With another week in the books, Jacob Battaglia continues to look unstoppable in the OHL. This week, though, it’s the Calgary Flames’ other 2024 second-rounder who really shined. Andrew Basha had a big six-point week through three games.
The Calgary Wranglers also got a couple of games in, going 1–1–0 in their two-game season-opening homestand against the Abbotsford Canucks. Rory Kerins and Jakob Pelletier led the charge with three points apiece.
Aydar Suniev continued lighting it up for UMass, while Arseni Sergeyev, Yegor Yegorov, and Kirill Zarubin all had good performances in goal for their respective clubs.
There’s a lot to talk about again this week, so let’s dive in!
Welcome to The Win Column’s 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
- Cole Schwindt was claimed off waivers by the Vegas Golden Knights and picked up his first NHL point—an assist—in his first game with his new team. All the best, Cole!
- After clearing waivers, Jakob Pelletier heads back to the AHL, where he has been dominant for the last three seasons. Through two games this week, he had a team-leading three assists.
- Rory Kerins—a sixth-round pick by the Flames in 2020—had a pair of goals and three points in two games. Here’s a look at his second goal:
- Ilya Solovyov and Yan Kuznetsov each showed up with a point. For the defencemen not exactly known for their offensive contributions, this is an excellent start to the year for them.
- Also of note: Kuznetsov was a plus-two, and Solovyov was a plus-one.
- Hunter Brzustewicz got his first professional point this week with an assist. Good start for the defender who had 92 points in the OHL last year.
Europe
- Nikita Okhotyuk played another three games without recording a point. You can expect more of that from the defenceman this season. The 23-year-old has two points through 15 games and is a plus-one. He was given 20:29 time on ice last game, which is impressive given how KHL teams notoriously bury young players deeper in their lineups.
- Yegor Yegorov had a good game and improved to 2.41 goals against average and a .917 save percentage through two games for MHK Tambov in the NMHL. It is Russia’s second level of junior hockey, but this is good for his confidence.
- Kirill Zarubin also had a good game; look out, Dustin Wolf; you’ve got competition! Zarubin now sports a 3.36 GAA and .905 SV% through five games for AKM Tula in the MHL.
NCAA
- Aydar Suniev continued to torture opposing goalies in the NCAA. He had two goals and an assist through two games this week. Suniev now has five(!) goals and six points in three games. Check out this blast from a shattered stick:
- Arseni Sergeyev had a solid couple of games for Penn State. He nabbed a shutout and improved to 2–1–0 with a 1.98 GAA and .928 SV%.
OHL
- We can’t say enough good things about Jacob Battaglia’s on-ice performance to start the year. Through two games, he scored another two goals and added an assist. He’s up to seven goals and 15 points in seven games.
- On the other hand, Luke Misa has been quiet for the Brampton Steelheads. He’s got just one goal and three points through seven contests. Most of the Steelheads’ offence is running through 2025 top pick Porter Martone and Seattle Kraken 2023 second-rounder Carson Rehkopf right now.
- Henry Mews was held scoreless through two games for the Ottawa 67’s as well.
- Zayne Parekh will not be denied, though. He had two points in two games for the Saginaw Spirit, including his first goal of the year. Here’s a look at the power play marker:
QMJHL
- Matvei Gridin had a goal and two points in two games for the Shawinigan Cataractes. He’s up to three goals and five points in six games.
- On defence, Etienne Morin is up to a point per game through five games for the Moncton Wildcats now after a two-point game this week.
WHL
- The big news in the WHL this week is Andrew Basha’s goal and six points in three games. He’s up to nine points in seven games.
- Not to be forgotten, Hunter Laing scored twice through three games for the Prince George Cougars. Take a look at the backhand on this one:
- Eric Jamieson had a big week for the Everett Silvertips. He scored his first goal of the year and added three helpers. He’s up to four points in eight games now.
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 five (bracketed numbers denote movement from the previous week):
- Aydar Suniev: 64.5 (Same)
- Rory Kerins: 59.8 (New)
- Jakob Pelletier: 59.8 (New)
- Jacob Battaglia: 56.7 (-2)
- Andrew Basha: 31.9 (New)
Overall regular season totals for Flames prospects
Forwards
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLe | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Basha | LW | 7 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 1.29 | 8 | 31.9 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL |
| Jacob Battaglia | RW/LW | 7 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 2.14 | 4 | 56.7 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL |
| Parker Bell | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Lucas Ciona | LW | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.50 | 8 | 19.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Matvei Gridin | RW | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0.83 | 7 | 19.3 | Shawinigan Cataractes | QMJHL |
| Trevor Hoskin | C/RW | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.50 | 0 | N/A | Niagara University | NCAA |
| Rory Kerins | C/LW | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1.50 | 0 | 59.8 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Hunter Laing | C | 8 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0.75 | 7 | 18.6 | Prince George Cougars | WHL |
| Jaden Lipinski | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Cade Littler | C | U. of North Dakota | NCAA | |||||||
| Luke Misa | C | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.43 | 0 | 11.4 | Brampton Steelheads | OHL |
| Ilya Nikolayev | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Jakob Pelletier | LW/C | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1.50 | 2 | 59.8 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| William Stromgren | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Aydar Suniev | LW | 3 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2.00 | 2 | 64.5 | UMass | NCAA |
Defencemen
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLe | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Brzustewicz | RHD | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.50 | 0 | 19.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Artyom Grushnikov | LHD | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Axel Hurtig | LHD | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.17 | 0 | 4.2 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL |
| Eric Jamieson | LHD | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.50 | 2 | 12.4 | Everett Silvertips | WHL |
| Joni Jurmo | LHD | Calgary Wranglers | AHL | |||||||
| Yan Kuznetsov | LHD | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.50 | 0 | 19.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Henry Mews | RHD | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0.67 | 4 | 17.7 | Ottawa 67’s | OHL |
| Etienne Morin | LHD | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1.00 | 2 | 23.3 | Moncton Wildcats | QMJHL |
| Nikita Okhotyuk | LHD | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.13 | 14 | 8.6 | CSKA Moskva | KHL |
| Zayne Parekh | RHD | 5 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 1.20 | 4 | 31.8 | Saginaw Spirit | OHL |
| Jeremie Poirier | LHD | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Ilya Solovyov | LHD | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.50 | 2 | 19.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
Goalies
| Player | Position | GP | GAA | SV% | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniil Chechelev | G | Yunison-Moskva | VHL | |||
| Waltteri Ignatjew | G | Calgary Wranglers | AHL | |||
| Arseni Sergeyev | G | 3 | 1.98 | .928 | Penn State U. | NCAA |
| Yegor Yegorov | G | 3 | 4.18 | .837 | HK Tambov | VHL |
| 2 | 2.41 | .917 | MHK Tambov | NMHL | ||
| Kirill Zarubin | G | 5 | 3.36 | .905 | AKM Tula | MHL |
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!
