RSS Flames Team Notes

[Calgary Flames]

Wranglers add assistant coach David Liffiton to coaching staff

The Calgary Wranglers have added a new face to their coaching staff for the 2025-26 season.

Well, okay, it’s not an entirely new face. Joining the Wranglers as an assistant coach is David Liffiton, most recently an assistant coach for the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen, who share a home building with the Wranglers.

The 40-year-old Liffiton is entering his fifth season as a coach after a pretty interesting playing career. A blueliner by trade, he played in the Ontario Hockey League with the Plymouth Whalers and was selected in the second round of the 2003 NHL Draft by Colorado.

Nine months after being drafted, he was traded to the New York Rangers as part of a trade that sent Matthew Barnaby to Colorado. He went pro with the Rangers organization, ultimately playing 14 seasons of pro hockey in a lot of different leagues.

Here’s Liffiton’s pro career at a glance:

• 7 NHL games with the NY Rangers and Colorado
• 339 AHL games with Hartford, Syracuse and Lake Erie
• 16 ECHL games with Charlotte
• Two seasons in Denmark, with EfB Ishockey and the Frederiksvahn White Hawks
• One season in Italy with Milano Rossoblu
• Half a season in the Swedish Hockey League with Farjestads BK
• A season and a half in HockeyAllsvenskan with the Malmo RedHawks
• One season in Austria’s EBEL with HC Innsbruck

Liffiton began assistant coaching high-level hockey in 2020, and he’s racked up a year of U18 coaching with the North Island Silvertips U18 AAA, two seasons of BCHL coaching with the Nanaimo Clippers, and last season with the Hitmen.

Liffiton’s move to the pros from the Hitmen continues a pretty impressive trend of internal promotions within Calgary’s hockey clubs. In addition to Liffiton, in recent memory we’ve seen goalie coach Jason LaBarbera, skills consultant Matt Stajan, video analyst Connor Rankin, PR/team services Rees Giacchetta and athletic therapist Nathan Hollinger make the jump to the Flames or Wranglers staffs from the Hitmen. The Hitmen have been a pretty good spot to develop and promote up-and-coming hockey talent from.

The Wranglers coaching staff for the coming season will consist of head coach Brett Sutter, assistants Joe Cirella and David Liffiton, goalie development coach MacKenzie Skapski and video coach Chandler Biggar. Aside from Cirella, it’s a pretty youthful group coaching what could potentially be a pretty youthful AHL lineup. It should be a lot of fun.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/wranglers-add-assistant-coach-david-liffiton-to-coaching-staff

 

[Calgary Flames]

Streaming Flames games will cost more in 2025-26 due to Sportsnet+ price hike

If you’re a Calgary Flames fan hoping to stream games in 2025-26, it’s gonna cost you a bit more than it used to.

On Thursday, Sportsnet announced price increases for its Sportsnet+ streaming platform starting Sept. 9, 2025 (prices do not include taxes):

• For the Standard yearly package, the price has increased from $199.99 to $249.99, an increase of $50.00.
• For the Premium yearly package, the price has increased from $249.99 to $324.99, an increase of $75.00.
• For the Standard monthly package, the price has increased from $24.99 to $29.99, an increase of $5.00.
• For the Premium monthly package, the price has increased from $34.99 to $42.99, an increase of $8.00.

For cord-cutting Flames fans, the Standard package has been sufficient to watch regional and national broadcasts for those living in the local Calgary area. However, for out-of-market fans in other parts of Canada hoping to keep up with the red team, the Premium package has been a requirement. Both options are getting much pricier. (And this excludes anyone that wants to watch any TSN or Amazon broadcasts…)

This Sportsnet+ price hike continues a frustrating trend for fans, who have seen prices steadily climb up for the service. Sportsnet+ originally launched as Sportsnet NOW in 2016 as an online streaming platform for Sportsnet programming – essentially replicating the TV broadcast experience online for existing subscribers on the go, or those who had cut the cord but still wanted a reliable way to get their sports fix. A few years later, Sportsnet+ essentially replaced the NHL.TV service as the streaming home for all NHL games in Canada.

That would have been great, except the service has been a source of frustration for hockey fans for awhile. (When you try to Google “Sportsnet Plus,” the majority of the search engine’s fill-in suggestions for your search are references to the service not working properly.)

Some fans have had issues getting the service to recognize their IP address, resulting in (for example) Calgary fans trying to watch Flames games while in Calgary but being told they’re located outside the broadcast region. Or the service’s app crashing randomly. Or merely the service buffering perpetually when trying to stream video.

Based on online sentiment, and conversations with fans, the reaction from hockey fans looking for a reliable, safe place to stream hockey games when faced with Sportsnet+ price hikes in the past has been “Okay, sure, as long as the service works.” The persistent unreliability of an increasingly expensive platform has been a big challenge for fans just trying to watch their team.

Let’s see if this season, in the face of another price hike, if Sportsnet+ takes a big step forward.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/stream...t-more-in-2025-26-due-to-sportsnet-price-hike

 

[Calgary Flames]

The Flames will have 10 prospects playing college hockey in 2025-26

Folks, college hockey has always been one of the lifelines of the Calgary Flames. Some really splendid hockey players came to the Flames via the NCAA; among them names like Joe Nieuwendyk, Joe Mullen, Jamie Macoun, Joel Otto and Johnny Gaudreau.

But with the NCAA’s rule change that allows players from Canadian major junior hockey to be eligible to play in college, there’s been an influx of top prospects into the college ranks over the past year. Heck, the Flames will have 10 prospects – roughly a quarter of their prospect base – playing in the NCAA in the 2025-26 season.

So as we amble through our summer months and the fall remains in the distance, for now, let’s take a look at which college teams Flames prospects will be on during the coming season. (We’ve sorted it by conference!)

ECAC Hockey​

Quinnipiac University Bobcats – F Ethan Wyttenbach (2025 5th-rounder)

Based in Hamden, Connecticut, Quinnipiac is a really strong program. They’ve appeared each of the past six NCAA national tournaments, winning the crown in 2023.

In addition to Wyttenbach, Quinnipiac boasts just a pair of NHL-drafted players in Boston Bruins prospects D Elliott Groenewold (2024 4th-rounder) and F Christopher Pelosi (2023 3rd-rounder). They haven’t had a powerhouse recruiting class, especially compared to some other programs, but they look to be returning a lot of their heavy hitters from last season, so they should be strong again.

Harvard University Crimson – F Aidan Lane (2025 6th-rounder)

Now, we know some Flames fans have some Ivy League anxiety about Harvard because of Adam Fox. But hey, Harvard also gave the Flames Matt Coronato, and historically they’ve been a really nice proving ground for NHLers. They’ve missed the NCAA national tournament in the past two seasons, but they could be bound for a bounce-back season.

In addition to Lane, Harvard’s NHL drafted prospects include Anaheim D Ryan Healey (2022 4th-rounder), Buffalo D Sean Keohane (2023 6th-rounder), Boston D Mason Langenbrunner (2020 5th-rounder), Anaheim F Michael Callow (2022 5th-rounder), San Jose F Richard Gallant (2025 7th-rounder), Toronto F Joe Miller (2020 6th-rounder) and Philadelphia F Heikki Ruohonen (2024 4th-rounder). They may lack elite NHL prospects, but they have a ton of pretty promising depth.

Big 10​

Penn State University Nittany Lions – F Luke Misa (2024 5th-rounder)

You’re probably aware of Penn State for either their run to the Frozen Four this past spring (backstopped by Flames prospect Arsenii Sergeev) or their recent recruitment of presumptive 2026 first-overall pick Gavin McKenna. They’ve been on the upswing in recent years, making the NCAA national tournament in two of the past three seasons.

Aside from Misa (and McKenna), the Nittany Lions also have Ottawa G Kevin Reidler (2022 5th-rounder), Columbus D Jackson Smith (2025 1st-rounder), Florida F Shea Busch (2025 4th-rounder) and Carolina F Charlie Cerrato (2025 2nd-rounder). Even before McKenna signed on, Penn State was looking to be a really fun team. They’re a team to watch this fall.

University of Michigan Wolverines – D Henry Mews (2024 3rd-rounder)

The Wolverines had a bit of a down year by their standards in 2024-25, missing the NCAA national tournament for the first time in five seasons. They’re generally considered one of the top programs in the country, and they’re likely hoping for a bounce-back.

In addition to Mews, in terms of NHL prospects the Wolverines have Nashville G Jack Ivankovic (2025 2nd-rounder), Anaheim D Drew Schlock (2025 4th-rounder), San Jose F Cole McKinney (2025 2nd-rounder), Carolina F Jayden Perron (2023 3rd-rounder) and NY Rangers F Malcolm Spence (2025 2nd-rounder). It’s a younger group, but there’s a lot of potential there.

NCHC​

University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks – F Cole Reschny (2025 1st-rounder) & F Cade Littler (2022 7th-rounder)

You’re probably aware of North Dakota as a Flames fan, likely due to 2025 first-rounder Cole Reschny being headed there in the fall. (We’ll forgive you if you don’t recall that Cade Littler goes there, too.) North Dakota has built a reputation as a really strong program, but they’ve been in a bit of a slump lately. They missed the NCAA national tournament last year, and have qualified for just one of the past three.

In addition to Reschny and Littler, the Fighting Hawks have NHL prospects like NY Islanders D Sam Laurila (2025 5th-rounder), Vegas D Abram Wiebe (2022 7th-rounder), Detroit F Dylan James (2022 2nd-rounder), San Jose F David Klee (2023 7th-rounder), Buffalo F Ashton Schultz (2025 6th-rounder) and Boston F Will Zellers (2024 3rd-rounder). North Dakota graduated Sasha Boisvert to the pros in the spring and Owen McLaughlin moved on to Boston University, so we’ll see if North Dakota’s new faces can find their stride quickly.

Arizona State University Sun Devils – F Cullen Potter (2025 1st-rounder)

From the hockey hotbed of Tempe, Arizona, the Sun Devils are the home of Flames first-rounder Cullen Potter and have been one of the more interesting stories in college hockey over the past decade. They’ve made the NCAA national tournament just once, in 2019 as an independent, but could be a surprise this season.

