The Calgary Flames’ prospects got two new faces when the team traded Elias Lindholm to the Canucks. Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo both have potential as defencemen, with the former looking like an absolute slam dunk for the Flames.
The Wranglers also had a big week despite going 1–1–1. Two players represented the team in the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic, and two prospects had big fights this week.
Elsewhere, Parker Bell and Samuel Honzek both put points on the board in the WHL. Both of their teams are really bad, but their scoring despite that is a good sign.
Finally, Jake Boltmann did a thing this week! Did he score? Did he get a point? Did he get a puppy? Is the puppy really cute? Find out below!
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 won a game, lost a game, and lost a game in overtime this week. They also had three players sent down in Matt Coronato, Adam Klapka, and Cole Schwindt. The Flames then took Schwindt back along with Kevin Rooney and Jakob Pelletier.
- This weekend was also the AHL’s All-Star Classic, with Matt Coronato and Dustin Wolf representing the Wranglers.
- Coronato scored once in the final of the All-Star game and once in the shootout to help Team Pacific clinch their second win in a row. Take a look at his shootout goal here:
- Dustin Wolf was also outstanding, stopping every shot in the shootout. Take a look at this phenomenal save he made:
- An outstanding performance from both players in the All-Star Classic.
- In the games that count towards the standings, this was a week of weird players fighting. Coronato and Mathias Emilio Pettersen both got into fights this week. Take a look at them here:
- It was also a big week for players who don’t usually score. Yan Kuznetsov had two goals and an assist, which is wild for a very defence-first player. He is really starting to develop and could be an NHL option down the line. Take a look at this goal off the rush and his second goal on the power play below:
- Adam Klapka also got a goal this week, and used his silky hands to pop this one up top. Take a look here:
- Hat-tip as well to Ben Jones for scoring two goals and adding a helper. With a generally depleted roster, the Wranglers have needed to get scoring from anywhere, and Jones has been quite good.
- The one player that has really not been very good of late is Lucas Ciona. He has just three points in 36 appearances. His -13 is the worst on the team as well, and on a winning squad, that’s a big yikes. It is still his rookie season, but he does need to show more if he wants to be considered down the line.
BCHL
- A goal and an assist this week for Cade Littler. He continues to play second line centre.
- As mentioned most weeks in the prospect roundup, this production is fine but nothing to write home about.
ECHL
- Wow, so empty here! It’s probably a good sign that none of the Flames prospects are playing in the ECHL.
Europe
- Axel Hurtig played one game in the J20 and picked up an assist. He also featured in two SHL games, but no points.
- No points for Topi Ronni this week.
- Welcome to the Flames’ prospect pool, Joni Jurmo. The defenceman was traded mid-season to KooKoo (yes that’s the real name), and now has four points in nine games for the team. Take a look at his most recent assist this week:
- No games this week for Yegor Yegorov in Russia.
- Daniil Chechelev played a game in the VHL before getting his first start in the KHL.
NCAA
- Another game for Arseni Sergeev, who saw his GAA go up but his save percentage remain flat. He is now up to ten games played on the season.
- The real question you’ve all been waiting for: Did Jake Boltmann Score? The answer again is no, but he did block a goal with his face and created a rush chance that ended in a goal. Take a look here:
- He may not have gotten on the scoresheet, but this play gives him a pass for the week. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a puppy this week (that we know of).
- Another assist for Aydar Suniev this week. He’s up to 18 points.
OHL
- Welcome to the Hunter Brzustewicz fan club! While he did not record a point this week, the blueliner has 69 points on the season, and sits seventh in league scoring. Nice!
QMJHL
- No games this week for Etienne Morin, who appears to be injured.
WHL
- Two big goals this week for Samuel Honzek in Vancouver. He’s still above a point-per-game.
- No points for his teammate Jaden Lipinski though.
- A goal and an assist for Parker Bell, who is now up to 40 points on the season.
