The Calgary Flames are mired in the mushy middle- with 43 points through the first 39 games of the year. What was initially expected to be a rebuilding year has turned into one where the Flames may just sneak into a playoff spot by the time April rolls around.
This past summer was interesting. The Flames took a number of swings at wingers, signing Anthony Mantha and Ryan Lomberg, while keeping Yegor Sharangovich, Andrei Kuzmenko, and Blake Coleman. What they did not really add was a centreman, instead moving Connor Zary to the middle and keeping Kevin Rooney to control the draws for the fourth line.
With Rooney the bottom line has been completely fine. Adding very little, but not allowing a ton in minimal minutes, but as with every team, the aspiration should be higher than this. In the AHL, the Wranglers have a player who leads the entire league in goals and sits second in points. It’s time to give Rory Kerins a look at the next level.
Who is Rory Kerins?
The former sixth round pick of the Flames in 2020 draft has had an interesting path to this point. Kerins put up 118 points in his first season after being drafted, good for second in the entire league behind just Wyatt Johnston of the Dallas Stars, and then joined the AHL for four games to close off the year.
Things turned downwards from here as Kerins couldn’t quite make an impact in the AHL, spending the majority of the year in the ECHL, where he had 37 points in 38 games. The Wranglers at the time had a very good roster and Kerins simply couldn’t find a way to crack it that year.
Last season was his first full year in the league, where he had 32 points in 54 games for the Wranglers, but again seemed to struggle to get minutes. Whether it was a playing style issue or a challenge with his coach, Kerins probably could have had more production had he been given a bigger role.
This year has been his breakout year, as he has centred the team’s top line and turned what was expected to be a depleted Wranglers team into the top team in the entire AHL. Remember, this is an AHL side that doesn’t have any of the Flames’ first round picks anymore nor do they have Dustin Wolf in net. Behind Kerins in scoring are Dryden Hunt and Clark Bishop, who, with due respect, are probably not the players who should be leading your team in scoring.
It’s time to call up Kerins
The Flames are among the lowest scoring teams in the league this season, with just 102 goals on the year, and adding a player who can score would be a big addition. Further, this is a good time to see what they have in Kerins at the next level. While he isn’t a high draft pick, he was extremely effective in the OHL as well as being among the best player in the AHL this season.
This is a good gamble for the Flames to take. On the one hand, they get to see what they have in their prospect at the NHL level and it also gives him a small bump up as a reward for his production this season. At his age and development path, he probably projects to be a bottom six centreman, but if he’s better than expected, that may change the way that the Flames see their development plan going forward.
If nothing else, it’s worth a shot to see what they have in Kerins. The team needs scoring and without much coming from their lineup, injecting someone who needs to show he belongs may be the shot in the arm this team needs.