In addition to Potter, their NHL prospects include Minnesota D Justin Kipkie (2025 5th-rounder), Philadelphia F Noah Powell (2024 5th-rounder) and Boston F Cole Spicer (2022 4th-rounder). The Sun Devils have an older group than a lot of teams, but they’re returning a bunch of key players. If they’re going to make a splash, someone – probably Potter – is going to need to have a strong season.

University of Denver Pioneers – D Eric Jamieson (2024 6th-rounder)

The Pioneers have been consistently very good lately. They’ve qualified for the NCAA national tournament in each of the past four years, and made it to the Frozen Four three of the past four years. Heck, they won a national championship in 2024. They’re good. Carter King played there last season, and they keep winning and graduating players to the NHL.

In addition to Jamieson, NHL prospects at Denver include Montreal G Quentin Miller (2023 4th-rounder), Colorado D Tory Pitner (2024 6th-rounder), Seattle F Clarke Caswell (2024 5th-rounder), Los Angeles F Kristian Epperson (2025 3rd-rounder), Colorado F Jake Fisher (2024 4th-rounder) and Los Angeles F Brendan McMorrow (2025 7th-rounder). The Pioneers graduated a bunch of their top players, so we’ll see who steps up to fill the void.

Hockey East​

University of Maine Black Bears – F Jaden Lipinski (2023 4th-rounder)

Maine’s been a low-key fun story in the NCAA over the past few years, with back-to-back NCAA national tournament appearances after not being in the big dance for over a decade before that.

In addition to Lipinski, the Black Bears have NHL prospects like Florida D Luke Coughlin (2023 6th-rounder), Nashville F Miguel Marques (2024 3rd-rounder) and Carolina F Justin Poirier (2024 5th-rounder), Jeremie’s brother. Maine’s resurgence hasn’t been star-driven, so we’ll see if they can continue to play a strong team game and keep their hot streak going.

Merrimack College Warriors – F Trevor Hoskin (2024 4th-rounder)

Is Merrimack College a conference powerhouse? Not really. They’re a solid team, but they’ve made just one NCAA national tournament appearance in the last decade (back in 2023).

As of right now, Hoskin is the only NHL-drafted player committed to Merrimack College for the coming season.

Which Flames prospect are you most excited to watch in the NCAA this coming season? Let us know in the comments!

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi​

This article is a presentation of Platinum Mitsubishi, family owned and operated by lifelong Calgarians. Home of the industry-leading 10-year, 160,000-kilometre powertrain warranty. Check out their showroom at 2720 Barlow Trail NE or online at www.mitsu.ca.

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/the-flames-will-have-10-prospects-playing-college-hockey-in-2025-26

 

[Calgary Flames]

FlamesNation Mailbag: The Stampede ends and the dog days of summer begin

Gang, the 2025 edition of the Calgary Stampede is now complete. Hopefully everybody had a good time, or avoided it entirely, to their own personal preferences.

As we sweep all the hay out of Calgary’s streets, let’s check in with the mailbag!

Is it managements decision not to commit to an actual rebuild or ownerships? It seems like Conroy knows what this team needs but isn't allowed to do it as Nonnis and malony are actually calling the shots. It's incredibly frustrating as a fan.

— Alberta Moose Knuckle (@AlbertaMatt) July 12, 2025

All due respect, I think you – and others – are overestimating the influence Dave Nonis and Don Maloney have on Flames management. Craig Conroy is running the show and while he does consult with others, including his experienced colleagues such as Nonis and Maloney, he’s steering the ship. My read, from various chats with Conroy over the years in various settings, is that he legitimately believes that tearing it down to the studs was not the ideal option for the Flames when he took the reins, and so he’s embraced the “retool” or “hybrid rebuild” or whatever folks want to call it.

If Conroy holds on to Anderson and intends to trade him at the deadline, but he gets injured and cant be moved.
Is it total meltdown in Flames land? And will the fans turn on Conroy?

— Baldy (@Bald8Tyler) July 12, 2025

This is probably a fair sentiment. Rasmus Andersson is arguably the last big sellable asset that Craig Conroy inherited from the previous regime, and if Andersson is going to be departing the organization and not signing a long-term deal to remain with the club, they need to get some assets back for him in order to keep the momentum of their retool rolling along.

And much like with Chris Tanev, who everyone seemed to wince alongside every time he blocked a shot during the 2023-24 stretch drive, it’s imperative that Andersson not get injured and become a diminished asset before he can be sold off.

I think Conroy has done enough good things thus far that he has a lot of banked goodwill with Flames fans, but not getting a sufficient return for Andersson should garner him criticism from fans and media in the event that it happens. It probably wouldn’t wash out all the smart things he’s done so far as general manager, but you never know.

Who is the Flame, new prospect, or whomever that can be the new Sam Bennett(similar playing style), but stays this time. Or maybe it's no one?

— Steve Berman (@5t3v3b3rm4n) July 12, 2025

Sam Bennett was a unicorn in terms of having the size, smarts and snarl to be a really effective playoff player. I don’t know if anybody in the organization right now has those three attributes to the degree Bennett did.

However, I am excited to see Andrew Basha at 100% potentially playing pro hockey this coming season, because he has a lot of those Bennett-y attributes, albeit possibly not in the same amount. I’ll also single out Lucas Ciona, who probably doesn’t have the skill ceiling of Bennett or Basha, but feels like someone that opponents will hate playing against in the playoffs if he keeps progressing as a physical role player in the forward group.

But no, there’s no Sam Bennett clone out there.

Is there any news on the Zary signing?

— Fox (@FoxON3P) July 12, 2025

On July 1, here’s what Craig Conroy said to us media folks when asked if he had any updates on Connor Zary and Morgan Frost:

“Talking to their agents. I think it’ll get done here at some point. So hopefully we’ve been busy with the draft and everything. So I think those will start to pick up. That’ll be our priority in the next couple weeks.”

Frost signed shortly afterwards, so we would suggest that Zary is their top priority right now.

Which current players do you think will be on the team in 2030?

Also what’s your favourite new change to the CBA?

— Aidan (@aidan_thakkar) July 12, 2025

Current Flames that I think will be on the team in 2023 include, but are not limited to, Dustin Wolf, MacKenzie Weegar, Kevin Bahl, Jonathan Huberdeau and Matt Coronato. And because I want to throw some prospects on there, I’ll also say Cole Reschny, Zayne Parekh and Hunter Brzustewicz.

Via e-mail from David: “How many of the Flames and the prospects train in Calgary during the offseason?”

It varies, because some players stick around for awhile after the season ends – especially those with school-aged kids – and then head off elsewhere. I would estimate somewhere around 20-25% of the players under contract hang around town for a significant amount of the off-season.

Via e-mail from Steve: “I’ve been looking at the development maps for the area and I’m stumped at the “walking path” for the hockey fans from the LRT station to the new dome. I was there since the new station was finished and the only walking route is the “alley way” between the BMO and Cowboys. Something will replace the now demolished elevated partially covered walkway. I can’t find anything in any plans anywhere. To be clear from Victoria Park station to the Event Centre. If the Green Line gets built it will be across the street for the Event Centre but the Red Line walk way remains a mystery. Any news you have seen??”

The plan, as has been relayed to me by various people working on the various Stampede Park developments, is for there to be no dedicated indoor path from either Victoria Park LRT station (to the west) or the eventual Green Line station (to the north) to Scotia Place. The idea is that the planners want some foot traffic along the street level, and that would drive some business to the various places that pop up in the area.

They’re working on a couple more hotel developments for the area to go with the two that were just announced in recent weeks, and those hotels will have lobby bars and restaurants, as does the Cowboys Casino. The hope is that fans will pop in and out of all those places before and after games and concerts and make the area a fun, lively place.

Via the DMs from Ethan Williams: “What will be the first event at Scotia Place? Will it be a concert? Will it be the 2027 regular season home opener? Will it be a pre season game? IMO the regular season home opener should be the first ever event.“

In an ideal world, the hope is probably to have a few concerts before the 2027 NHL pre-season to stress test Scotia Place. It sounds incredibly stressful to launch a brand-new building with an NHL regular season game, and I think everybody involved would like to have a few smaller-scale rehearsals before the pre-season begins. Failing that, the two home pre-season games (and the early Calgary Hitmen regular season games in 2027-28) would probably work as stress tests.

But you can understand why they would like multiple outings with varied audiences to work out the kinks, and then use the Flames season-opener in 2027-28 as a big event to act as the building’s “grand opening,” so to speak.

Got a question for a future mailbag? Contact Ryan on Twitter/BlueSky at @RyanNPike or e-mail him at Ryan.Pike [at] BetterCollective.com! (Make sure you put Mailbag in the subject line!)

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flamesnation-mailbag-the-stampede-ends-and-the-dog-days-of-summer-begin

 

[Calgary Flames]

Despite offensive breakout in 2024-25, Flames prospect Jacob Battaglia might still be underrated

When Calgary Flames fans think about the organization’s prospects, a few names immediately come to mind.

Understandably, fans are excited about Zayne Parekh. The club’s other recent first-rounders – Matvei Gridin, Cole Reschny and Cullen Potter – merit a lot of attention. Local product Andrew Basha returned from a pretty significant ankle injury to help Medicine Hat win a league championship. Several prominent prospects are headed onto new challenges with good college programs in the fall.

In this context, let’s talk about 2024 second-rounder Jacob Battaglia, who scored 40 goals and 90 points for the Kingston Frontenacs last season and may still somehow be underrated when we discuss Flames prospects. He had a big leap forward offensively in 2024-25, increasing his goal output from 31 and his point output from 65. He was asked about the secret to his scoring increase.

“Honestly, I feel like I just got better in the off season, just kind of translated that into the hockey season,” said Battaglia. “Didn’t really try to do too much, just kind of wanted to kind of play more simple and try to keep the puck on my stick and less hope plays and throwing it away. And I think that helped me a lot, just being able to possess the puck longer on the ice and make better plays and higher end plays that ultimately result in a goal or at least an offensive chance.”

