Calgary Flames blue chip defensive prospect Zayne Parekh had another highly productive week in the OHL, picking up six more points. He started off the year slow by his standards but has progressively improved over the course of the season.
Over in the WHL, centre Jaden Lipinski recorded five points for the Vancouver Giants. After an off week last week, he’s back to being one point shy of the point-per-game mark.
This week also saw Jacob Battaglia notch another four points for the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs, as well as another goal from University of North Dakota forward Cade Littler.
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
- Another winless week is in the books for the Calgary Wranglers, who went 0–1–1 while scoring just two goals. February has been a tough month for them, as they’re 0–3–4 and have scored a measly 11 goals.
- Rory Kerins assisted on the opening goal 55 seconds into Saturday’s game, but that would be the Wranglers’ lone marker in a 4–1 loss.
- Blueliner Hunter Brzustewicz scored the opening goal late in the first period of Sunday’s game, but the Wranglers once again could not buy another. They ultimately fell 2–1 in a shootout. Nice move around the defenceman and a nice shot for the goal:
BRRRRR it's cold in here 🥶 Up 1-0!! pic.twitter.com/6MS44pYj7M
— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) February 24, 2025
- Netminder Waltteri Ignatjew was the surprising silver lining on Sunday, stopping 37 of 38 shots on goal. He took the L but improved to a 3.61 goals against average and a 0.886 save percentage.
Europe
- CSKA Moscow was 1–1–0 in their pair of games this week. A 4–1 loss followed up with a 4–2 win. Nikita Okhotyuk averaged about 18.5 minutes of time on ice between the two games, delivering four hits and recording four blocked shots.
- Netminder Daniil Chechelev finally saw some meaningful action this week, lacing up in three games for Unison-Moscow. One of those games was just to face one shot in what would be a loss. Friday’s game was a tough one, as he entered the game in relief of Rafael Khakimov and picked up the L.
- However, he followed these up with an impressive 36-save shutout on Sunday. Chechelev is 1–3–1 with a 3.84 GAA and a 0.877 SV% on the year now.
- Yegor Yegorov backstopped Krylya Sovetov to a 2–1–0 record. His worst of the three outings saw him post a 2.93 GAA and a 0.893 SV%; it was a solid week for Yegorov. He improved to 6–9–0 in the MHL with a 2.90 GAA and a 0.911 SV%.
- No games this week for Kirill Zarubin and Mikhailov Academy. They’re back in action with a back-to-back this week on Wednesday and Thursday.
NCAA
- Aydar Suniev was back to racking up goals and points for UMass, helping them to a 1–0–1 record. He had two goals and three points in two games this week to hit the 30-point mark on the season. Check out this rocket of a one-timer:
Putting this one from Aydar Suniev on repeat 🤩
— UMass Hockey (@UMassHockey) February 22, 2025
He has the only two goals of the game so far…@NHLFlames
Third period coming up on @ESPNPlus – https://t.co/0ni2NLEPXj#NewMass X #Flagship 🚩 pic.twitter.com/nrrXNSfmaO
- University of North Dakota forward Cade Littler scored his fourth goal—sixth point—of the season as the Fighting Hawks went 2–0–0. This was a really nice move:
Name a better duo than Cade Littler and scoring against the Dogs. #UNDproud | #LGH pic.twitter.com/ItmhTeMhG9
— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) February 22, 2025
- Trevor Hoskin scored another goal this week, marking his 12th of the year. He’s up to 37 points in 33 games for Niagara University, who were 1–1–0 this week.
- Goaltender Arsenii Sergeev backstopped Penn State to a perfect 2–0–0 record. Notably, he made 42 saves in the Nittany Lions’ 3–2 win on Saturday. Sergeev is up to a 14–6–4 record with a 2.50 GAA and a 0.920 save percentage; he’s been the backbone for Penn State this year.
OHL
- Jacob Battaglia scored one goal and four points in four games as the Kingston Frontenacs won three of their four games. A solid week for a team battling tough Brantford Bulldogs and Oshawa Generals squads for first in the East Division. Kingston sits one point behind both with a game in hand and has secured a playoff spot. No words for this one:
Play of the Game? You betcha✅
— Kingston Frontenacs (@KingstonFronts) February 22, 2025
Play of the Year? Quite possibly🤯
Bates and Ceddy team up on a MUST SEE GOAL for Friday's Play of the Game#SolidGold | @bgmmetalworks pic.twitter.com/clMEkceRas
- Luke Misa’s four assists helped the Brampton Steelheads to a 2–0–1 week as they battle the Niagara IceDogs for second in the Central Division. What a cross-ice feed for a secondary assist on this one:
This play seems oddly familiar 😏 pic.twitter.com/c3AFtNpu8f
— Brampton Steelheads (@OHLSteelheads) February 22, 2025
- Saginaw Spirit blueliner Zayne Parekh has been nothing short of stellar over the back half of the season. Another six points in three games brings him up to 83 on the year, but Saginaw was only able to come up with one win this week. They’re sitting comfortably in second in the West Division.
- The Sudbury Wolves won 8–1 and lost 8–1 this week, posting a 1–1–0 record. Defenceman Henry Mews was nowhere to be seen, picking up just one goal. The Wolves sit fourth in the Central Division and—barring a historic collapse—should make the playoffs as the seventh or eighth seed.
QMJHL
- Blueliner Etienne Morin had a goal and three points, helping the Moncton Wildcats to a perfect 2–0–0 week. They outscored their opponents a combined 16–1 over those games. Moncton is the class of the QMJHL right now, with 88 points and a lock for the playoffs. Watch Morin snipe his 200th career point in the Q:
2⃣0⃣0⃣th point in the @QMJHL for Étienne https://t.co/sPWwniVjxD pic.twitter.com/GcVj5uFlKU
— Moncton Wildcats (@monctonwildcats) February 23, 2025
- The Shawinigan Cataractes were also 2–0–0 while allowing just one goal against this week. Not that they needed his offence, but Shawinigan was without leading scorer Matvei Gridin. Something to keep an eye on. Shawinigan is second in the Central Division and has also secured a playoff berth.
