Another week is in the books with lots of exciting updates! Looking at the OHL, we saw Saginaw Spirit defenceman Zayne Parekh score a hat trick and five points in his lone game. Jacob Battaglia of the Kingston Frontenacs and Luke Misa of the Brampton Steelheads each picked up five points in just two games, with Misa scoring a hatty of his own.
William Stromgren had six points in four games for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, while Niagara University’s Trevor Hoskin picked up four points in two games in the NCAA. We also saw blueliner Jeremie Poirier record four points in four games.
There’s so much to talk about, so let’s dive right 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
- The Wranglers were undefeated this week, finishing with a perfect 4–0–0 record.
- William Stromgren was a big part of the offence this week, contributing two goals and four helpers. He’s fifth in points on the team with 31 and tied for fifth in goals with 11. If he continues scoring like this, he’ll crack the top three in both categories in short order! Check out this power play snipe:
Ikea capitalizes on the power play 💥 pic.twitter.com/SjCPArQG0M
— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) January 20, 2025
- Rookie Parker Bell had a goal and two points this week but sits at just six points on the year. If anything, he’s a prime example of why we should be pleased with Samuel Honzek’s 16 points as a rookie. Here’s a wicked solo effort:
Quick rip and we are off 🏒🔥 pic.twitter.com/ghYHXDGKdP
— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) January 19, 2025
- Another rookie who has looked good this season is defenceman Hunter Brzustewicz. He scored twice this week and is up to three goals and 14 points in 39 games. Again, impressive work for a rookie! Check out his late game-tying goal:
first shot, first goal of the game!! pic.twitter.com/GoCPhnEEqa
— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) January 19, 2025
- Jeremie Poirier is (finally) hitting the scoresheet with some consistency. He picked up four points and is up to 21 in 40 games now. After some post-injury struggles, this is refreshing to see. Some all-around solid work from him on this goal:
first shot, first goal of the game!! pic.twitter.com/GoCPhnEEqa
— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) January 19, 2025
- Goaltender Waltteri Ignatjew picked up two wins, stopping 32 of 36 shots and 33 of 36 shots. He improved to 8–4–1 with a 3.74 goals against average and a 0.880 save percentage.
Europe
- Out in the KHL, defenceman Nikita Okhotyuk was a force this week. He logged a ton of minutes—as usual—and dished six hits in two games. I’d love to see the Flames give him a real look, but he’s under contract with CSKA for one more year. Who knows what happens at that time?
- Netminder Yegor Yegorov got into two games this week for Krylia Sovetov, going 1–1–0. He stopped 21 of 25 on Tuesday and followed that up with a 32-save shutout yesterday. He’s up to a 4–6–0 record in the MHL, boasting a GAA of 2.79 and a SV% of 0.921. Not bad at all!
- No games for Daniil Chechelev this week, who has been sitting on an ugly 0–2–0 record with a 5.30 GAA and 0.825 SV% for a while now in the VHL.
- Nothing for Kirill Zarubin, either, but he’s sitting much prettier at 7–6–0 with a 2.32 GAA and a 0.934 SV% in the MHL.
NCAA
- A welcome surprise this week in the form of Trevor Hoskin’s three-point on Saturday. Toss in an assist on Niagara’s lone goal on Friday, and you have a fine week from the 2024 fourth-rounder. This was a nice finish:
Hoskin's goal marks the freshman's third of the season against the Lakers.
— Niagara University Men's Hockey (@NiagaraMHKY) January 19, 2025
He has a total of five points (3G, 2A) against Mercyhurst in his career. #Uncommon pic.twitter.com/oKDEJRVVGN
- Arseni Sergeyev was superb this week, picking up two wins, an 18-save shutout, and stopping 28 of 30. The Penn State goalie is up to 7–5–2 on the year with a 2.25 GAA and a 0.922 SV%.
- His shutout tied the team’s single-season shutout record; one more, and the record is his! It also puts him one shy of Penn State’s all-time shutout record—currently held by Peyton Jones—of four. Jones did it in 133 games, while Sergeyev has just 15 games under his belt.