Back in November, the developmental hockey landscape changed as the NCAA voted to allow Canadian junior players to become eligible to play college hockey starting in 2025-26. That led to a veritable gold rush as junior-aged CHLers began to make college commitments. One of the most prominent CHLers who didn’t do that was Battaglia, who signed his entry level deal with the Flames in late March, closing the door on any possible collegiate move.

“I mean, my dream and always the route I dreamed of playing was playing in the OHL and going to the NHL from there, even taking one or two years in the AHL and getting to the NHL,” said Battaglia. “That was always kind of the dream route. Even when I chose the OHL at 16, again, never really thought of school, always had in my mind that OHL was going to be the way. So I thought might as well just stick to what I chose before and not change up and make it too hard on myself, just go out there and play the game.”

On Mar. 28, the Flames announced they had signed Battaglia to a three year entry-level deal – presuming that Battaglia spends the upcoming season in the OHL, his ELC won’t kick in until 2026-27. Coming at the end of a really strong season for him, it was some validation that he was on the right path towards his goals.

“Yeah, I got that call the day after my birthday from my agent,” said Battaglia. “So it was kind of a little belated birthday gift. Even that experience, just getting that phone call is so cool. Just the reaction for me was more just a relief and feel that they have been watching me and they’ve been seeing me put in work and that they believe and they want to give me a chance to be a Calgary Flame. So just knowing you have that from the management and the coaching staff and everyone else around that they believe in you and they want you to be a Calgary Flame is just so inviting and you just feel so comfortable around them to be yourself.”

Battagalia is a 2006 birthday, so he’s not eligible to go pro and play in the American Hockey League this coming season. More likely than not, he’ll be back with the Frontenacs for the 2025-26 season. And while he played some really good hockey last season, he remains hungry to prove himself as he works towards his ultimate goal of the NHL.

“I mean, well, the job’s not finished,” said Battaglia. “Obviously that’s just, again, just another stepping stone in the dream plan of eventually playing in the NHL. So yeah, just trying to stay the course and entrust the process. No, it’s not always going to be direct work, go to the OHL, get drafted, sign a contract, play in the NHL. It’s going to be a lot of adversity throughout the way and throughout the journey and just trying to stay the course and stay level with myself, stay level headed, not trying to get too up, not trying to get too down. Just kind of stay right in the middle there and feel where I’m most comfortable on and off the ice.”

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/despit...ect-jacob-battaglia-might-still-be-underrated

 

[Calgary Flames]

Report: Flames place prospect Joni Jurmo on unconditional waivers to terminate contract

The Calgary Flames have reportedly placed defensive prospect Joni Jurmo on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Joni Jurmo (CAL) & Ty Voit (TOR) both on unconditional waivers to terminate contracts

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 15, 2025

The 23-year-old Jurmo is a left shot defenceman from Espoo, Finland. He was originally selected in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. His rights moved to the Flames as part of the January 2024 trade for Elias Lindholm, and the Flames signed Jurmo to a two year entry-level contract in March 2024.

Since being drafted, Jurmo had bounced around Finnish pro hockey a bit, playing with JYP, Jukurit, Ilves and KooKoo in the first-tier SM-liiga and Kiekko-Espoo in the second tier Mestis over a four season period. When he signed with the Flames, the hope was probably that some stability would allow the big-bodied blueliner to blossom. Listed at 6’4″ and 207 pounds, you can understand why the Flames would have coveted Jurmo’s size, defensive prowess and pro experience in good leagues.

Unfortunately, Jurmo was lost in the shuffle in the Flames system. When he was with the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush, he played a lot and played quite well. Well enough, in fact, that an argument could be made that he was too good for that league. He had 10 points in 12 ECHL games with the Rush last season. With the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, he played just 17 times, often as a seventh defender, and he didn’t really carve out a role for himself given how sporadically he played. He had zero points in the AHL.

Including Jurmo, the Flames organization has 16 defencemen on NHL contracts for 2025-26. With highly-touted prospect Etienne Morin going pro with the Wranglers in the fall, and lefties like Ilya Solovyov, Nick Cicek, Yan Kuznetsov and Jeremie Poirier vying for ice time, it seems unlikely (on paper) that Jurmo’s placement within the Flames defensive pecking order would improve in 2025-26 from where it was in 2024-25.

A contract termination opens up a contract slot for the Flames, and gives Jurmo a chance to pursue a larger on-ice role elsewhere. Signing Jurmo was a worthwhile, low-risk gamble for player and team. Sometimes those gambles don’t work out.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/report...n-unconditional-waivers-to-terminate-contract

 

[Calgary Flames]

The Flames and Stars are perfect trade partners for Rasmus Andersson

It’s looking like Rasmus Andersson’s time in Calgary is coming to an end. The Flames and their 28 year old defenceman are reportedly far apart on extension talks.

The best course of action for Craig Conroy is to trade Andersson, preferably before the start of training camp. They are going to want to avoid making this situation a distraction this season.

Andersson has a six team no trade list. Conroy has the ability to move Andersson to 25 teams across the NHL as a rental.

But there is one team that makes the most sense to partner with in an Andersson trade. And that is the Dallas Stars.

Andersson is exactly what the stacked Dallas Stars team is missing.

Dallas desperately needs help on the right side of their defence. As of June 14th, the only right shot defencemen on the Stars NHL roster is Ilya Lyubushkin, Nils Lundkvist, and Alex Petrovic. Keep in mind that Miro Heiskanen plays the right side. But man, after Heiskanen, there is zero depth on that blueline.

Jim Nill needs to add to that group if they want to give themselves the best chance at winning the Stanley Cup. And who better than Rasmus Andersson to fill that void?

Andersson is the type of player you want to add to a cup contender. As Flames fans know, Andersson’s style of play and attitude is perfect for playoff hockey. His physicality, willingness to block shots, defensive play, and ability to piss off his opponents will allow him to thrive in the biggest games of the season.

Andersson would be a great fit. But do the Stars have the assets to make a trade happen? The answer is yes.

The Stars have a lot of assets the Flames would be interested in. They have their second and third round picks in the stacked 2026 NHL draft. They have their first and third round picks in the 2027 NHL Draft.

The Flames have shown in the past under Craig Conroy that they like acquiring young NHL players. The Stars have a couple intriguing names.

Lian Bichsel is a 6’7″, 231 pound, 21-year-old left shot defenceman who broke out for the Stars late in their regular season and playoff run. He is a very similar player to Kevin Bahl. He is a good skater for his size. He is tough and difficult to play against. He is a perfect partner for the Flames skilled, right shot defencemen like MacKenzie Weegar, Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz, and Henry Mews.

The other young NHL player the Flames would be interested in is Mavrik Bourque. The 23 year old winger played in 73 games, scored 11 goals and added 14 assists. He was under-utilized playing on the fourth line. Bourque might be one of those players who could break out if given a bigger role on a new team.

Finally, there is the salary cap. The Dallas Stars only have $1,955,084 of cap space. Rasmus Andersson makes $4.55 million next season.

There is an easy solution to this problem: add Ilya Lyubushkin’s $3.25 million to the deal. The Flames would have to be incentivized to take on that deal. They are doing to Stars a favour.

Lyubushkin could help replace the minutes left behind by Andersson on the Flames blue line. He would also be a stop-gap for Zayne Parekh. He can take on tough minutes at 5-on-5 and help ease Parekh into the NHL.

If the Flames are able to rebuild his value on the trade market, they could move him for an asset at the 2026 or 2027 deadline.

All the pieces are there to make a trade. So what could that potentially look like?

The Flames trade a valuable right shot defenceman on a great contract. They also take on the two remaining years of Ilya Lyubushkin’s contract that pays him $3.25 million. The Stars will need to give up some significant assets to make this happen.

Lian Bichsel, a potential left shot top four defenceman and a 2027 first round pick feels like a fair starting point. Throw in a 5th round pick to boot and there might be a deal to be had.

The stars are aligning on a Rasmus Andersson trade between Calgary and Dallas. All the components are there to make a trade happen. Will these two deals be able to work something out? We will find out between now and the 2026 trade deadline.

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi​

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/the-flames-and-stars-are-perfect-trade-partners-for-rasmus-andersson

 

[Calgary Flames]

The Flames and Connor Zary like each other, but have a disagreement on compensation: Friedman

It’s been a pretty quiet summer for the Calgary Flames, gang.

Yeah, general manager Craig Conroy has locked a few players up to new contracts – including Matt Coronato, Kevin Bahl, Morgan Frost and Martin Pospisil. But there’s one piece of lingering contractual business before the 2025-26 season can begin: restricted free agent Connor Zary.

A first-round selection by the Flames in the 2020 NHL Draft, Zary just completed his entry-level contract and needs a new deal. But so far, the Flames and Zary’s camp have remained at an impasse.

In the most recent edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, co-host Kyle Bukauskas asked Elliotte Friedman about the whole situation.

Bukauskas: Quickly, do you have a read on another RFA out there, and Connor Zary and the Flames, and what the sticking point may be there?

Friedman: I have just heard that the two sides just have been apart. So until that changes, again, I don’t think this is a situation where the Flames don’t like the player or the player doesn’t like the Flames. I’ve just As you’ve heard, it’s a disagreement on, hey, if the term is X, this is what we think the number should be. The good news is that starting to pick up. Business is starting to pick up.

The 23-year-old Zary has played four seasons of pro hockey, a benefit of being a late birthday and gaining a slide year from signing soon after being drafted. On one hand, Zary’s definitely progressed since going pro, and has shown promise playing both centre and the wing.

But while teammate Matt Coronato avoided injury in 2024-25 and was able to really showcase what he can bring to the Flames… Zary wasn’t quite so lucky. Zary began the season playing quite well, but a pair of scary incidents – a knee-on-knee collision with Anaheim’s Drew Helleson in January and another with Dallas’ Mikko Rantanen in March – kept him out of the lineup for big chunks of the season and really disrupted his momentum, with his offensive production ending up slightly behind 2023-24’s.

Hopefully the two sides can come to terms on a deal soon and Zary can have a full training camp before the regular season begins on Oct. 7.

