With the dog days of summer officially upon us, it’s time to take a trip down memory lane. We’ve already looked at our top 10 Calgary Flames prospects from 2023 and 2022, so naturally, it’s time to look at our 2021 list.
Back in 2021, the Flames were very much in a win-now mode, and their prospect group reflected that. Much like their 2022 and 2023 top 10 prospect lists, the Flames lacked any real high-end talent in their prospect pool. Let’s get into it.
#10 Glenn Gawdin
Remember the Glenn Gawdin era in Calgary? Neither does anyone else. Signed by the Flames out of the WHL in 2017, Gawdin had a very impressive start to his pro hockey career in the AHL, which is why he ranked 10th on our 2021 list. He’d post 47 points in 53 games for the Stockton Heat in 2019–20, leading the team in scoring. He’d then make his NHL debut in 2020–21 and looked like a potential depth player for the future.
Following this ranking, Gawdin never took another step forward. He’d pile up points in the AHL the next season but earned just two games with the Flames in 2021–22. Following the season he’d leave the Flames in free agency and has played just four NHL games since.
#9 Emilio Pettersen
Emilio Pettersen is the perfect example of a prospect who can never take the next step and slowly falls behind other prospects. A sixth-round pick by the Flames in 2018, Pettersen finished a successful NCAA career in 2020 before registering 14 points in 29 AHL games in 2020–21 as a 20-year-old. His impressive start to his pro career is what earned him the number nine spot on our list.
Following this ranking, Pettersen continued to post decent numbers in the AHL, with seasons of 26, 44, and 30 points over the next three years. Always considered a potential future NHLer, Pettersen’s lack of improvement slowly pushed him down the depth chart over the years. Eventually, this past season, he was dealt to the Dallas Stars in an AHL player swap.
#8 Johannes Kinnvall
It’s easy to forget the Johannes Kinnvall hype of 2020–21. Signed as a free agent out of Sweden by the Flames in 2020, Kinnvall was turning heads in the SHL. His 2020–21 season saw him rack up 22 points in 32 games in the SHL at just 23 years old. He seemed like a potential late bloomer free agent gem at the time, which is why we were so high on him.
Kinnvall eventually made his North American debut in 2021–22 but managed just 19 games and eight points due to injury. Following his disappointing season, Kinnvall failed to earn a second look and went right back to Sweden for the 2022–23 season, which is where he has played since. We’ll always have the summer of 2021, though, right?
#7 Ryan Francis
This list truly is a who’s who of disappointing Flames prospects. Coming in at number seven was Ryan Francis. The 2020 fifth-round pick looked like a legitimate steal in the year following his draft. He’d dominate the QMJHL with 50 points in 32 games in 2020–21 and 10 points in six playoff games.
The following year, in 2021–22, he’d once again find success in the QMJHL with 65 points in 54 games but managed just four games in the AHL before being returned to junior. For a few different reasons, Francis wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer in the summer of 2022, and the Flames didn’t retain his rights. What seemed like a potential mistake at the time turned out to be the right call. In the two years since, Francis has managed just three points and 23 games in the AHL and has spent most of his time in the ECHL.
#6 Jeremie Poirier
Jeremie Poirier has been a staple in the Flames’ top 10 prospects lists since pretty much the day he was drafted. Case in point: he ranked sixth on our list in 2021, a year after being selected in the third round. Poirier was coming off a gigantic 2020–21 season in the QMJHL with 37 points in 33 games, finishing fourth in the QMJHL for points per game from the blue line.
We all know the story since then. Poirier has continued to pile up points at every level he’s played at, including the AHL, where he was named to the AHL’s all-rookie team in 2022–23. He lost his 2023–24 season due to injury but remains one of the very best prospects in the organization and will likely get his first taste of NHL action this coming season.
#5 Connor Mackey
Connor Mackey considered a top-five prospect in the Flames organization. What a time to be alive. Fresh off his NHL debut in 2020–21 and a solid 16 points in 27 games in the AHL, Mackey looked like a future NHL defender. It’s the reason he was ranked as the best defensive prospect in the system in 2021.
Mackey continued the hype train in 2021–22 with a great AHL season, putting up 36 points in 53 games as a 25-year-old. Despite his AHL success, Mackey never found a home in Calgary’s lineup and managed just 19 games in Calgary across three seasons before being traded during the 2022–23 season. He’s since played just 21 more games in the NHL.
#4 Matthew Phillips
Matthew Phillips has spent his entire NHL career as either a top prospect on the Flames or not in the organization at all. Back in 2021, there was still plenty of hope for his NHL future as a 23-year-old coming off two great AHL seasons. Most recently, in 2020–21, he was coming off a 21-point AHL season and had just played his first game in the NHL.
Phillips followed up this ranking with back-to-back point-per-game seasons in the AHL, leading the Flames’ AHL squad in both instances. Despite this, he earned just two more games in the NHL and decided to leave the organization as a free agent in 2023. He’s since posted five points in 31 NHL games.
#3 Dustin Wolf
Before he was the back-to-back AHL goaltender of the year, Dustin Wolf was dominating the WHL. After being selected in the seventh round of the 2019 draft, Wolf dominated the WHL with a .936 save percentage in 2019–20 and then an even better .940 save percentage in 2020–21. He would win the WHL goaltender of the year in both seasons. By the summer of 2021, he was considered one of the best goaltending prospects in the world.
Wolf has continued his success into pro hockey, dominating the AHL for the past three years and finally earning a full-time role in the NHL this past season. Now considered arguably the Flames’ best prospect, Wolf looks like the goalie of the future.
#2 Jakob Pelletier
Jakob Pelletier was considered the second-best forward prospect in the organization in 2021, ranking second on our list. Pelletier was coming off a huge year in the QMJHL, which saw him captain his team to a deep playoff run. He finished his year with 43 points in 28 regular season games and 23 points in 15 playoff games.
Following this ranking, Pelletier was incredible in the AHL as a rookie in 2021–22, earning a spot on the AHL’s all-rookie team. Unfortunately, as we all know, he suffered a major injury this past season that derailed his development. He remains a top prospect in the organization for now, but time is running out after a lost season.
#1 Connor Zary
A year removed from being the Flames’ first-round pick at the 2020 draft, Connor Zary was considered the best of the best when it came to Flames prospects in 2021. Zary was coming off back-to-back huge years in the WHL, posting 24 points in just 15 games in the shortened 2020–21 season. At the time, he looked like a great get at 24th overall.
Zary has since had some ups and downs during his time in the organization, but after a strong 2022–23 AHL season he made his NHL debut in 2023–24 and immediately became a key player for the Flames. He’s now one of the best young players in the organization and has lived up to his draft hype.
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Plenty of change
The Flames have seen plenty of turnover on their top 10 prospect list in the last three years, with just four of the 10 names still in the organization. It’s clear the Flames were prioritizing winning over building for the future in 2021, as the team’s prospect depth was, in a word, bland.
Calgary Flames 2024 Top 15 Prospects
Honourable Mentions | #15 William Stromgren | #14 Jacob Battaglia | #13 Aydar Suniev | #12 Luke Misa | #11 Etienne Morin | #10 Henry Mews | #9 Samuel Honzek | #8 Matvei Gridin | #7 Jakob Pelletier | #6 Andrew Basha | #5 Jeremie Poirier | #4 Hunter Brzustewicz | #3 Matt Coronato | #2 Dustin Wolf | #1 Zayne Parekh
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