The Calgary Flames have had lots of trouble scoring goals this season, it has been well-documented over the course of the season. However, the Flames AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers have had no issues filling the net since the beginning of their season, and that has been headlined by breakout AHL star Rory Kerins.
The 2020 sixth-round pick has produced heavily at every level he has played at, and this year he has dominated the AHL—he currently sits atop the AHL in points and is one back of the AHL goals lead. While the Flames have been hard-pressed to find goals, sooner rather than later, Kerins should get his chance to help the Flames in the goal-scoring department.
Kerins’ AHL dominance in 2024–25
Kerins has been dominant since the word “go” this season. Playing on the Wranglers’ top line, he has controlled the offence and pushed the pace no matter who his linemates have been. I don’t think many saw Kerins as a potential breakout candidate this season, and I know no one saw this type of production coming from him to start the year.
As of today, he sits first in AHL scoring with 28 points in 25 games, his career-high in points in the AHL is 32, he is easily going to breeze by that in just a matter of games at this point. He is playing with a confidence we have yet to see from him at the AHL level, but based on his track record in both the OHL and the ECHL, it does not come as a total shock to see him dominating the way he has. However, I don’t think I anticipated it happening this quickly.
He has seen both Jakob Pelletier and Walker Deuhr get recalled to the Flames, and even without them, Kerins has continued to pile on the points as the Wranglers continue to hold down the top spot in the league-wide standings.
A call-up to the Flames could be imminent
With the Flames’ continued struggles to put the puck in the back of the net, I could see a scenario in which the Flames give Kerins a call-up very soon to reward him for his stellar play with the Wranglers.
It would obviously be a tall ask for him to come in and fix all of the Flames’ problems, but I would like to see him showcase his speed and puck skills at the NHL level to see where he stands. I don’t think he would last a long time with the Flames as they are overloaded already with forwards, and the best place for Kerins to play would be in the AHL with top minutes as opposed to the NHL playing with limited ice.
I guarantee the organization would love for the Wranglers to remain a top threat and taking away Kerins for an extended period of time would surely hurt them, so I cannot see a scenario in which Kerins sticks around long-term unless he dominates at the NHL level. However, with how he has produced and how he has played, a few NHL games have definitely been earned. The Flames should absolutely reward him for his efforts.
Simply put, Kerins has climbed his way to the top of the order.
Kerins needs to continue to dominate
The goal moving forward is for Kerins to continue to do what he has been doing all year: dominate the play. He is playing extremely motivated hockey right now, and it seems to be rubbing off on the entire Wranglers team as a whole.
With how many exciting young players the Flames have coming into the organization like Zayne Parekh and Andrew Basha, you need one of these late-round picks like Kerins to blossom into a top prospect for your team. Not every single pick is going to be a home run, so when a player like Kerins begins to find his stride at the professional level, it is a huge boon for the organization.
Now, the AHL and NHL are very different, and we have seen players dominate the AHL and never be able to translate it over to the NHL, things like that will always happen. However, Kerins just needs to continue to put in the work, and he may just have a long NHL career ahead of him.