- The concern is that Bell now has a -13 plus-minus, which is really not great. Tri-City sits ninth in the Western Conference, which has just 11 teams.
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)
- Jeremie Poirier: 69.7 (Same)
- Connor Zary: 66.6 (Same)
- Matt Coronato: 42.6 (Same)
- Martin Pospisil: 39.9 (Same)
- Hunter Brzustewicz 37.3 (NEW)
Overall regular season totals for Flames prospects
Forwards
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLe | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parker Bell | LW | 41 | 21 | 19 | 40 | 0.98 | 25 | 24.3 | Tri-City Americans | WHL |
| Lucas Ciona | LW | 36 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0.08 | 46 | 3.2 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Matt Coronato | RW/LW | 30 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 1.07 | 15 | 42.6 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Samuel Honzek | LW/C | 16 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 1.19 | 6 | 29.5 | Vancouver Giants | WHL |
| Ben Jones | C | 42 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 0.67 | 26 | 26.7 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Rory Kerins | C/LW | 33 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 0.73 | 6 | 29.1 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Adam Klapka | RW | 36 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 0.67 | 42 | 26.7 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Jaden Lipinski | C | 48 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 0.88 | 45 | 21.8 | Vancouver Giants | WHL |
| Cade Littler | C | 14 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 0.79 | 10 | 17.5 | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | USHL |
| 19 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 0.84 | 12 | 8.7 | Penticton Vees | BCHL | ||
| Ilya Nikolayev | C | 20 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0.25 | 6 | 10.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Mathias Emilio Pettersen | C/LW | 42 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 0.64 | 25 | 25.5 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Martin Pospisil | C/W | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1.00 | 6 | 39.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Topi Ronni | C | 22 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.09 | 6 | 3.6 | Tappara | Liiga |
| 13 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 1.69 | 38 | N/A | Tappara U20 | U20 SM-sarja | ||
| Cole Schwindt | C/RW | 40 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 0.50 | 10 | 19.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| William Stromgren | LW | 39 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 0.23 | 12 | 9.2 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Aydar Suniev | LW | 23 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 0.78 | 19 | 26.1 | UMass | NCAA |
| Connor Zary | C | 6 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 1.67 | 2 | 66.6 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
Defencemen
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLe | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Boltmann | RHD | 22 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.05 | 20 | 1.4 | Notre Dame | NCAA |
| Hunter Brzustewicz | RHD | 49 | 8 | 61 | 69 | 1.41 | 18 | 37.3 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL |
| Axel Hurtig | LHD | 18 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0.44 | 29 | N/A | Rogle BK J20 | J20 Nationell |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | Rogle BK | SHL | ||
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.25 | 0 | N/A | Kristianstads IK | HockeyEttan | ||
| Joni Jurmo | LHD | 37 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0.14 | 6 | 5.2 | KooKoo/Ilves | Liiga |
| Yan Kuznetsov | LHD | 38 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 0.29 | 19 | 11.6 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Etienne Morin | LHD | 38 | 9 | 27 | 36 | 0.95 | 16 | 22.1 | Moncton Wildcats | QMJHL |
| Jeremie Poirier | LHD | 4 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 1.75 | 0 | 69.7 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Ilya Solovyov | LHD | 34 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0.29 | 22 | 11.6 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
Goalies
| Player | Position | GP | GAA | SV% | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arseni Sergeev | G | 10 | 2.48 | 0.927 | University of Connecticut | NCAA |
| Dustin Wolf | G | 28 | 2.27 | 0.927 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Yegor Yegorov | G | 20 | 1.94 | 0.932 | MHK Dynamo Moskva | MHL |
| Daniil Chechelev | G | 4 | 2.52 | 0.926 | Ryazan-VDV | VHL |
| 1 | 3.10 | 0.880 | Vityaz Moscow Region | KHL |
Following the prospects
Staying up to date with the development of prospects is no easy task. Follow along throughout the season for the latest happenings in the entire Flames’ development pipelines!
