The holidays are here! With that, it was a short week in the CHL. The QMJHL had no games this week and resumes on December 28, 2024. Similarly, the WHL had two game days—one of which saw just one game played—and resumes on December 27.
The OHL was the busiest league in the CHL, with four game days. Luke Misa and Henry Mews made the most of it—what else is new?—picking up three points apiece. They’re back in action on December 28 when play resumes, going head-to-head with each other.
The AHL week was a regular one, with games being played up to and including yesterday. They’re on break now, though, returning on December 26. The Calgary Wranglers, however, don’t return to action until December 30.
Even with so few games this week, there’s plenty to discuss. Let’s jump 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
- It was a rough leadup to the holiday break for the Wranglers, who went 1–2–0. They scored just six goals in that span, with five coming in their lone win over the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday.
- The big man, Adam Klapka, scored a pair of goals in the win. He’s been impressive for the Wranglers, scoring nine times and adding five helpers in 16 games. Somehow, the Silver Knights defenders lost him on this goal:
The good stuff 🚨 pic.twitter.com/yUUAnjaOY2
— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) December 21, 2024
- Rory Kerins nabbed a goal and two points, both in the win. He has 19 goals and 31 points on the year. Kerins with the tap-in, but man, does Jeremie Poirier look good here:
Right at the doorstep! pic.twitter.com/zh1GFCWslQ
— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) December 21, 2024
- William Stromgren also scored a goal and two points. You guessed it, both came in the win! He’s up to 21 points in 29 games.
- Poirier had three helpers this week, improving his point totals to 13 on the year. Unlike the rest, he did get on the board in two games this week! Check out this clip, which highlights a nice pass by Poirier and a great finish by Stromgren:
Bardown how ya doin!! pic.twitter.com/g4pw6SrqVo
— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) December 21, 2024
- No net for Waltteri Ignatjew this week, with Devin Cooley back in the fold.
Europe
- Nikita Okhotyuk scored a goal and added a helper this week. Not often we’re talking about his offensive performances! The shutdown defender has seven points on the year now.
- One game for Yegor Yegorov, and it saw his numbers dip. Through three games in the MHL, he sports a 3.01 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.
- No games for Daniil Chechelev or Kirill Zarubin.
NCAA
- No games for Aydary Suniev and UMass, who are on break until December 28.
- Same goes for Trevor Hoskin and Niagara University, but they return a couple days later, on December 30.
- Arseni Sergeyev and Penn State University are on break, too. They don’t return to action until the new year, with their next game slated for January 3, 2025.
- As for Cade Littler and the University of North Dakota? Well, they… are also off. They’re set to return on January 4.
- No surprises here, what with exams and students returning home for the holidays.
OHL
- Luke Misa has been one of the best storylines among Flames prospects this month. He continued the heavy lifting, scoring two goals and three points in two games. He’s up to 21 goals and 48 points in 32 games this year. Watch Misa slip behind the defenders and find open ice for a goal:
What a feed.
— Brampton Steelheads (@OHLSteelheads) December 19, 2024
What a finish. pic.twitter.com/iyvwLBCici
- Refusing to let Misa have the spotlight to himself for even half a second this month is Henry Mews. He scored a goal and three points, improving to nine goals and 44 points in 32 games. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but it’s a treat to watch Mews run a power play:
Chris Barlas finds some open space in the bumper and capitalizes!
— Ottawa 67’s (@Ottawa67sHockey) December 21, 2024
Great puck movement on the play by Cooper Foster and Jack Dever 👀 #CapitalTerritory | @OHLHockey pic.twitter.com/oaQx93T9qe
- Both Misa and Mews are in the top 20 of OHL scoring, with Mews tied for second among defencemen.
- Jacob Battaglia picked up a goal and two points this week. He currently leads the Kingston Frontenacs in goals with 20 and is second in points with 43. His point totals put him 17th in OHL scoring, one spot behind Mews.
- Defenceman Zayne Parekh was quiet—by his standards—with one goal through two games. He still sits well above a point per game, though, with 35 in 26.
QMJHL
- The QMJHL has been on break since December 15, so no updates on Matvei Gridin and the Shawinigan Cataractes or Etienne Morin and the Moncton Wildcats.
WHL
- Not much out of the WHL this week, either, with just six games played over Tuesday and Wednesday.