- It was a quiet week for Aydar Suniev, but UMass’ leading goal-scorer found twine once again. He has 14 goals and 27 points on the year as a sophomore in the NCAA. Get used to this:
What an individual effort by Suniev for his team-leading 14th goal of the season 😮
— UMass Hockey (@UMassHockey) January 18, 2025
Third period coming up on @ESPNPlus: https://t.co/liMsdGnaKG#NewMass X #Flagship🚩 pic.twitter.com/rKbjgNyMTT
- I promise you Cade Littler is still around. He’s laced up in 20 games for the University of North Dakota but sits on a modest two goals and four points. He didn’t exactly tear up the USHL or BCHL, so it’s not all that surprising to see him struggling to find offence in college hockey.
OHL
- The Front-man—Jacob Battaglia—was back to producing points this week. His four-point performance on Sunday capped off a five-point week for himself and a 2–0–0 week for the Kingston Frontenacs. This was a nice redirect:
Number two on the day for Bates and it's his 25th of the year! 🚨@NHLFlames | #Flames https://t.co/dmULUX3a3q pic.twitter.com/fVAAdCOO55
— Kingston Frontenacs (@KingstonFronts) January 19, 2025
- Bates is up to 57 points on the year, which is good for a 12th-place tie league-wide with…
- Luke Misa! The Brampton Steelheads centre had a hat trick on Saturday and points on all four of his team’s goals. His stellar play helped the Steelheads to a 1–0–1 week. A nice backhand to kick off the ‘trick:
Just some 🪄Misa Magic🪄 to start us off pic.twitter.com/QRb1hCyuxm
— Brampton Steelheads (@OHLSteelheads) January 18, 2025
- Zayne Parekh kicked the barn door down in Sagina this week, scoring a hat trick and five of his team’s six points in a 6–2 win over the Guelph Storm. He’d sure look good in a Team Canada jersey! This shot tied the Spirit’s all-time record for points by a defenceman—a record he broke later in this same game:
ZAYNE PAREKH IS GOING DOWN IN HISTORY
— Saginaw Spirit (@SpiritHockey) January 18, 2025
Zayne ties Patrick McNeil for the most points by a defenseman in Spirit history 🤑@NHLFlames | @OHLHockey pic.twitter.com/aTBEMwwbmq
- It was a really tough week for the Sudbury Wolves, who went 0–3–0. They lost a pair of 6–2 games and an even worse 8–1 thumping at the hands of the London Knights. Still, Henry Mews picked up three points on the five goals to go along with 10 penalties in minutes.
QMJHL
- The Shawinigan Cataractes also dropped all three of their games this week, being outscored 4–10 in the process. Matvei Gridin had a pair of helpers, bringing his point total to 51 on the year for eighth in the league.
- Blueliner Etienne Morin had just one point for the Moncton Wildcats, who went 2–1–0. He’s just under a point per game now with 39 in 40, but he’s third in scoring among defencemen in the entire Q.
WHL
- Hunter Laing had three points this week as the Saskatoon Blades went 1–1–1. He now has 11 goals and 25 points in 41 games. Nice hands to deflect this one in:
I think he likes it here, @NHLFlames pic.twitter.com/jWQOzTcDdq
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) January 19, 2025
- The Vancouver Giants won both of their games, outscoring the opposition 9–4. Jaden Lipinski contributed assists on two of those goals and continues to sit just shy of the point-per-game mark with 33 in 34.
- Axel Hurtig picked up another pair of assists, but the Calgary Hitmen were 1–1–1, including being shutout on Friday. Watch as the blueliner gets this one to the net quickly for his teammates to finish:
Two goals for the birthday boy! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/YAR98mm8qu
— Calgary Hitmen (@WHLHitmen) January 20, 2025
- To close it out on a more positive note, the Everett Silvertips had an undefeated 2–0–0 week. Eric Jamieson didn’t contribute any points to the wins, but he still has 26 in 42 games and has been a welcome surprise with his offensive contributions.
