Every organization in the NHL has players who are on the bubble. There are tweeners who haven’t been able to grab a spot on the NHL roster and declining players who need to bounce back. This genre of players usually has a few seasons to lock down a spot. But suddenly they’re 24 years old instead of 21. Maybe they’re on the fourth line with no opening higher in the lineup to score, with younger, promising players threatening to steal their spot.
There are a handful of players who fit this mould on the Calgary Flames this season. On a rebuilding team, these players will have their opportunity to shine. However, they must show the value they have, or Calgary might not be home by season’s end.
Martin Pospisil
Maybe it’s a bit premature to place Pospisil on this list. But he has gone from a fun, speedy, power-forward with potential to be a long-term bottom-six player to a guy with injury concerns, who stagnated and then had a brutal year. If I had to say anyone was the safest on this list, it’s likely Pospisil.
The organization seems to like him; the struggle from last year can be attributed to those injuries. He also plays a brand of hockey that is valuable on the fourth line regardless. However, Pospisil has always had injury issues; he almost retired a few years ago due to them. Another bad injury, and maybe someone steps up and takes his spot. Another rough year, his value depletes, and space for a young player is needed. If Pospisil wants comfort in Calgary, it’s in his best interest to get back to at least that 25-point range.
Rory Kerins
It often feels like the Flames have a player that’s forever on the brink of the NHL. Someone who dominates the AHL, but can’t hold down a position in the NHL, whether that is due to unfair usage or poor performances. Rory Kerins is the current guy who fits this archetype. In the past two seasons, Kerins has basically scored at a point-per-game rate in the AHL. He earned stints in the NHL both seasons. For 2024–25, you can use the unfair-treatment argument. Often, four points in five games reward more time in the NHL. However, in contrast, 2025–26 was more due to poor performance. Kerins didn’t score any points in his four games and played three more minutes than the prior year.
Now, to begin this season, it doesn’t look to be in Kerins favour. Throughout the preseason, he was working with Team Black and wasn’t a part of the probable opening night roster against the Canucks. So, he’s very likely entering the year in the AHL once again. This is the season that’ll decide if he’s just another Matthew Phillips or Glenn Gawdin, or if he’s something more. If he wants a spot with the Flames, Kerins will have to take advantage of any opportunity he gets.
Brennan Othmann
Between all the major moves the Flames made around the deadline, they snuck in a minor one that brought Brennan Othmann to Calgary. Othmann is a former 16th overall pick, whose career has not panned out in the way he’d probably hoped. He has spent most of his career flipping between the AHL and the NHL, spending 20 or so games in each. In the minors, he produced around a 0.60 to 0.70 points-per-game clip. But in the NHL, he’s never been able to muster up more than two points in a season.
Just like Kerins, Othmann was on Team Black for training camps, which likely entails beginning the year in the AHL. In addition to that, Othmann signed his contract only about a week ago. For how simple his deal is, it could possibly underline that the Flames and he have a disconnect in where they see him as a player. If Othmann wants to show his worth, he needs to either have a massive year in the AHL or hold down a position within the bottom-six when the chance arrives. If not, he’s treading toward becoming a guy who never makes it and only has regard due to his draft position.
Maxim Tsyplakov
Straying away from the tweeners looking to finally break into the NHL, we have a player whose spot may be threatened by one. That is Maxim Tsyplakov, who was a part of the huge trade that brought Simon Nemec to Calgary. Tsyplakov came over from Russia at the start of the 2024–25 season, signing with the New York Islanders. In his first season, he produced 35 points in 77 games and actually looked like a solid middle-six piece. However, his sophomore season was a disaster. With the Islanders, he was only able to put up two points in 27 games. He also spent time as a healthy scratch before being sent to the New Jersey Devils in a cap dump deal at the deadline. The trade didn’t create any boost for him, though, as the struggles continued with only two points in 22 games.
Now with the Flames, Tsyplakov isn’t exactly in a position to regain that 2024–25 form. He sits on the fourth line, with no real room for him to move up in the lineup. Despite that, he has been getting some reps on the power play, so maybe that additional ice time will spark him. However, he is probably the player with the most threat of being taken out of the lineup. It would not surprise me at all if Tsyplakov spent time as a healthy scratch and/or with the Wranglers. It also wouldn’t surprise me if any poor season spelled his return to Russia and the KHL at the end of it.
William Stromgren
Someone close to joining Kerins as a ‘forever on the brink’ guy is the Flames’ 2021 second-round pick, William Stromgren. Since coming over to North America in 2023–24, Stromgren has seen steady improvement with the Wranglers each season. That improvement was rewarded last year with a surprise call-up that foretold a three-game stint in January. Stromgren was somewhat screwed over in those games, as he never played more than eight minutes in a night and lost a minute each game.
Like Kerins and Othmann, Stromgren was on Team Black for training camp, so starting in the AHL is likely his fate. I feel as if Stromgren has a bit more time and leeway than these guys, as he has had less opportunity to prove himself. But with him turning 24 next June, and the plethora of prospects passing him on the depth chart, Stromgren has to prove he has value this season. Whether it be that pushing a point-per-game in the AHL this year, or looking strong in an NHL stint. If his AHL performance stagnates, or his performance in NHL games is weak, it is reasonable to think that it ends the possibility of him being a long-term player for the Flames.
A forever-progressing depth chart threat
Calgary is home to many players looking to prove themselves. As a rebuilding team, that list only gets longer every year. Whether it be major prospects trying to crack the roster or tweeners desperate for an NHL career. The five players listed are those who are most at risk due to Calgary’s never-ending and always improving depth chart. Pospisil and Tsyplakov have to be wary of being replaced by those trying to break into the NHL. And Kerins, Othmann, and Stromgren are among those guys looking to break into the NHL. With how the Flames’ future is progressing, I will not be shocked if a majority of these listed players have a new home come 2027–28.
Photo credit: David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire
