis | LW/D | 35 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 0.49 | 29 | 14.2 | Arizona State Sun Devils | NCAA |
| Cade Littler | C | 45 | 24 | 31 | 51 | 1.22 | 24 | 14.2 | Wenatchee Wild | BCHL |
| Ilya Nikolayev | C | 32 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 0.81 | 27 | N/A | Rapid City Rush | ECHL |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL | ||
| Josh Nodler | C/RW | 27 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0.19 | 8 | 6.1 | UMass | NCAA |
| Jakob Pelletier | C/LW | 33 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 1.09 | 22 | 43.4 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Matthew Phillips | C/RW | 51 | 28 | 31 | 59 | 1.18 | 10 | 47.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Martin Pospisil | C/W | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0.50 | 24 | 19.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Topi Ronni | C | 22 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0.23 | 2 | 8.2 | Tappara | Liiga |
| 7 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 1.43 | 4 | N/A | Tappara U20 | U20 SM-sarja | ||
| Cole Schwindt | C/RW | 55 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 0.50 | 21 | 19.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| William Stromgren | LW | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3.00 | 0 | N/A | Rogle BK J20/Brynas IF J20 | J20 Nationell |
| LW | 43 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0.19 | 8 | 9.7 | Brynas IF | SHL | |
| Connor Zary | C | 57 | 18 | 31 | 49 | 0.86 | 57 | 34.3 | Stockton Heat | AHL |
Defencemen
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLe | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Boltmann | RHD | 37 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0.14 | 48 | 3.8 | Notre Dame | NCAA |
| Cole Jordan | LHD | 17 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0.41 | 15 | 10.2 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL |
| Yan Kuznetsov | LHD | 49 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 0.29 | 20 | 11.6 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Jeremie Poirier | LHD | 53 | 7 | 30 | 37 | 0.70 | 31 | 27.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Ilya Solovyov | LHD | 53 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 0.21 | 30 | 8.4 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Cameron Whynot | LHD | 48 | 3 | 22 | 25 | 0.52 | 18 | 12.1 | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL |
Goalies
| Player | Position | GP | GAA | SV% | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniil Chechelev | G | 35 | 3.46 | 0.896 | Kansas City Mavericks | ECHL |
| G | 2 | 3.37 | 0.881 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL | |
| Arseni Sergeev | G | 18 | 2.64 | 0.913 | University of Connecticut | NCAA |
| Dustin Wolf | G | 44 | 2.28 | 0.926 | 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 by Candice Ward/Calgary Wranglers