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: 39.9 (+1)
- Jakob Pelletier: 37.9 (+1)
- Aydar Suniev: 37.7 (-2)
- Zayne Parekh: 37.6 (New)
- Luke Misa: 36.8 (Same)
- Jacob Battaglia: 36.8 (Same)
Overall regular season totals for Flames prospects
Forwards
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLe | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Basha | LW | 23 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 1.26 | 30 | 31.2 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL |
| Jacob Battaglia | RW/LW | 41 | 25 | 32 | 57 | 1.39 | 22 | 36.8 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL |
| Parker Bell | LW | 31 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0.19 | 4 | 7.6 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Lucas Ciona | LW | 36 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 0.36 | 55 | 14.3 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Matvei Gridin | RW | 40 | 24 | 27 | 51 | 1.28 | 21 | 29.8 | Shawinigan Cataractes | QMJHL |
| Samuel Honzek | C/LW | 30 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 0.53 | 10 | 21.1 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Trevor Hoskin | C/RW | 24 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 0.96 | 6 | N/A | Niagara University | NCAA |
| Rory Kerins | C/LW | 34 | 21 | 13 | 34 | 1.00 | 10 | 39.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Adam Klapka | RW/LW | 26 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 0.77 | 48 | 30.7 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Hunter Laing | C | 41 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 0.61 | 31 | 15.1 | Prince George Cougars/Saskatoon Blades | WHL |
| Jaden Lipinski | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| 34 | 7 | 26 | 33 | 0.97 | 26 | 24.0 | Vancouver Giants | WHL | ||
| Cade Littler | C | 20 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.20 | 21 | 7.2 | U. of North Dakota | NCAA |
| Luke Misa | C | 41 | 24 | 33 | 57 | 1.39 | 2 | 36.8 | Brampton Steelheads | OHL |
| Jakob Pelletier | LW/C | 20 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 0.95 | 4 | 37.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| William Stromgren | LW | 39 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 0.79 | 8 | 31.5 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Aydar Suniev | LW | 23 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 1.17 | 12 | 37.7 | UMass | NCAA |
Defencemen
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLe | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Brzustewicz | RHD | 39 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 0.36 | 2 | 14.3 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Artyom Grushnikov | LHD | 32 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.13 | 14 | 5.2 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Axel Hurtig | LHD | 34 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 0.32 | 20 | 7.9 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL |
| Eric Jamieson | LHD | 42 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 0.62 | 38 | 15.4 | Everett Silvertips | WHL |
| Joni Jurmo | LHD | 9 | 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 | 40 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 0.33 | 18 | 13.2 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Henry Mews | RHD | 43 | 12 | 46 | 58 | 1.35 | 54 | 35.8 | Ottawa 67’s/Sudbury Wolves | OHL |
| Etienne Morin | LHD | 40 | 10 | 29 | 39 | 0.98 | 20 | 22.8 | Moncton Wildcats | QMJHL |
| Nikita Okhotyuk | LHD | 44 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0.16 | 26 | 10.5 | CSKA Moskva | KHL |
| Zayne Parekh | RHD | 36 | 16 | 35 | 51 | 1.42 | 55 | 37.6 | Saginaw Spirit | OHL |
| Jeremie Poirier | LHD | 40 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 0.53 | 30 | 21.1 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Ilya Solovyov | LHD | 36 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 0.56 | 14 | 22.3 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
Goalies
| Player | Position | GP | GAA | SV% | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniil Chechelev | G | 3 | 5.30 | 0.825 | Yunison-Moskva | VHL |
| Waltteri Ignatjew | G | 14 | 3.74 | 0.880 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Arseni Sergeyev | G | 15 | 2.25 | 0.922 | Penn State U. | NCAA |
| Yegor Yegorov | G | 4 | 3.38 | 0.870 | HK Tambov | VHL |
| 8 | 3.07 | 0.891 | MHK Tambov | NMHL | ||
| 10 | 2.79 | 0.921 | MHK Krylia Sovetov Moskva | MHL | ||
| Kirill Zarubin | G | 13 | 2.32 | 0.934 | 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!