When the Calgary Flames finally decided to give 22-year-old Rory Kerins a chance in the big leagues, it was a much-anticipated move for the fanbase. Kerins has been dominating in the AHL this season and has been proving his worth as a young player deserving of an NHL shot.
Scoring 21 goals in 34 games with the Wranglers is incredible offensive production from a sixth-round pick who was playing in the ECHL not too long ago. Kerins is building off his success from the minors with the Flames, as he currently has four points in four NHL games making him a point-per-game player. He’s been an amazing story in his short stint, and him playing NHL games has been something not many fans had on their bingo card this season.
Kerins should’ve been called up a lot sooner
Kerins passes the eye test, as he’s clearly been a great fit with the Flames so far. Yes the sample size is small, but already being a point-per-game player to start your NHL career says a lot. With how well Kerins has been playing for the Wranglers, should the Flames have called him up sooner? It’s remarkable how it took a significant injury for the team to give Kerins a real look.
While the Flames would’ve probably had to put a player on waivers to call him up, it surely wouldn’t have been that much of a dealbreaker. For a team that’s in the start of a retool, it’s important to give young players meaningful looks. While Kerins isn’t projected to be a star or anything, who knows where his NHL career could take him?
It’s also worth noting that Kerins has recorded a +4 rating in his time with the Flames so far. While this isn’t the best stat to determine the true effectiveness of a player, it can be useful to determine how positively or negatively impactful a player is when they’re on the ice. Kerins has been a positive.
How are the Flames going to handle Kerins moving forward?
With the Flames losing Walker Duehr on waivers yesterday, it’s a good guess to assume that Kerins may stick with the club till at least Connor Zary returns from injury. Even then, the Flames could use a shake-up in their bottom six, and Kerins would contribute to that. If it was up to me, Kerins would be staying on this roster.
There’s also the fact that he’s a center, a position that the Flames depth chart is not strong in. In recent practices, Kerins has been playing the center position alongside wingers such as Yegor Sharangovich and Andrei Kuzmenko. Giving Kerins the chance to play center would be an ideal situation, and could unlock other aspects of his game to only strengthen him as an NHLer.
While it’s obvious that you don’t want to rush a young player into a tough situation too quickly, Kerins’ hot start is very encouraging. The Flames have seen success from many of their later-round picks throughout history, and Kerins could have the potential to be added to that list.