WHL
- Jaden Lipinski had a solid two-goal, five-point week, but the Vancouver Giants dropped two of three, finishing 1–1–1. The Giants sit third in the B.C. Division but should be able to secure one of the lower playoff seeds. Nice play to stay onside and then feed his teammate for the goal:
Thorpey snipeeeeee! 🤑
— Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) February 23, 2025
A beautiful pass from Jaden Lipinski and Tyler Thorpe with the finish, his 24th of the season!@TheWHL | @CanadiensMTL | @NHLFlames pic.twitter.com/6sbMjNPgl2
- Hunter Laing scored twice for the Saskatoon Blades, helping them to a 2–0–0 week. The Blades are currently third in the East Division but within striking distance of first, being three points back with a game in hand.
- Calgary Hitmen blueliner Axel Hurtig is out with a lower-body injury. In his absence, Calgary was 3–0–0, scoring 15 goals and only allowing one against. They’re second in the Central Division by three points but have three games in hand.
- Defenceman Eric Jamieson was impressive this week, picking up four points in three games. The Everett Silvertips went 2–1–0 as they continued to lead the U.S. Division. Everett is already playoff-bound with a league-leading 87 points. How about a Jamieson hatty?
Eric Jamieson. That's the tweet.
— x – Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) February 18, 2025
📽️ ROLL THE HIGHLIGHT FILM!#ForEverett | @walottery pic.twitter.com/l55WEhTTns
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):
- Zayne Parekh: 43.7 (Same)
- Rory Kerins: 37.9 (Same)
- Luke Misa: 36.6 (+1)
- Jacob Battaglia: 35.8 (-1)
- Aydar Suniev: 35.8 (New)
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 | 57 | 33 | 44 | 77 | 1.35 | 32 | 35.8 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL |
| Parker Bell | LW | 42 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 0.21 | 6 | 8.4 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Lucas Ciona | LW | 47 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 0.34 | 63 | 13.5 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Matvei Gridin | RW | 49 | 29 | 37 | 66 | 1.35 | 27 | 31.4 | Shawinigan Cataractes | QMJHL |
| Samuel Honzek | C/LW | 40 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 0.45 | 18 | 17.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Trevor Hoskin | C/RW | 33 | 12 | 25 | 37 | 1.12 | 10 | N/A | Niagara University | NCAA |
| Rory Kerins | C/LW | 42 | 22 | 18 | 40 | 0.95 | 10 | 37.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Adam Klapka | RW/LW | 31 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 0.81 | 50 | 32.3 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Hunter Laing | C | 53 | 18 | 16 | 34 | 0.64 | 31 | 15.8 | Prince George Cougars/Saskatoon Blades | WHL |
| Jaden Lipinski | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| 48 | 12 | 35 | 47 | 0.98 | 32 | 24.3 | Vancouver Giants | WHL | ||
| Cade Littler | C | 28 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0.21 | 21 | 7.6 | University of North Dakota | NCAA |
| Luke Misa | C | 56 | 32 | 45 | 77 | 1.38 | 4 | 36.6 | Brampton Steelheads | OHL |
| William Stromgren | LW | 49 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 0.78 | 10 | 31.1 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Aydar Suniev | LW | 27 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 1.11 | 18 | 35.8 | UMass | NCAA |
Defencemen
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLe | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Brzustewicz | RHD | 50 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 0.40 | 6 | 15.9 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Artyom Grushnikov | LHD | 43 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0.12 | 22 | 4.8 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Axel Hurtig | LHD | 44 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 0.30 | 25 | 7.4 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL |
| Eric Jamieson | LHD | 57 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 0.56 | 55 | 13.9 | Everett Silvertips | WHL |
| Joni Jurmo | LHD | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 0.0 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| 12 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 0.83 | 4 | N/A | Rapid City Rush | ECHL | ||
| Yan Kuznetsov | LHD | 51 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 0.27 | 24 | 10.8 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Henry Mews | RHD | 56 | 14 | 59 | 73 | 1.30 | 66 | 34.4 | Ottawa 67’s/Sudbury Wolves | OHL |
| Etienne Morin | LHD | 52 | 12 | 35 | 47 | 0.90 | 30 | 21.0 | Moncton Wildcats | QMJHL |
| Nikita Okhotyuk | LHD | 55 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0.15 | 30 | 9.9 | CSKA Moskva | KHL |
| Zayne Parekh | RHD | 52 | 28 | 58 | 86 | 1.65 | 77 | 43.7 | Saginaw Spirit | OHL |
| Jeremie Poirier | LHD | 50 | 4 | 22 | 26 | 0.52 | 36 | 20.7 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Ilya Solovyov | LHD | 43 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 0.49 | 16 | 19.5 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
Goalies
| Player | Position | GP | GAA | SV% | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniil Chechelev | G | 9 | 3.84 | 0.877 | Yunison-Moskva | VHL |
| Waltteri Ignatjew | G | 17 | 3.61 | 0.886 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Arsenii Sergeev | G | 25 | 2.50 | 0.920 | Penn State University | NCAA |
| Yegor Yegorov | G | 4 | 3.38 | 0.870 | HK Tambov | VHL |
| 8 | 3.07 | 0.891 | MHK Tambov | NMHL | ||
| 16 | 2.90 | 0.911 | MHK Krylia Sovetov Moskva | MHL | ||
| Kirill Zarubin | G | 16 | 2.38 | 0.933 | 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!