PRESENTED BY 6IX INNING STRETCH PODCAST​

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/the-fl...-have-a-disagreement-on-compensation-friedman

 

[Calgary Flames]

FlamesNation Mailbag: Backlund’s future, camp surprises, trades and more!

Friends, we’re into the back half of August and we’re just weeks away from prospects training camp and then veterans arrive for training camp and before you know it, the games start to count.

As we squeeze the last enjoyment we can out of the waning days of summertime, let’s check in with our pals in the mailbag.

Greetings from Brazil! I've been a flames fan since 2010 (peak pain), and followed Mikael Backlund career almost from the get go. Isn't it time for the flames to consider placing him at the 4th line? Specially since we're trying to figure out if zary is a C?

— Clóvis Lopes Colpani Filho (@Cloviscolpani89) August 24, 2025

Friedman was reporting that Backlund wants to play past next season. Do you see him being a Flame past next season? I was thinking Weegar is ready to be the captain.

— Maureen (@mbbrennan) August 25, 2025

So here’s the thing with Mikael Backlund: he’s 36, he loves being a Flame, and he has really high standards for himself. He’s gotten to where he is by being really self-aware, but also really critical of his own game.

Backlund was a net positive for the Flames last season; Evolving-Hockey’s model had him at 1 goal above replacement, but his numbers were really dragged down by a penalty kill that had Backlund at 3.2 goals below replacement in that situation. Backlund’s gig is to eat bad assignments and tough deployments so that the team’s young players, offensive players, and young offensive players can make hay with an easier workload. That’s been his gig for years. He understands the job and does it well.

Backlund becomes a fourth-liner when the Flames are able to acquire or develop somebody that’s better at Backlund’s job than he is.

In terms of his future: I think Backlund’s a Flame until he decides to retire, and I think he wears the C until that happens.

Ryan, what are the 3 most intriguing story lines in the pacific division this upcoming season in your opinion? Thanks!

— Big Daddy (@bigdaddybustard) August 24, 2025

Ignoring the Flames entirely:

#1: There’s no way the Canucks are really this bad once you remove all the wacky drama, right?

#2: Can San Jose or Anaheim take a step out of the basement as their young players blossom into NHLers?

#3: Can all the additions in Los Angeles gel together into a winning team?

How your pick for best positive surprise out of training camp?

— Blair Strachan (@BlairStrachan1) August 24, 2025

Andrew Basha was really, really good in last year’s camp… playing on an ankle that required surgery. I’m really excited to see how he looks at 100% physical condition.

But that’s arguably part of a broader storyline that I will call “Hey, how big is the gap in pro readiness between the Flames’ establish veterans and the many, many promising young players that Craig Conroy has added over the last 2 to 3 years?”

Who is our best prospect to turn into 1C or 2C?

— Blair Strachan (@BlairStrachan1) August 24, 2025

I’m really fascinated to see how Cole Reschny evolves during this coming season at the University of North Dakota, because he’s got a really nice mix of qualities that could lead to him being a strong pro centre. But he’s got a lot of steps to take before that happens. He’s probably the young centre I’m most excited to see moving forward.

Hey Ryan, a lot of rumours around Mason Mctavish since he’s not signed yet. Would what it take the flames to get him if he’s actually available?

— Montyrai (@Montyrai7) August 24, 2025

If I’m Anaheim, I’m asking for a lot for Mason McTavish. I have no intel on that situation, but considering McTavish is just 22 years old and would be under team control for awhile… I would be asking for a first-round pick, a pretty good prospect and maybe more.

You need to be really sure that McTavish is the answer for your team’s problems, because it will cost a lot to get him.

Who do you think makes up the Flames leadership room for opening night at Scotia Place in 2027?

— Aidan (@aidan_thakkar) August 24, 2025

My gut right now says that in October 2027, Mikael Backlund is the captain, and the alternates include MacKenzie Weegar, Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri.

Montreal is trading Price’s contract Sept 1, after the bonus is paid, in order to be cap compliant. Conroy’s talked about taking on 1 year bad contracts. Do you see the flames trading for that contract?

— Jason (@isslerj1) August 24, 2025

If I’m advising Craig Conroy, I put a high value on having cap flexibility. I don’t take on Carey Price’s $10.5 million cap hit unless I’m given a pretty big incentive to do so in terms of a draft pick or a nice young asset.

What do you think we realistically could have gotten if we flipped Huberdeau as soon as we acquired him?

— John (@nineinchooots) August 25, 2025

Honestly, probably not a ton. And that’s not to deride Jonathan Huberdeau as an asset, but unless you have him signed to an extension, or are pretty confident you could sign him to one, I don’t know if you’re giving up a ton for Huberdeau as a one-year rental player. If I’m guessing, perhaps a conditional draft pick – a second that turns into a first if the acquiring team made it far in the playoffs – and maybe a Cole Schwindt-level prospect.

From a media coverage point of view, are there things you will miss about the Saddledome that wont be in the new barn (not including nostalgia)?

— Steave (@Svenny9) August 25, 2025

The press box in the Saddledome is so fun to watch a game in. In a lot of the newer buildings, the press boxes and broadcast booths are set back a bit and are behind the second level of seating, so you’re far away from the ice. In the ‘Dome, you’re right above everything and it’s such a cool vantage point.

When will something finally happen?

— Kent Wilson (@Kent_Wilson) August 24, 2025

Prospects report for training camp around Sept. 11, with veterans arriving Sept. 18. I suspect that as August turns into September, any remaining lingering news items will start to topple like dominoes.

Got a question for a future mailbag? Contact Ryan on Twitter/BlueSky at @RyanNPike or e-mail him at Ryan.Pike [at] BetterCollective.com! (Make sure you put Mailbag in the subject line!)

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flamesnation-mailbag-backlunds-future-camp-surprises-trades-and-more

 

[Calgary Flames]

Former Flames blueliner Tyson Barrie retires from the NHL

A member of the 2024-25 edition of the Calgary Flames has hung up his skates.

On Monday, it was announced by several media outlets that 34-year-old blueliner Tyson Barrie had announced his retirement from the NHL. Our best guess for the source of the news is DNVR Avalanche podcast host Nathan Rudolph, who interviewed Barrie at a Colorado Avalanche alumni event.

Newly retired Avs alum Tyson Barrie takes on the tough questions from @DNVR_Rudo pic.twitter.com/sPAD0azqWj

— DNVR Avalanche (@DNVR_Avalanche) August 24, 2025

“So grateful for the career I’ve had and all the friends I’ve had to make, and I get to do stuff like this now.”

Barrie attended Flames training camp in 2024 on a professional try-out, catching on with the team as one of eight blueliners on their roster after performing pretty well in pre-season. However, Barrie just couldn’t find a niche with the Flames, suiting up for just 13 games and playing primarily on the third pairing alongside Brayden Pachal and Jake Bean, with a small chunk of time playing with MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson. He ended up registering a goal and three points with the Flames.

Last season was the 14th NHL campaign for Barrie, and with the body of work he had put together, you can understand why Ryan Huska and Craig Conroy thought he could help the Flames. A really smart offensive blueliner, Barrie posted seven 40+ point seasons in the NHL, peaking with 59 points with Colorado in 2018-19. 212 of his 508 career points were registered on the power play, and the Flames gambled on Barrie being able to help a power play that struggled in 2023-24.

Unfortunately for Barrie, he wasn’t really able to get into the lineup often enough to get any rhythm on the power play. He ended up closing out the 2024-25 season with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, where he posted two goals and five points over 11 games.

All-told, Barrie played 822 NHL games in his career, making appearances with Colorado, Toronto, Edmonton, Nashville and Calgary. He’s part of a really interesting grouping of players that suited up for both sides of the Battle of Alberta in their playing careers, and his first point as a Flame was an assist against the Oilers.

It’s always a bit sad when a player hangs it up, but it’s nice that Barrie at least had a chance to play one more season with the Flames and leave it all out on the ice, such as it was.

Best of luck to Barrie in retirement.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/former-flames-blueliner-tyson-barrie-retires-from-the-nhl

 

[Calgary Flames]

FN’s 2025 Flames summer prospect rankings – #2: Cole Reschny

The Calgary Flames entered the 2025 NHL Draft with a lack of high-end centres in their prospect base. They left that event with a slew of promising young pivots on their reserve list. The most exciting among that group may be 18th overall pick Cole Reschny.

A product of the Western Hockey League’s Victoria Royals, Reschny had a superb draft year, winning gold medals with Canada at two major events, and in-between those tournaments he emerged as one of the most impressive young prospects in the Dub.

The college-bound Reschny debuts in second spot in FlamesNation’s 2025 summer prospect rankings.

Cole Reschny​

Centre, Shoots Left
Born Apr. 6, 2007 (age 18) in Macklin, SK
5’11”, 183 pounds
Drafted in the first round (18th overall) by Calgary in the 2025 NHL Draft

Raised on a goat farm in Macklin, Saskatchewan, Reschny worked his way up through local minor hockey before moving onto prep school hockey in Alberta in his teens. He impressed, and was the third overall selection in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft – the two players taken ahead of him were Gavin McKenna and Jackson Smith.

Reschny spent his 2022-23 season in AAA midget in Saskatchewan, but he played his first four WHL games that season sprinkled through October and November. He made the Royals out of camp in 2023-24 and immediately carved out a spot for himself on the club’s top lines. He posted 59 points over 61 games, finishing top five among WHL rookies and third among all Victoria skaters. He took more face-offs than any other Royals centre, but won just 44.3% of his draws.

In 2024-25, his draft eligible year, Reschny found another level to his game. He increased his production to 92 points over 62 games, leading Victoria and ranking 10th in the entire WHL. He took way more face-offs than any other Royals player, and won 56.4% of them – a big improvement over his prior season. He found another level to his game in the post-season, posting 25 points over 11 games. And that impressive WHL season was sandwiched by gold-medal performances at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the Under-18 World Championships.

Following the U18s, Reschny took the plunge and committed to the University of North Dakota for the 2025-26 season, where he’ll face a lighter playing schedule but be pitted against more mature players – and several college teams which are also getting an influx of young talent from Canadian major junior for the first time. He was selected by the Flames in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft.

