It’s been a rollercoaster of a season so far for Calgary Flames faithful. Many fans are in favour of team tank at this point, while some are still holding out hope for a playoff run. The Flames currently sit fifth in the Western Conference wild card race, three points back of the second wild card. They’re a lot closer to a wild card position than they are to the bottom of the conference, but passing three other teams is a big ask and requires stringing together several wins—the Flames have only managed to string together three wins once this season.
Calgary’s current top 10 prospects
Now that the Christmas break is over, it’s back to work for the Flames. General Manager Craig Conroy is staring down a handful of unrestricted free agents who he will likely need to trade over the next few months. With team tank still on the menu, that could mean an influx of new prospects before the trade deadline. Let’s take a look at the team’s current top 10 prospects.
#10 Ben Jones
Ben Jones was a seventh-round pick of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017. The Flames signed him as a free agent in 2022, and he’s been a mainstay on the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers ever since. Jones was very good in his first year with the Wranglers, finishing fourth on the team with 17 goals and third with 54 points.
This year, Jones leads the Wranglers in both goals (10) and points (22). He’s a reliable two-way centre who’s been a model of consistency this season, and has continuously improved his offensive output. Jones turns 25 at the end of February, and he’s proving he deserves a look in the NHL. He could become a solid bottom-six centre for the Flames.
#9 Rory Kerins
The 21-year-old was a Flames sixth-round pick in 2020. Since being drafted, Rory Kerins has been a point-producing machine at every level of hockey he’s played. In 2021–22, he finished second in the Ontario Hockey League with 118 points. He followed that up with 37 points in 38 games in the ECHL last year. Kerins had a bit of a late start this year, but he’s been one of the Wranglers’ best weapons with 19 points in 21 games.
The only question Kerins has left to answer is, can he continue this in the National Hockey League? Kerins is looking like he can be at least a depth-scoring option in the NHL, but do the Flames have more in him? Andrew Mangiapane profiles similar to Kerins—both are listed at 5-foot-10, both torched the OHL for over 100 points in their draft-plus-one season, and both were sixth-round picks. This is probably too hopeful of a projection, but that would make for two excellent sixth-round picks!
#8 Étienne Morin
The Flames snagged Étienne Morin in the second round of the 2023 draft, and that selection is already paying dividends for the club. Morin is first and foremost a playmaking defenceman. He has 17 assists in 26 games in the recently-rebranded Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League this season. His 22 points is a dip in production this season though, as he finished last season above a point per game.
Morin engages physically and has a good shot that he loves to let fly. He has some work to do to reach his potential though, particularly on the defensive side of his game. He’s at least a couple of years away from the NHL, but he’s an exciting project nonetheless.
#7 Martin Pospisil
This might be a spicy take to some, but I really like what I’ve seen from Martin Pospisil this season. The 24-year-old was a 2018 fourth-round pick by the Flames. He spent the last two seasons and change in the AHL, where he put up 46 points in 81 games and racked up 154 penalty minutes. The offensive production is nothing special, but he started the year with the Wranglers this season with six points in six games, which earned him a recall to the Flames.
Pospisil immediately injected life into a team that desperately needed it. While no one’s getting hyped over his seven points in 22 games, it’s his physical play and possession metrics that show promise. Pospisil has delivered a team-leading 59 hits, despite playing at least 10 fewer games than his teammates. On the offensive side, he boasts an impressive 57.0 Corsi for percentage in all situations (third on the team) and a 55.6 Fenwick for percentage (sixth on the team).
Pospisil is reminding me of a lot of Micheal Ferland back in 2014–15 but with a better offensive game. If he can amount to anything near what Ferland did before injuries derailed his career, he’ll be a good middle-six forward for the Flames.
#6 Samuel Honzek
Samuel Honzek sitting sixth on this list is not a slight against him—I’m really excited about him—it’s a tribute to how well the Flames have drafted in recent years. Honzek has the tools to be a top-six offensive weapon for the Flames down the line, and he’s got a big 6-foot-3 frame to work with. The Flames picked him up in the first round of the 2023 draft, 16th overall.
Honzek’s vision and puck protection ability are both high-level and have helped him rack up points in the Western Hockey League since making the move from Slovakia for the 2022–23 season. He had no points in the previous two World Junior Championship tournaments, but he scored a goal and an assist in Slovakia’s opening game yesterday and added another goal in this morning’s 3–0 win over Switzerland.
Unfortunate injuries have shortened each of the last two seasons for him, so I could not justify ranking him above other prospects who have larger and equally impressive bodies of work. Honzek has the potential to be a top-six scoring forward in the NHL, but let’s hope he can have better injury luck as he develops going forward.
#5 Jakob Pelletier
Injuries have ravaged Flames prospects early this season, and Jakob Pelletier is another who has and will miss significant time this year. The Flames selected Pelletier 26th overall in the 2019 draft after an impressive 89-point campaign.