- Most of the Flames’ prospects in the WHL didn’t even play this week. Hunter Laing is the exception, and he didn’t get on the scoresheet in the Prince George Cougars’ 5–3 win on Tuesday.
- Axel Hurtig was not in the lineup for the Calgary Hitmen’s game on Wednesday as he’s in Ottawa, representing Sweden at the 2025 IIHF World Championship. Best of luck, Axel!
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):
- Rory Kerins: 41.0 (Same)
- Luke Misa: 39.7 (Same)
- Jakob Pelletier: 37.9 (Same)
- Henry Mews: 36.6 (+1)
- Aydar Suniev: 36.1 (New)
Overall regular season totals for Flames prospects
Forwards
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLe | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Basha | LW | 22 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 1.23 | 30 | 30.5 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL |
| Jacob Battaglia | RW/LW | 33 | 20 | 23 | 43 | 1.30 | 18 | 34.4 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL |
| Parker Bell | LW | 25 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0.16 | 2 | 6.4 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Lucas Ciona | LW | 26 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 0.42 | 40 | 16.7 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Matvei Gridin | RW | 29 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 1.21 | 15 | 28.2 | Shawinigan Cataractes | QMJHL |
| Samuel Honzek | C/LW | 20 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 0.60 | 10 | 23.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Trevor Hoskin | C/RW | 18 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 0.83 | 6 | N/A | Niagara University | NCAA |
| Rory Kerins | C/LW | 30 | 19 | 12 | 31 | 1.03 | 8 | 41.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Adam Klapka | RW/LW | 16 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 0.88 | 33 | 35.1 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Hunter Laing | C | 30 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 0.67 | 22 | 16.6 | Prince George Cougars | WHL |
| Jaden Lipinski | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| 22 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 0.68 | 20 | 16.8 | Vancouver Giants | WHL | ||
| Cade Littler | C | 17 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.24 | 21 | 8.6 | U. of North Dakota | NCAA |
| Luke Misa | C | 32 | 21 | 27 | 48 | 1.50 | 2 | 39.7 | Brampton Steelheads | OHL |
| Jakob Pelletier | LW/C | 20 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 0.95 | 4 | 37.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| William Stromgren | LW | 29 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 0.72 | 8 | 28.7 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Aydar Suniev | LW | 17 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 1.12 | 10 | 36.1 | UMass | NCAA |
Defencemen
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLe | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Brzustewicz | RHD | 29 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 0.34 | 2 | 13.5 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Artyom Grushnikov | LHD | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.04 | 4 | 1.6 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Axel Hurtig | LHD | 28 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0.25 | 11 | 6.2 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL |
| Eric Jamieson | LHD | 32 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 0.66 | 29 | 16.3 | Everett Silvertips | WHL |
| Joni Jurmo | LHD | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 0.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0.78 | 2 | N/A | Rapid City Rush | ECHL | ||
| Yan Kuznetsov | LHD | 30 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0.27 | 8 | 10.8 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Henry Mews | RHD | 32 | 9 | 35 | 44 | 1.38 | 32 | 36.6 | Ottawa 67’s | OHL |
| Etienne Morin | LHD | 29 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 1.00 | 18 | 23.3 | Moncton Wildcats | QMJHL |
| Nikita Okhotyuk | LHD | 35 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0.20 | 20 | 13.2 | CSKA Moskva | KHL |
| Zayne Parekh | RHD | 28 | 11 | 25 | 36 | 1.29 | 47 | 34.2 | Saginaw Spirit | OHL |
| Jeremie Poirier | LHD | 30 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 0.43 | 24 | 17.1 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Ilya Solovyov | LHD | 26 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 0.62 | 6 | 24.7 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
Goalies
| Player | Position | GP | GAA | SV% | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniil Chechelev | G | 3 | 5.30 | .825 | Yunison-Moskva | VHL |
| Waltteri Ignatjew | G | 9 | 3.66 | .879 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Arseni Sergeyev | G | 9 | 2.34 | .906 | Penn State U. | NCAA |
| Yegor Yegorov | G | 4 | 3.38 | .870 | HK Tambov | VHL |
| 8 | 3.07 | .891 | MHK Tambov | NMHL | ||
| 3 | 3.01 | .926 | MHK Krylia Sovetov Moskva | MHL | ||
| Kirill Zarubin | G | 11 | 2.37 | .928 | 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!
