Most seasons are now underway, which is good news for the Calgary Flames organization as they look to rebuild. A large number of cuts from the Flames’ preseason camp have taken place over the last week. These cuts mean more prospects starting their seasons with their normal teams.
Let’s take a look at everything that has happened this past week with Calgary Flames prospects.
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 and feature one standout prospect. 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.
Matvei Gridin, F, Shawinigan Cataractes, QMJHL
The 28th overall selection of the 2024 NHL draft has had a stronger training camp and preseason than many expected with the Flames. The Russian forward has not looked out of place within the lineup for the C of red, and might even be a dark horse to make the team for this upcoming season.
When Gridin was drafted, many praised his skating, shooting, and finishing ability, which have all continued to grow since. He even collected the QMJHL offensive rookie of the year for the 2024–25 campaign. His playmaking, timing, and finishing are on track to develop even more this year.
With all of that being said, there are still some question marks around compete level, physicality, awareness, and top-end speed that Gridin needs to figure out, and that’s fine.
Expectations for the former first-rounder have been raised, and if he doesn’t make the Flames out of camp this year, expect the 2006-born forward to be a serious contender for a roster spot next year.
Calgary Flames prospect updates
AHL
- The Flames have sent the following players back down to the Wranglers: Andrew Basha, Parker Bell, Lucas Ciona, Martin Frk, Alex Gallant, Carter King, David Silye, Carter Wilkie, Simon Mack, Sam Honzek, William Stromgren, Aydar Suniev, Clark Bishop, Sam Morton, Dryden Hunt, Yan Kuznetsov, Hunter Brzustewicz, Nick Cicek, Artem Grushnikov, Etienne Morin, Jeremie Poirier, Connor Murphy, Owen Say, and Arsenii Sergeev.
- Look for the next round of cuts to the Calgary Wranglers to happen in the next couple of days, and that should leave just the final roster for the Calgary Flames.
Europe
- Theo Stockselius proved once again this past week that he is a playmaking machine. Look for him to continue being a deceptive, crafty passer with good lane awareness and timing. He even took nine total shots across two games this past week. He sits with a 1.11 PPG on the season.
NCAA
- Mace’o Phillips has been reassigned to the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers this past week. The big physical defender appeared in his first two games of the season this past week against the Muskegon Lumberjacks.
OHL
- Jacob Battaglia has recently been named the newest captain of the Kingston Frontenacs. He appeared in his first two games of the season and started right where he left off last season, with two goals and an assist. Battaglia remains a high-end playmaker with a high hockey IQ and timing ability.
WHL
- Axel Hurtig is back with the Calgary Hitmen again this season. He played a prominent role with them in the first battle of Alberta against the Oil Kings, where he went a +2 and found the scoresheet with an assist.
- Saskatoon is in a Laing-term affair. Hunter Laing began his WHL season this past week after being reassigned to the Saskatoon Blades. He’s a PPG. The 2006-born forward continues to show good awareness, positioning, and playmaking. He projects to be a solid support forward at the next level.
Russia
- Flames 2024 third-rounder, goaltender Kirill Zarubin, only appeared in one game this past weekend, but had a solid outing against Dinamo-Shinnik Bobruysk, stopping 31 of 32 shots he faced for a .969 sv%. He’s off to a solid start this season.
- 2023 sixth-rounder, fellow Russian goaltender Yegor Yegorov, is also off to a solid start to the season. He played one game this past weekend against MHK Krylia Sovetov Moskva, where he collected another win, with a .957 SV% along the way. It’s likely that Yegorov gets a call-up to the VHL this season.
- Yan Matveiko only played one game this past week. He continues to build his momentum with another assist on the scoresheet against Amurskie Tigry Khabarovsk this past Wednesday.
Forwards
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rory Kerins | C/LW | – | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Cullen Potter | C/LW | – | – | – | – | – | – | Arizona State University | NCAA |
| Cade Littler | C/RW | – | – | – | – | – | – | University of North Dakota | NCAA |
| Hunter Laing | C/RW | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.00 | 0 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL |
| Samuel Honzek | C/LW | – | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Carter King | C/LW | – | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Cole Reschny | C/LW | – | – | – | – | – | – | University of North Dakota | NCAA |
| Jaden Lipinski | C/RW | – | – | – | – | – | – | University of Maine | NCAA |
| Luke Misa | C/LW | – | – | – | – | – | – | Penn State University | NCAA |
| Trevor Hoskins | RW/C | – | – | – | – | – | – | Merrimack College | NCAA |
| Theo Stockselius | C/LW | 6 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 1.17 | 4 | Djurgårdens IF U20 | U20 Nat |
| Yan Matveiko | C | 9 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 1.11 | 4 | Krasnaya Armiya Moskva | MHL |
| William Stromgren | LW/RW | – | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Matvei Gridin | LW/RW | – | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Lucas Ciona | LW/RW | – | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Parker Bell | LW/RW | – | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Andrew Basha | LW/RW | – | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Jacob Battaglia | LW/RW | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1.50 | 0 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL |
| Aydar Suniev | LW/RW | – | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Ethan Wyttenbach | LW/RW | – | – | – | – | – | – | Quinnipiac University | NCAA |
| Aiden Lane | RW/LW | – | – | – | – | – | – | Harvard University | NCAA |
Defence
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yan Kuznetsov | LD | – | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Jeremy Poirier | LD | – | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Etienne Morin | LD | – | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Artyom Grushnikov | LD | – | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Jacob Leander | RD | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.33 | 35 | HV71 | U20 Nat |
| Hunter Brzustewicz | RD | – | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Axel Hurtig | LD | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1.00 | 2 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL |
| Henry Mews | RD | – | – | – | – | – | – | University of Michigan | NCAA |
| Eric Jamieson | LD | – | – | – | – | – | – | University of Denver | NCAA |
| Mace’o Phillips | LD | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Green Bay Gamblers | USHL |
| Zayne Parekh | RD | – | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Flames | NHL |
Goaltenders
| Player | GP | GAA | SV% | Record | SO | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenii Sergeev | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Owen Say | – | – | – | – | – | Calgary Wranglers | AHL |
| Yegor Yegorov | 4 | 2.76 | .928 | 2-2-0 | 0 | MHK Spartak-MAH Moskva | MHL |
| Kirill Zarubin | 5 | 2.33 | .925 | 2-2-0 | 0 | AKM Tula | MHL |