Pelletier is a competitive, offensively-gifted playmaking winger. He followed up his draft year with 125 points in 85 QMJHL games over the next two seasons, seven points in seven games at the 2021 WJC, and then 37 points in 35 games in the AHL last season. He earned a long look in the NHL, recording an underwhelming seven points in 24 games. Let’s not forget though that this was under a tough Darryl Sutter regime, and Sutter saw enough to give him a little over 14 minutes average time on ice.
Pelletier’s possession metrics were excellent, as he posted a 66.6 CF% and a 65.3 FF%, both ranking second on the team behind only Coronato (who played just one game). Pelletier was injured in the preseason and had shoulder surgery, so he has yet to play a regular season game this year. The expectations remain high for the former first-round pick.
#4 Jérémie Poirier
Jérémie Poirier is another of the Flames’ top prospects who has missed significant time this season due to injury. A third-round selection at the 2020 draft, Poirier has been an exciting player to watch since joining the Flames organization. He scored 94 points in 100 games over his last two seasons in the QMJHL, then amassed 41 points as a rookie in the AHL last year. He followed that impressive performance with eight points in nine playoff games.
Poirier started this season on a heater, recording seven points in just four games for the Wranglers. He is easily the Flames’ best prospect on defence, oozing skill and hockey IQ. Poirier will return to the Wranglers at some point this year, but at the rate he’s developing—and with the Flames having only two defencemen signed past this season—we could see him in the NHL a lot sooner than later. He has the tools to quarterback a power play too, which is something the NHL’s third-worst power play could certainly use.
As good as Pelletier can be, I think there is far more value to be had in a player like Poirier on defence, so he gets the nod at number four.
#3 Matt Coronato
After an impressive NHL debut at the end of last season, Matt Coronato had an impressive preseason and expectations were sky-high. Unfortunately, the Flames’ 2021 first-round pick has failed to live up to those lofty expectations, scoring only one goal and two points through 11 games. Coronato was sent to the AHL, where he’s been one of the best players for the Wranglers. His 21 points are second on the team—tied with Mathias Emilio Pettersen, who has played eight more games—only bested by Jones.
Coronato is known for his offensive ability, most notably his shot. His offensive talent was on full display in college after the Flames drafted him. He scored 38 goals and 72 points in 68 games over two years before turning pro.
His game needs some work, but Coronato could develop into a top scorer for the Flames down the road.
#2 Connor Zary
The Flames’ 2020 first-round pick has been exceptional at all levels this season. Connor Zary is a natural centre, which is one of the factors that convinced me he’s the Flames’ second-best prospect. He was excellent in his draft year, scoring 86 points for fifth in the WHL. After a brief nine-game stint in the AHL the next season where he recorded seven points, Zary underwhelmed in the AHL in 2021–22, managing only 25 points in 53 games. He improved on those numbers in 2022–23, but it wasn’t until this year that Zary finally broke out as the offensive talent we thought he could be.
I was excited about Zary when he was drafted, but I admittedly had very low expectations of him coming into this season. Zary quickly put all doubt to rest, notching 10 points through his first six AHL games this year and earning a re-call to the Flames. He’s been very good in the NHL too, recording 17 points in 24 games and rocking a 57.5 CF% and a 58.2 FF%.
Zary is a play-driving centre who has helped breath new life into this Flames team. He’s starting to look like he has upside as a number-one centre in the NHL, and that could come sooner than later if Elias Lindholm is traded this year.
#1 Dustin Wolf
Goaltending is vital to a team’s success in hockey, much like the quarterback is in football. Just ask the Edmonton Oilers, who roster two of the best offensive players in the sport but still sit 27th in the league standings. Dustin Wolf—who the Flames nabbed in the seventh round of the 2019 draft—is looking like a future elite starting goalie.
The 22-year-old has already accumulated all sorts of accolades. He was named the WHL’s top goaltender twice, and also named to the WHL First All-Star Team twice. He was even granted the honour of once being named Goaltender of the Year in the Canadian Hockey League (WHL, OHL, and QMJHL). After turning pro, Wolf didn’t slow down. He was twice named as the AHL’s best goalie and to the AHL First All-Star Team. He was also named to the AHL All-Rookie Team, and recognized as the AHL’s Most Valuable Player.
On top of all those accolades, Wolf has a gold medal from the 2020–21 WJC, where he played in two games and did not allow a goal. He is unquestionably the Flames’ future in goal as well as their top prospect.
There may be more prospects coming in the pipeline
There are a lot of exciting players on this list who should give us all reason to be optimistic about the future of the Calgary Flames. While there’s no potential superstar here, there are a lot of good prospects that should become very useful NHL players. That said, this list could look even better after the trade deadline if Conroy is able to acquire top prospects in trades for Lindholm and Noah Hanifin.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