Our pal at McKeen’s Hockey, Derek Neumeier, described Reschny’s season as such:

“The newest top prospect in the organization’s pipeline, Reschny made all kinds of sense as Calgary’s target with their first pick in the 2025 draft. They needed a talented center who fits the team’s identity and culture, and the fact that he’s from Western Canada and also played here was icing on the cake. After two impressive seasons in the WHL it’s a smart choice by him to now be heading to the NCAA, especially when you consider that all the extra training time should help him improve his skating ability, which would then in turn allow him to unlock another level to his game. There’s a lot to like about Reschny, and he should be a core piece of the Flames roster in due time.”

Expectations for 2025-26​

Reschny’s headed into somewhat uncharted waters this coming season, as he’s part of an initial recruiting class of Canadian junior talent into college hockey – something that’s never happened before. On paper, he’ll be battling a lot of really talented teams boasting more physically and mentally mature players than he’s ever faced. But he’ll have some strong teammates himself, and he’ll be joining a Fighting Hawks team that has built up a really strong program over the past while. As a first-round NHL draft choice, expectations will be high both for Reschny and North Dakota as a team.

The goal, most likely, is for Reschny to keep progressing, and carve out a spot for himself as a top player at North Dakota in the same way he did so with the Royals in his rookie season. If Reschny can keep building up his mind and body, he could be a really impressive college player. And that could chart the path for him to keep progressing to become a really impressive pro player in short order.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/fns-2025-flames-summer-prospect-rankings-2-cole-reschny

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames and Andersson another reminder that players and NHL teams can outgrow each other

When a young player is drafted or acquired by a National Hockey League club, both sides usually have shared visions of future greatness.

The NHL team will grow into a perennial powerhouse! The young player will blossom into a top-flight NHL star. Sure, the player will probably be compensated accordingly – getting “that bag,” as the kids say – but because of how well things are going for both sides, the team will be more than happy to pay them their worth.

The relationship between a player and team is often symbiotic, and when a team’s ambitions align with a star player’s, you can see very fruitful long-term relationships that can last for an entire playing career.

However, because of how the NHL can often operate, sometimes these shared ambitions don’t come to fruition. And simply put, when that happens, sometimes players and teams can out-grow each other. There are times when a player’s ambition surpasses their team’s ability to achieve it, or when the market value of that player out-kicks what the team can, or should, pay them given the current circumstances.

In the 1990s, the Calgary Flames experienced two big examples of this phenomenon.

In the early part of the decade, after the exodus of several members of the contending 1980s teams, Joe Nieuwendyk emerged as the team’s best player. He led the team in scoring, he was their captain, and he was pretty much a tailor-made home-grown success story as a draftee that became a pillar of the franchise. As salaries league-wide increased, it became challenging for the Flames to shell out the bucks needed to compensate Nieuwendyk equally to his peers. (And the Flames were also finding it increasingly challenging to offer an opportunity to win another championship.) Nieuwendyk held out to begin the 1995-96 season as the two sides remained far apart on a contract restructuring, and he was traded to Dallas in exchange for Corey Millen and prospect Jarome Iginla in December 1995.

In the later part of the decade, the cycle repeated itself with Theoren Fleury. With a leaner supporting cast that Nieuwendyk had, Fleury was the pace-setter for the Flames in all facets of their game, leading the team in scoring, briefly serving as captain, and generally being one of the few reasons to watch the team during some lean years. But, again, Fleury’s elevated performance led to elevated salary expectations that the Flames couldn’t meet, and so Fleury was traded prior to the 1999 trade deadline to Colorado in exchange for a package that included prospect Robyn Regehr.

Flash forward to the early 2010s, and once again, the Flames were at a point where they simply weren’t able to contend. Their best player, longtime captain Jarome Iginla, was running out of time in his career to capture a championship. And so the two sides shook hands and agreed to find their star a new home, resulting in Iginla moving to Pittsburgh prior to the 2013 trade deadline.

And that brings us to Rasmus Andersson, who’s in the final year of his current contract with the Flames.

Is Andersson an unabashed drafting and development success story? Definitely. Has Andersson been a really good Flame? Definitely. Has his performance dictated that he gets a raise on his next deal? Definitely. Based on where the Flames are in their contention cycle, should the Flames be spending what it would cost to keep Andersson? …probably not. At this point of their progression, Andersson may be a luxury they can’t really afford.

The Flames are in a retooling process and are probably still a few years away from being a contending team. A contending team can definitely justify paying Andersson what it would take to have Andersson on their team – probably in excess of $8 million per season. But the Flames aren’t really in a spot where spending that sort of dough on Andersson would be optimal use of their money or his time.

On last Monday’s edition of Flames Talk on Sportsnet 960 The Fan, Pat Steinberg and Wes Gilbertson had a great discussion of the various nuances of Andersson’s situation.

On today's #Flames Talk with @Fan960Steinberg and @WesGilbertson:

We're a month from training camp and the Rasmus Andersson situation still looms. So now what?

@CurtisPashelka helps us preview an interesting season for the San Jose Sharks!

: https://t.co/2aHTQ0EmoS pic.twitter.com/OYypZo28RH

— Sportsnet 960 (@Sportsnet960) August 18, 2025

In one portion of their discussion, Gilbertson put it very succinctly around the 28:30 mark of the Flames Talk segment: “There’s not a villain in this story.” (The whole segment is worth going out of your way to listen to.)

Andersson’s earned an opportunity to try to win a championship and/or to get a big payday. At this point in time, Calgary may not be the best place for him to do either of those things, and that’s nobody’s fault. Sometimes players and teams simply out-grow each other.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames...-players-and-nhl-teams-can-outgrow-each-other

 

[Calgary Flames]

Sportsnet Flames host Ryan Leslie joins the Maple Leafs as team host

There will be a new face on Sportsnet’s coverage of the Calgary Flames in 2025-26, as it was announced on Tuesday morning that longtime host Ryan Leslie is headed east to join the Toronto Maple Leafs as their team host.

According to the Leafs’ media release, here’s what Leslie’s new gig entails:

In his new role with the Maple Leafs, Leslie will bring fans closer to the team than ever before, providing unique insights, breaking news, and original features across the Leafs’ digital, broadcast, and social platforms. His work will span pre-game and post-game coverage, player and coach interviews, and special behind-the-scenes access throughout the season.

Originally from Port Dover, Ontario, Leslie’s been out west long enough that he probably feels like an old friend for most Flames fans. Leslie’s worked in the Calgary area for decades, including stints with Global Calgary and working as the host for Flames TV. He moved into his current role with Sportsnet on Flames broadcasts in 2018, and has been a fixture on the network’s coverage of the red team ever since.

Leslie was superb at setting the tone for Flames broadcasts, finding a great chemistry with longtime broadcast colleagues Rick Ball, Kelly Hrudey and Greg Millen during his tenure. If a game was important, Leslie was able to translate the gravitas of the situation. If it was a one-sided game on a Wednesday night, Leslie was able to help bring levity and humour to the broadcast.

And when things got heavy, such as in the aftermath of the passings of Chris Snow, Johnny Gaudreau and Millen in recent years, Leslie was flat-out excellent at finding ways to help his audience understand what those individuals meant to the hockey community.

Leslie’s departure comes a year after Ball departed Sportsnet for a position on Chicago Blackhawks broadcasts. We’ll see who ends up as Sportsnet’s new host for Flames coverage going forward, but they’ll have big shoes to fill.

PRESENTED BY 6IX INNING STRETCH PODCAST​

Love baseball? Don’t miss The 6ix Inning Stretch — the brand new podcast from The Nation Network, presented by Betway. Hosted by Toronto sports reporter Lindsay Dunn and 3-time MLB All-Star Whit Merrifield, this weekly show delivers insider stories, unfiltered Jays talk, player interviews, and expert analysis from around the majors. New episodes drop every Wednesday — listen on your favourite podcast platform or watch on the Bluejaysnation YouTube channel.

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/sportsnet-flames-host-ryan-leslie-joins-the-maple-leafs-as-team-host

 

[Calgary Flames]

Western Conference off-season preview: Dallas Stars

Another season, another defeat in the Western Conference Finals for the Dallas Stars.


After falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals, the Stars failed to get out of the first round for the next two seasons, before making the Western Conference Finals in 2023. There, they fell to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights. In 2024, they once again made the Western Conference Finals, but fell to the Edmonton Oilers in six games.

So, how did the Stars’ 2024-25 season go, and what have they done this off-season? Let’s find out!

How the season went​

Last season, the Stars finished with a 52-21-9 record for 113 points, the most in the Western Conference. They didn’t do as well in 2024-25, as they finished with a 50-26-6 record, good enough for 106 points in a stacked Central Division.

They kicked off a series against the Colorado Avalanche, with the two teams splitting the first six games. Game 7 saw the Avalanche score less than a minute into the third period to put the Stars on the brink. However, former Avalanche Mikko Rantanen scored twice, got an assist (along with Matt Duchene) on the game-winning goal, and capped off the comeback and hat trick with an empty netter.

Against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets, the Stars jumped out to a 3-1 series lead, lost Game 5 by a score of 4-0, but found the game-winning goal early in overtime thanks to defenceman Thomas Harley. This sent the Stars to their third consecutive Western Conference Final with a rematch against the Oilers.

Unfortunately, the Stars lost four consecutive games after winning Game 1, sending them packing once again.

Leading the team in points was Duchene, who scored 30 goals and 82 points in 82 games. Jason Robertson wasn’t too far behind in points with 80, but he led the team with 35 goals. Wyatt Johnston was their other 30-goal scorer, potting 33 goals with 71 points. Roope Hintz had another strong season, finishing with 28 goals and 67 points.

Harley found a new level in 2024-25, scoring 16 goals and 49 points, while Es Lindell scored five goals and 26 points. Miro Heiskanen was injured for a significant portion of the regular season, as well as the post-season, but he finished with five goals and 25 points.

