NHL 25 Early Access was released just two days ago, and EA officially dropped its ratings for the Calgary Flames and Calgary Wranglers this season. Let’s take a quick look at the Flames and some of the Wranglers ratings and give some quick thoughts:
Forwards
- Nazem Kadri: 87
- Jonathan Huberdeau: 85
- Andrei Kuzmenko: 85
- Yegor Sharangovich: 85
- Blake Coleman: 84
- Mikael Backlund: 83
- Anthony Mantha: 83
- Connor Zary: 81
- Ryan Lomberg: 79
- Dryden Hunt: 79
- Walker Duehr: 79
- Matt Coronato: 79
- Martin Pospisil: 78
- Jakob Pelletier: 77
- Kevin Rooney: 76
Defencemen
- Rasmus Andersson: 88
- MacKenzie Weegar: 87
- Jake Bean: 83
- Daniil Miromanov: 80
- Kevin Bahl: 79
- Joel Hanley: 79
- Brayden Pachal: 78
- Jarred Tinordi: 76
- Ilya Solovyov: 73
Goalies
- Dustin Wolf: 81
- Dan Vladar: 81
- Devin Cooley: 72
Do the defence ratings seem fair?
I don’t think there are too many problems with the Flames ratings this year. Most are either spot on or off by one overall.
Out of all the top 10 lists, the Flames technically had zero players. However, Rasmus Andersson is tied with a handful of defencemen for the eighth-best right-shot defenceman in the game. He claims this at an 88 overall. I do think that is a bit too high for Andersson. He’s coming off of a down year and isn’t even the best right-handed defenceman on the team. I think an 86 seems more reasonable.
Speaking of best right-handed defencemen, I do think that MacKenzie Weegar deserves a bit of a boost. He’s always been sound defensively and just had his best offensive year. I feel an 88 or 89 is more fitting.
Sticking on the defensive side of things, I also believe Jake Bean is too highly rated. He was consistently a bottom-pair guy for one of the worst teams in the league, the Columbus Blue Jackets. Being a healthy scratch also played a role for Bean. His 83 rating places him as a solid top-four defenceman, but a rating of around 79 feels better.
The final problem I have with the defencemen is Ilya Solovyov. He played a handful of NHL games this past season and fought for a spot this year. I feel that a 73 overall does not represent that.
How do the forward ratings fare?
Jumping to the forward side of things, everything seems fine except Martin Pospisil. Pospisil is a lower overall than quite a few guys who played fewer NHL games than him and spent more time in the minors. A contributing factor to the success the Flames had, Pospisil wasn’t just a body. He played an effective game, and I feel a 78 doesn’t represent that. I think a two-overall boost to 80 would make more sense.
How is the Flames’ goaltending looking?
Now, onto the goalies. Dustin Wolf and Daniel Vladar fit their overalls, but Devin Cooley does not. Sure, he only started a couple of NHL games last year, but most of the time, 72 overalls don’t even get near the NHL. A jump to around a 77 overall could better show what Cooley will be for the Flames.
Looking at former Flames’ ratings
If you’re interested in the guys the Flames lost during the season and this summer, former Flames include:
- Andrew Mangiapane (WSH): 83
- Jacob Markstrom (NJD): 87
- Elias Lindholm (BOS): 85
- Noah Hanifin (VGK): 86
- Chris Tanev (TOR): 84
A majority of these make sense, and the only one I would really change is Tanev. He should be an 86.
What are your thoughts on the ratings? What would you change?
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
