The American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers continue making their way toward playoff hockey, led by William Stromgren’s strong second half of the season. Unfortunately, there aren’t too many other positive takeaways from this week.
In the Canadian Hockey League, Hunter Brzustewicz and the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers are still battling it out with the Erie Otters, leading the series 3–2 with game six action tonight. Both the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s Moncton Wildcats saw quick first-round exits.
There’s so much to discuss; 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 were 1–1–0 this week, splitting a pair of games with the Bakersfield Condors. The score of both games was 5–2. Fortunately, the Wranglers already punched their playoff ticket, but—with how tight the race is in the Pacific Division—every point matters.
- Only five points separate second from seventh in the Pacific, so these missed points could be the difference between having home ice advantage and playing on the road. Currently, the Wranglers are sitting in the seventh and final playoff position in the Pacific.
- The Wranglers are now without Ilya Solovyov, as he was recalled by the Flames on Tuesday. He’s currently sitting on five goals and 14 points in 50 games in the AHL.
- Adam Klapka and Cole Schwindt each picked up one point over the two games. Schwindt had the secondary assist on Klapka’s third-period goal late in the loss:
- Rory Kerins scored a goal in each of the contests, bringing his total up to 15 through 51 games.
- Parker Bell made his season debut for the Wranglers but was held off the scoresheet.
- William Stromgren had three points (a goal and two assists) in the Wranglers’ win. Take a look at this nice pass to set up his teammate for the first-period tying goal:
BCHL
- Cade Littler is done for the season after suffering an upper-body injury. All the best in your recovery, Cade!
ECHL
- In three games for the Rapid City Rush this week, Ilya Nikolayev recorded four points—a goal and three helpers. Here’s a look at his goal:
- Nikolayev had a big week, which is not something we’ve been able to say about him this season. Hopefully, playing a bigger role and racking up some points will help him regain some confidence and return to the AHL better than ever next season.
Europe
- Joni Jurmo has yet to suit up since coming to North America. It would be nice if he could get a game or two in for the Wranglers before the end of the regular season.
- What happens next for Axel Hurtig is going to be interesting. His North American rights are owned by the Calgary Hitmen, and there is a very good chance that he plays next season in the WHL with them.
NCAA
- All the Flames’ prospects are done in the NCAA.
- Aydar Suniev will be back with UMass next season.
- Arseni Sergeev will be playing with Penn State next season after transferring from UConn last week.
- The Flames have until August to sign Jake Boltmann, or they lose his rights. Smart money would say this is the end of the road for the former third-round pick.
OHL
- Hunter Brzustewicz added another pair of assists, helping the Kitchener Rangers to a 4–2 series win over the Erie Otters with last night’s 4–3 overtime win in game six.
- After an incredible 92-point season, Brzustewicz has four assists through six playoff games, matching his point totals from last year’s playoffs in three fewer games.
QMJHL
- Etienne Morin and the Moncton Wildcats were swept by the Chicoutimi Saguenéens.
- Morin contributed three assists in game two’s 5–4 loss, but that was it for him. The Wildcats scored four goals in game two—the same number as they scored in the other three games.
WHL
- It was a disappointing end to a subpar season for the Vancouver Giants, who lost round one 4–1 at the hands of the Everett Silvertips. After stumbling into the playoffs with a three-game losing streak, the Giants were quickly sent home.
- The Giants took game one 6–4 before dropping the next four games and scoring just three goals in the process. Their nine goals are tied with the Spokane Chiefs for the lowest total of all WHL playoff teams, but the Chiefs played one game fewer as they were swept.
- Jaden Lipinski recorded three assists in the series—all in the game-one win—while Samuel Honzek scored a pair of goals. Honzek picked up his second goal in Friday’s 4–1 game-four loss.
- Parker Bell’s season in the WHL is done and he’s now in the AHL.
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):
- Connor Zary: 66.6 (Same)
- Matt Coronato: 41.8 (Same)
- Martin Pospisil: 39.9 (Same)
- Hunter Brzustewicz: 36.3 (Same)
- Adam Klapka: 28.3 (New)
Overall regular season totals for Flames prospects
Forwards
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLe | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parker Bell | LW | 59 | 33 | 31 | 64 | 1.08 | 38 | 26.7 | Tri-City Americans | WHL |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL | ||
| Lucas Ciona | LW | 54 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0.11 | 82 | 4.4 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Matt Coronato | RW/LW | 40 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 1.05 | 19 | 41.8 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Riley Damiani | C | 64 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 0.38 | 36 | 15.1 | Calgary Wranglers/Texas Stars | AHL |
| Samuel Honzek | LW/C | 33 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 0.94 | 18 | 23.3 | Vancouver Giants | WHL |
| Ben Jones | C | 68 | 21 | 22 | 43 | 0.63 | 48 | 25.1 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Rory Kerins | C/LW | 51 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 0.61 | 8 | 24.3 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Adam Klapka | RW | 62 | 21 | 23 | 44 | 0.71 | 86 | 28.3 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Jaden Lipinski | C | 67 | 24 | 42 | 66 | 0.99 | 55 | 24.5 | Vancouver Giants | WHL |
| Cade Littler | C | 14 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 0.79 | 10 | 17.5 | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | USHL |
| 24 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 0.88 | 14 | 9.4 | Penticton Vees | BCHL | ||
| Sam Morton | C | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0.50 | 2 | 19.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Ilya Nikolayev | C | 29 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0.21 | 8 | 8.4 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1.25 | 2 | N/A | Rapid City Rush | ECHL | |
| Martin Pospisil | C/W | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1.00 | 6 | 39.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Cole Schwindt | C/RW | 62 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 0.55 | 31 | 21.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| William Stromgren | LW | 64 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 0.39 | 16 | 15.5 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Aydar Suniev | LW | 36 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 0.69 | 25 | 22.2 | 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 | 30 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.07 | 22 | 2.3 | Notre Dame | NCAA |
| Hunter Brzustewicz | RHD | 67 | 13 | 79 | 92 | 1.37 | 24 | 36.3 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL |
| Artyom Grushnikov | LHD | 60 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0.10 | 38 | 4.0 | Calgary Wranglers/Texas Stars | AHL |
| Axel Hurtig | LHD | 27 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 0.41 | 35 | N/A | Rogle BK J20 | J20 Nationell |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | Rogle BK | SHL | ||
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.25 | 0 | N/A | Kristianstads IK | HockeyEttan | ||
| Joni Jurmo | LHD | 46 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0.11 | 14 | 4.1 | KooKoo/Ilves | Liiga |
| Yan Kuznetsov | LHD | 60 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 0.20 | 27 | 8.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Etienne Morin | LHD | 58 | 12 | 37 | 49 | 0.84 | 31 | 19.6 | Moncton Wildcats | QMJHL |
| Jeremie Poirier | LHD | 19 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 0.68 | 20 | 27.1 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Ilya Solovyov | LHD | 50 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 0.28 | 34 | 11.2 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
Goalies
| Player | Position | GP | GAA | SV% | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arseni Sergeev | G | 16 | 2.70 | 0.913 | University of Connecticut | NCAA |
| Dustin Wolf | G | 35 | 2.43 | 0.923 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Yegor Yegorov | G | 25 | 2.46 | 0.917 | MHK Dynamo Moskva | MHL |
| Daniil Chechelev | G | 5 | 3.10 | 0.908 | 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!
Photo from @AHLWranglers.