Tyler Seguin also missed significant time, scoring nine goals and 21 points in 20 games, while Jamie Benn scored 16 goals and 49 points in 80 games. After the trade, Rantanen scored five goals and 18 points in 20 games, along with nine goals and 13 points in 18 post-season games.

Between the pipes, Jake Oettinger finished with a .909 save percentage and 2.59 goals against average in 58 games.

Drafted players​

Despite being a Stanley Cup contender, the Stars had a fair share of picks in the 2025 draft. Their first pick was with the 94th overall pick, where they selected Cameron Schmidt 94th overall. Calgary Hitmen forward Brandon Gorzynski was their fourth-round pick. With two picks in the fifth round, the Stars selected Atte Joki and Mans Goos.

Their final two picks were from the Canadian Hockey League, selecting Acadie-Bathurst Titan’s Dawson Sharkey in the sixth round and Guelph Storm’s Charlie Paquette in the seventh round.

Trades​

Since the off-season began, the Stars have made two trades to clear cap space. On Jun. 19, they traded Mason Marchment to the Seattle Kraken for a 2025 fourth-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick, clearing $4.5 million. That said, Marchment finished the 2024-25 season with 22 goals and 47 points in 62 games, so it’s no small price.

Their other trade saw them move a 2028 second-round pick and Matt Dumba to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Vladislav Kolyachonok, clearing $3.75 million in cap space.

Free agent signings​

As for the Stars’ free agent signings, their biggest move was re-signing Radek Faksa to a three-year deal worth $2 million annually. Faksa was traded before the 2024-25 season to the St. Louis Blues, and he had spent his entire career with the Stars before the move.

Instead, the Stars focused on re-signing players, signing Duchene, Nils Lundkvist, Mavrik Bourque, Jamie Benn, and Colin Blackwell.

As for their coaching situation, the Stars fired Pete DeBoer and hired former Calgary Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan. This isn’t Gulutzan’s first stint behind the Stars bench, as he was their head coach in 2011-12 and 2012-13. He’s spent the past seven years as an assistant coach for the Oilers.

Departures​

On top of losing Marchment (and Dumba), the Stars lost two of their trade deadline acquisitions: Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci. The former signed with the Anaheim Ducks, while Ceci signed a contract with the Los Angeles Kings.

Moreover, Evgenii Dadonov signed with the New Jersey Devils after scoring 20 goals and 40 points in 80 games last season.

What the team looks like heading into 2025-26​

Despite the departures of Dadonov, Marchment, and Granlund, the Stars are still a strong team up front. At centre, they have Hintz, Duchene, Johnston, and Faksa, with Seguin having the ability to play centre if need be. On the wing, Robertson, Rantanen, Seguin, Benn, and Borque back up a strong core, with Oskar Back, Sam Steel, and Blackwell as a supporting cast.

The left side of their defence is strong as well, as it features Lindell, Harley, and Lian Bichsel, who had a solid post-season. Heiskanen is a left-shot defenceman playing on the right side, and that’s because the Stars don’t have a ton of great options on there. Ilya Lyubushkin and Lundkvist round out the defence core.

In net, Oettinger looks to return to the goalie he was before playing the Oilers in the Western Conference Finals.

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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/western-conference-off-season-preview-dallas-stars

 

[Calgary Flames]

FN’s 2025 Flames summer prospect rankings – #1: Zayne Parekh

There are good prospects, there are great prospects, and then there’s Zayne Parekh.

The Saginaw Spirit standout made his NHL debut with the Calgary Flames in the 2024-25 season finale and lived up to even the highest expectations, scoring his first goal and finishing with a plus-3 rating in over 20 minutes of ice time against the Los Angeles Kings. It was the perfect way to cap off arguably the best season by a Flames defence prospect in more than four decades.

Parekh is widely considered to be one of the best prospects in the world. He’s a two-time member of the CHL first all-star team, was named the 2024 CHL defenceman of the year, and is coming off a record-setting 33-goal, 107-point season with Saginaw in 2024-25. If the Flames have a bona fide superstar in their system today, it’s Parekh — and he’s our unanimous No. 1 selection.

Zayne Parekh​

Defenceman, shoots right
Born Feb. 15, 2006 (age 19) in Markham, ON
6’0″, 179 pounds
Drafted in the first round (9th overall) by Calgary in the 2024 NHL Draft

The Flames drafted Parekh with the No. 9 pick immediately after he scored 33 goals and 96 points in 66 games with Saginaw in the 2023-24 regular season. That’s an awfully high bar for any player to set, and most fans in Calgary would’ve been content if he’d been able to maintain that level of production in 2024-25 while rounding out his overall game. But Parekh started his first post-draft season relatively slow, recording four goals and 15 points in his 15 games.

It’s hard to say how much Parekh’s pedestrian October performance played into him not being invited to the 2025 World Juniors, but if alarm bells weren’t already starting to ring in the Hockey Canada offices when he started to heat up in late November, they were loud enough to be heard from coast to coast in the week after Boxing Day when Team Canada lost to Latvia, scored 13 goals in five games, and finished off the podium entirely. Hey, if Hockey Canada felt Parekh isn’t the kind of guy you can win with, they must have missed the 2024 Memorial Cup.

In any event, Parekh finished the regular season with 92 points in his final 46 games — yes, that’s exactly two points per game — and tacked on nine points in five playoff contests as Saginaw fell to the Erie Otters in the first round. He ultimately outdid his 2023-24 point total by 11 despite appearing in five fewer games; he also wound up with a +42 rating and 243 shots on goal (nearly four per game).

To further put Parekh’s season into perspective, he became the first OHL defenceman to score 30 goals in back-to-back seasons since before it was even called the OHL. Nearly 60 years ago, a certain Bobby Orr scored 34 and 38 goals in consecutive years with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey Association, which would not adopt its current moniker until 1980. Parekh scored 33 goals with Saginaw in both 2023-24 and 2024-25; for comparison’s sake, Drew Doughty scored 38 goals in total over his three OHL seasons with the Guelph Storm.

One of four rookies to make his NHL debut in the Flames’ 2024-25 season finale, Parekh passed his audition with flying colours. He fit in seamlessly with Calgary’s existing defensive contingent and looked completely at home quarterbacking the top power-play unit, which will undoubtedly be one of his key assignments with the Flames going forward. And if there were any concerns about Parekh’s aggressive style not translating to the NHL, those were dispelled pretty much as soon as he scored his first goal on a picture-perfect deflection between the circles. How many teenage defencemen would have the wherewithal to even attempt this kind of play?

FLAMES GOAL

ZAYNE PAREKH SCORES HIS FIRST NHL GOAL!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/go4pJwTi8Y

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 18, 2025

Here’s how McKeen’s Hockey director of scouting Brock Otten summarized Parekh’s junior career and achievements:

The first OHL defender to hit the 100 point mark since Ryan Ellis did over a decade ago. That’s a pretty significant accomplishment, especially when you consider all the talent that has passed through Ontario during that time. It’s a testament to Parekh’s skill and vision. Few control the offensive blueline the way that he does. In the same way that Lane Hutson has taken the NHL by storm with Montreal, Parekh consistently creates offense; he routinely escapes pressure to get pucks on net or to the middle of the ice thanks to the way his feet work in sync with his hands. Parekh has taken a positive step forward as a defensive player too. He’ll never be excused for Chris Chelios, but he’s worked hard to become tougher to play against and he only needs to be passable in the defensive end given what he can do with the puck. No offense to Mackenzie Weegar or Rasmus Andersson, but this is Calgary’s powerplay quarterback sooner, rather than later. Ultimately, it’s going to come down to whether he can defend at the NHL level or not. If he can’t, risks becoming a Shayne Gostisbehere type, who needs to be sheltered heavily at even strength in order to benefit from what he can do on the powerplay. As stated, he’s made strides, but even more is needed.

Expectations for 2025-26​

Lane Hutson scored 66 points in his rookie season with the Montreal Canadiens last year, but he was just about exactly a year older than Parekh will be in 2025-26. (Of course, he was also drafted nearly two rounds later). Quinn Hughes is more of a direct comparable in terms of age and pedigree, but even he turned 20 right at the start of his own rookie year with the Vancouver Canucks. And it’s entirely possible that Parekh has a more difficult time adjusting to the NHL level than those two guys did.

Then again, Parekh will be given every opportunity to prove his worth in a wide variety of situations with the Flames in training camp, preseason, and the regular season. He’ll have the benefit of playing alongside steady veterans like MacKenzie Weegar, Kevin Bahl, and Joel Hanley. And more than anything, he’ll get all kinds of reps as the team’s go-to power-play conduit. Not many guys can do what Parekh is best at.

If Parekh can score 30-40 points as a rookie while holding his own in key game situations, not just on the man-advantage, he’ll be well on his way to accomplishing great things in Calgary. If he finally gets to play for Team Canada at this year’s World Juniors, even better. But one way or another, Parekh’s performances next year and beyond will play a huge role in determining whether these Flames can eventually become serious contenders.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/fns-2025-flames-summer-prospect-rankings-1-zayne-parekh

 

[Calgary Flames]

Western Conference off-season preview: Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild are still looking to make it to the second round.


It’s now been over a decade since the last time the Wild made it to the second round. The 2015 season saw them fall at the hands of the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks, in four games. A year before, they lost in six games to the Blackhawks, the only two times the Wild have made it to the second round since their run to the Western Conference Finals in 2003.

Let’s take a look at how their 2024-25 season went, as well as how their off-season has gone.

How the season went​

The Wild started the season strong, owning a 20-6-4 record through their first 30 games, the second-best record in the league. They made some moves before the deadline, the most notable of which saw them trade for young defenceman David Jiříček toward the end of November.

Over their final 52 games, the Wild had a 25-24-7 record, good enough to give them 97 points. Like the St. Louis Blues, the Wild were able to fend off the Calgary Flames to earn a berth in the post-season (I’m not over it).

There, they were able to split the first four games with the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights, and in fact even had a 2-1 lead. Late in Game 5, it looked as if Ryan Hartman scored to push the Golden Knights to the brink, but the goal was disallowed thanks to an offside, and the Golden Knights won in overtime and eventually the series in six games.

Kirill Kaprizov is one of just a handful of true superstars in the league. Last season, he missed half the season, but scored 25 goals and 56 points in 41 games after scoring 40 goals in three consecutive seasons.

Matthew Boldy (27 goals, 73 points) and Marco Rossi (24 goals and 60 points) have emerged as talented young players in their own right, while 37-year-old Mats Zuccarello turned back the clock and scored 19 goals and 54 points in 69 games last season. Like Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek missed significant time in 2024-25, but scored 14 goals and 29 points in 46 games.

Defence is where the Wild are the strongest. Jared Spurgeon scored seven goals and 32 points in 66 games last season, while Brock Faber is one of the best young defencemen in the league, potting 10 goals and 29 points last season. Two other young defencemen, Jiříček and Zeev Buium, have a chance to make a significant impact in 2025-26.

Drafted players​

The Wild were without their first-round pick in the 2025 draft, as they sent it to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jiříček. With their second-round pick, the Wild selected defenceman Theodor Hallquisth from Örebro HK Jr. in Sweden.

Moreover, the Wild had three fourth-round picks, selecting forwards Adam Benak, Lirim Amidovski, and Carter Klippenstein. With their final pick, the 141st overall pick, the Wild drafted Victoria Royals’ defenceman Justin Kipkie.

Trades​

Since the off-season began, the Wild have been one of the busiest teams in the trade department. On Jun. 26, they sent Frédérick Gaudreau to the Seattle Kraken for a 2025 fourth-round pick in an effort to clear cap. Last season, Gaudreau scored 18 goals and 37 points.

To replace him, the Wild acquired two-time Stanley Cup champion Vladimir Tarasenko from the Detroit Red Wings for future considerations. Tarasenko, a six-time 30-goal scorer, didn’t fit well with the Wings, scoring just 11 goals and 33 points in 80 games.

They also made two minor trades. On Jun. 26, they sent Brendan Gaunce to the Blue Jackets for Cameron Butler. Two days later, they sent a 2025 sixth-round pick and Declan Chisholm to the Washington Capitals for Chase Priskie and a fourth-rounder in the 2025 draft.

Free agent signings​

The Wild were quiet on the free agent front, at least when it comes to signing new players. Before the off-season began, they re-signed Marcus Johansson to a one-year deal worth $800,000. Their biggest signing once free agency opened saw them sign Nico Sturm to a two-year deal worth $2 million annually.

In recent times, the Wild signed Rossi to a three-year deal worth $5 million annually. Rossi was a restricted free agent, and although they got that deal done, they still need to find a way to extend Kaprizov.

Departures​

Gaudreau is the Wild’s biggest departure, as he was a consistent 15-18 goal scorer the past four seasons. Only two other players have left the team, as Marc-André Fleury retired after a long, illustrious career, and Gustav Nyquist signed with the Jets.

What the team looks like heading into 2025-26​

So, how do the Wild shape up heading into 2025-26? In the top six, Eriksson Ek and Rossi will serve as top-six wingers, with Kaprizov, Boldy, Zuccarello, and Tarasenko on the wings. Their two bottom six centre could consist of Danila Yurov and Strum. As for their bottom-six wingers, Liam Ohgren could make an impact in 2024-25, while Ryan Hartman, Marcus Foligno, Yakov Trenin, and Johansson.

Defensively, the Wild have Jake Middleton, Buium, and Zach Bogosian as options on the left side. On the right side, Faber, Spurgeon, and Jiříček are their options. Jonas Brodin is set to miss the start of the season, but his return will add another top-four defender to the Wild’s lineup.

In net, Filip Gustavsson is coming off a strong season where he had a .914 save percentage and 2.56 goals against average in 58 games. He’ll be backed up by top goaltending prospect Jesper Wallstedt.

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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/western-conference-off-season-preview-minnesota-wild

 

[Calgary Flames]

Rasmus Andersson, MacKenzie Weegar named highest-rated Flames in EA Sports NHL 26

The two highest-rated members of the Calgary Flames in EA Sports’ upcoming NHL 26 video game are both right-handed defencemen.

Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar, the Flames’ two top minute-munchers in the 2024-25 regular season, are both rated 88 overall in the newest instalment of EA’s long-running NHL franchise. Both players also have designated X-Factors, which are special abilities reserved for top players that activate during gameplay.

In terms of individual attributes, Weegar beats Andersson with a 91 acceleration rating, as well as 90s in speed, deking, and passing. Andersson has the edge in slap shot and wrist shot power, scoring an 88 in both categories.

EA Sports revealed its list of the 10 highest-rated Flames in NHL 26 on Wednesday, with goaltender Dustin Wolf and centre Nazem Kadri — both at 87 overall — next after Andersson and Weegar. Rounding out the list: Jonathan Huberdeau (86), Blake Coleman (84), Kevin Bahl (84), Matt Coronato (84), Mikael Backlund (84), Morgan Frost (83), and Martin Pospisil (80).

The two highest-rated Flames in NHL 26 are Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar, both at 88 overall: pic.twitter.com/ZDIc8Q8uhA

— Mike Gould (@miketgould) August 27, 2025

Former Flames forward and two-time Stanley Cup champion Matthew Tkachuk is the main cover athlete for NHL 26, which will arrive on store shelves and in online retailers on September 12. The game will be exclusively available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles.

The deluxe edition of NHL 26 features Tkachuk flanked by his younger brother, Brady, of the Ottawa Senators, as well as his father, Keith, who played for the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues, and Atlanta Thrashers during his career. The Flames traded Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers in 2022.

EA Sports did not include any current Flames on its lists of the 10 highest-rated players by position in the new game, although both Andersson and Weegar are tied at 88 overall with the likes of Evan Bouchard, Colton Parayko, Moritz Seider, Dougie Hamilton, John Carlson, Noah Dobson, and Drew Doughty, all of whom were named to the studio’s list of top 10 right-handed defenders. (EA lists Weegar as a left defenceman).

Additionally, Wolf is tied with Darcy Kuemper, Frederik Andersen, Jacob Markstrom, and Linus Ullmark for 10th overall among goaltenders with an 87 rating, although Kuemper was the only one of that group included on EA Sports’ list of the top 10 goaltenders in the game.

The top-rated player in NHL 26 is Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who boasts a 97 overall rating. Nathan MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl, and Nikita Kucherov are all rated a 96 overall; Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar, and Aleksander Barkov all have a 95 rating.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/rasmus...amed-highest-rated-flames-in-ea-sports-nhl-26

 

[Calgary Flames]

Former Flames defenceman Oliver Kylington signs pro tryout deal with Hurricanes

Former Flames defenceman Oliver Kylington has agreed to attend the Carolina Hurricanes’ 2025 training camp on a professional tryout basis, the club announced Wednesday afternoon.

Kylington, 28, split the 2024-25 regular season between the Colorado Avalanche and Anaheim Ducks, collecting five points (one goal, four assists) and averaging just 12:18 of ice time over 19 games played.

After spending parts of six seasons with the Flames to begin his NHL career, Kylington elected not to re-sign with the club as a pending unrestricted free agent in the 2024 off-season but ended up waiting over a month after the market opened, during which the Flames filled his spot with fellow UFA Jake Bean, before finally signing a one-year contract with the Avalanche.

The Hurricanes also signed forward Givani Smith — formerly of the Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks, and Avalanche — to a PTO on Wednesday.

* puts vacation on pause to tell you that *

The #Canes have signed defenseman Oliver Kylington and forward Givani Smith to professional tryouts (PTOs).https://t.co/LNgaUddwsR

— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) August 27, 2025

After being used extremely sparingly by the Avalanche in the early portion of the 2024-25 season, Kylington sustained an upper-body injury that sidelined him for more than two months. He finally returned to action in early February but was traded twice shortly thereafter, first to the New York Islanders on March 6 as part of the Brock Nelson deal, and then to Anaheim later that day in exchange for future considerations.

Kylington enjoyed his greatest NHL success as a member of the Flames in 2021-22, helping to form a superb second pairing with Chris Tanev and collecting a career-high 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists) in 73 games. He tacked on three points in 13 playoff games that spring as the Flames defeated the Dallas Stars before falling to the Edmonton Oilers.

But after signing a two-year extension with the Flames in the 2022 off-season, Kylington missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season and the first half of 2023-24 while dealing with an undisclosed personal matter. He eventually returned to the Flames down the stretch in the 2023-24 season, collecting three goals and eight points in 33 games and showing flashes of his old excellence.

It seemed like a foregone conclusion that Kylington would sign a new contract with the Flames ahead of the 2024-25 season, but that turned out not to be the case for reasons largely unknown. Bean appeared in 64 games with the Flames in Kylington’s stead last year but struggled to make an impression one way or another.

Now headed to Carolina on a tryout basis, Kylington will be tasked with beating out the likes of Mike Reilly, Gavin Beyreuther, and Alexander Nikishin for an NHL role. A veteran of 220 games with the Flames, Avalanche, and Ducks, Kylington has collected 18 goals and 60 points in his career to date.

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This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi​

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/former...lington-signs-pro-tryout-deal-with-hurricanes

 

[Calgary Flames]

FN’s 2025 Flames summer prospect rankings – the individual lists

Every summer since 2015, we here at FlamesNation have compiled our annual prospects rankings.

And man, this year was probably the most challenging voting we’ve ever conducted. Gone are the days where the most recent draft choices automatically leap to the top of a shallow prospect pool. With the depth that we’ve seen the Calgary Flames add in the draft (and via trades and free agent signings) in recent years, there are a lot of tough decisions and debates to be had when deciding who the organization’s top youngsters are.

Let’s dig into how we went through this year’s rankings.

The top 20​

Our nine voters were tasked with sifting through Calgary’s 39 eligible prospects and crafting a list of who they deemed the top 20. (What constituted a “top prospect” was left deliberately vague and up to each voter’s interpretation, but each player had to be eligible to win the Calder Trophy in 2025-26 to be eligible for selection for this list.)

With each ballot submitted, FlamesNation managing editor Ryan Pike assigned 20 points to every prospect ranked No. 1 on each individual ballot and a single point for each No. 20-ranked prospect (and divided up as such for the in-between spots).

12 prospects received no votes and earned zero points towards their final ranking: Parker Bell, Daniil Chechelev, Nick Cicek, Lucas Ciona, Artem Grushnikov, Axel Hurtig, Jakob Leander, Jaden Lipinski, Yan Matveiko, Owen Say and Yegor Yegorov. (Joni Jurmo mutually terminated his contract midway through voting, but he didn’t receive any votes either.)

Aidan Lane received one point, Hunter Laing received two points, Eric Jamieson received three points, Jeremie Poirier received seven points, Mace’o Phillips received eight points, Trevor Hoskin received nine points and Carter King received 14 points.

Here’s how the top 20 came together:

RANK	PROSPECT	POINTS	CHANGE FROM 2024
1	Zayne Parekh	180	None
2	Cole Reschny	170	New
3	Hunter Brzustewicz	150	None
4	Matvei Gridin	147	Up from 6
5	Cullen Potter	137	New
6	Henry Mews	131	Up from 9
7	Jacob Battaglia	129	Up from 11
8	Andrew Basha	126	Down from 5
9	Aydar Suniev	97	Up from 12
10	Etienne Morin	95	None
11	Sam Honzek	87	Down from 4
12	Theo Stockselius	79	New
13	Luke Misa	76	None
14	Arsenii Sergeev	54	Up from NR
15	Rory Kerins	52	Up from NR
16	William Strömgren	43	Down from 8
17	Ilya Solovyov	29	Down from 14
18	Kirill Zarubin	27	Up from 19
19	Yan Kuznetsov	19	Up from 20
20	Ethan Wyttenbach	18	New

Four members of the Flames’ 2025 draft class feature on this year’s rankings: first-rounder Reschny (2nd), first-rounder Potter (5th), second-rounder Stockselius (12th) and fifth-rounder Wyttenbach (20th).

From the 2024 ranking, we saw the graduation of Dustin Wolf (No. 2) and Adam Klapka (No. 15), as they both exceeded the games played cap to be considered rookies for 2025-26. (Wolf finished second in Calder Trophy voting and made the All-Rookie Team.) Cole Schwindt (No. 18) was claimed off waivers by Vegas in the fall. Jeremie Poirier (No. 7), Jaden Lipinski (No. 16) and Artem Grushnikov (No. 17) all remain in the Flames system, but failed to gain enough votes to reach this year’s top 20.

The 2025 top 20 features two goaltenders, six defencemen and 12 forwards. In terms of nationalities, the list contains eight Canadians, five Russians, three Americans, two Swedes, one Slovak and one Belarusian.

Individual lists​

10 of our contributors submitted individual lists for the 2024 rankings. Here’s the breakdown:

RANK	PIKE	GOULD	RYLEY	ROBERT	FLASH	PAIGE	ADRIAN	LIAM	PINDER
1	PAREKH	PAREKH	PAREKH	PAREKH	PAREKH	PAREKH	PAREKH	PAREKH	PAREKH
2	RESCHNY	BRZUSTEWICZ	RESCHNY	RESCHNY	RESCHNY	RESCHNY	RESCHNY	RESCHNY	RESCHNY
3	BRZUSTEWICZ	RESCHNY	GRIDIN	POTTER	MEWS	BRZUSTEWICZ	BRZUSTEWICZ	MEWS	POTTER
4	GRIDIN	BATTAGLIA	BRZUSTEWICZ	BRZUSTEWICZ	GRIDIN	BATTAGLIA	BATTAGLIA	BATTAGLIA	GRIDIN
5	BASHA	MORIN	BATTAGLIA	GRIDIN	BASHA	POTTER	GRIDIN	GRIDIN	BASHA
6	POTTER	GRIDIN	POTTER	BASHA	BRZUSTEWICZ	GRIDIN	MEWS	POTTER	BRZUSTEWICZ
7	BATTAGLIA	MEWS	MEWS	MEWS	STOCKSELIUS	MEWS	POTTER	STOCKSELIUS	MEWS
8	MORIN	POTTER	BASHA	SUNIEV	POTTER	BASHA	BASHA	BRZUSTEWICZ	SUNIEV
9	SUNIEV	BASHA	SERGEEV	BATTAGLIA	MISA	HONZEK	SUNIEV	BASHA	BATTAGLIA
10	HONZEK	SUNIEV	STOCKSELIUS	MORIN	HONZEK	MORIN	MORIN	SUNIEV	STOCKSELIUS
11	MEWS	HONZEK	MORIN	STOCKSELIUS	SERGEEV	MISA	HONZEK	HONZEK	ZARUBIN
12	MISA	STOCKSELIUS	MISA	HONZEK	MORIN	SUNIEV	MISA	KERINS	HONZEK
13	SOLOVYOV	STRÖMGREN	SUNIEV	WYTTENBACH	SUNIEV	KERINS	STOCKSELIUS	MISA	MISA
14	KERINS	SERGEEV	STROMGREN	SERGEEV	BATTAGLIA	SOLOVYOV	STROMGREN	MORIN	MORIN
15	STRÖMGREN	ZARUBIN	KERINS	MISA	POIRIER	STROMGREN	KERINS	ZARUBIN	SOLOVYOV
16	KUZNETSOV	MISA	HONZEK	KERINS	WYTTENBACH	KING	SERGEEV	WYTTENBACH	SERGEEV
17	KING	KERINS	HOSKIN	KUZNETSOV	KERINS	SERGEEV	KUZNETSOV	PHILLIPS	STROMGREN
18	PHILLIPS	KUZNETSOV	ZARUBIN	SOLOVYOV	SOLOVYOV	KUZNETSOV	KING	STROMGREN	KERINS
19	SERGEEV	HOSKIN	LAING	STROMGREN	ZARUBIN	JAMIESON	SOLOVYOV	SERGEEV	HOSKIN
20	STOCKSELIUS	KING	KING	HOSKIN	JAMIESON	STOCKSELIUS	PHILLIPS	LANE	POIRIER

For the second consecutive year, Parekh was the unanimous choice for top prospect. Behind him, there was consensus around silver-medallist Cole Reschny, while Hunter Brzustewicz just beat out Matvei Gridin for third spot. In terms of trends, there was a lot of consensus over the top eight… and then a ton of variation after that.

In terms of specific players that we had differing opinions on, the most prominent are Sam Honzek and Etienne Morin. Honzek was high as ninth and as low as 16th, while Morin varied between fifth and 14th.

And seemingly every year we do this exercise, there’s a player that misses the cut for the top 20 that ends up playing NHL games. The top candidate for that distinction could end up being Lucas Ciona, who appeared on zero ballots but really stood out as a physical, agitating presence in the Wranglers bottom six last season.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/fns-2025-flames-summer-prospect-rankings-the-individual-lists

 

[Calgary Flames]

3 Flames prospects on Daily Faceoff’s top 75 NHL-affiliated skater rankings

Over at Daily Faceoff, our pal Steven Ellis has been hard at work all summer.

In addition to covering the 2025 NHL Draft, the World Junior Summer Showcase and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he compiled top 10 prospect rankings for all 32 NHL teams, then put together a ranking of prospect cupboards league-wide. Earlier this week, Ellis released his annual list of the top 75 NHL-affiliated skaters.

And, wouldn’t you know it, there were three Calgary Flames prospects on his list!

Zayne Parekh (4th)​

The ninth player selected in the 2024 NHL Draft, Parekh was highly-regarded in his draft year and has done precisely zero things to throw cold water on that hype in another season with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit.

Here’s Ellis:

So few prospects play with as much confidence as Parekh. He’s very unique in the way that he can dominate in so many elements of the game. It felt like early in his junior career, he had that offensive potential, but he was making too many mistakes in his own zone. We just don’t see that as much these days, which allowed him to put up triple-digit numbers in Saginaw. I don’t think he has any reason to head back to Saginaw, but does he have a spot locked up with Calgary? We’ll see after training camp. If not, look for Parekh to challenge for the top defender spot on Canada’s World Junior team.

Parekh will be given every opportunity to start the 2025-26 season with the Flames. (The three players ahead of Parekh on Ellis’ list were Matthew Schaefer, Ivan Demidov and Michael Misa.)

Cole Reschny (53rd)​

The first of two Flames first-rounders in 2025, Reschny was selected 18th overall after a really strong season with the WHL’s Victoria Royals. He’s now off to the University of North Dakota as a freshman.

Here’s Ellis:

There’s a lot to love here – and I think there’s true top-six potential. Reschny’s ability to produce no matter the situation makes him so intriguing. He’s not huge, but he makes up for it with explosive speed and elusiveness, making him a tough player to contain on the rush. He’s an outstanding playmaker, maybe one of the best in this class. Reschny’s competitive nature will take him far, and he has proven internationally he can be an offensive catalyst with other high-end prospects. Reschny’s penchant for creativity will make him a great fit alongside a high-end shooter one day. For what it’s worth, Reschny was one of Canada’s best players at the recent World Junior Summer Showcase.

Cullen Potter (56th)​

The second of two Flames first-rounders in 2025, Potter was selected 32nd overall after spending his season with the NCAA’s Arizona State Sun Devils. Fun fact: Potter played most of his season as a 17-year-old, not turning 18 until mid-January, and he was the third-youngest player in all of Division I college hockey.

Here’s Ellis:

I had Reschny and Potter back-to-back in my final draft rankings, and I still think they’re really close as prospects. Many people were surprised to see Potter leave the USNTDP a year early to head to college, but it paid off. He played around 20 minutes a night at ASU, and scouts were impressed with his play-driving abilities. I like his commitment to playing in all three zones, and he anticipates plays and gets himself where he needs to be better than most of the draft class. I think the ceiling is higher for Potter than many others around this part of the draft, but he needs to show he can handle the physical challenges as a 5-foot-9 forward. I think he’ll be one of the smaller players who make it.

Head over to Daily Faceoff and check out Ellis’ full top 75 rankings! Which player do you think he has too high or too low? Let us know in the comments!

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/3-flam...aceoffs-top-75-nhl-affiliated-skater-rankings