News Flames Team Notes

Wranglers series preview: A season opening series in Colorado

It has been a long five months since the Calgary Wranglers last played, but the time has finally come. They start a new season with a new bench boss and a couple more prospects on their roster while other regulars like Ilya Solovyov, Jonathan Aspirot and Waltteri Ignatjew have moved on.

The Wranglers open up their 2025-26 season on the road for a series against the Colorado Eagles.

Wranglers available roster​


Forwards: Rory Kerins, William Stromgren, Quinn Olson, Dryden Hunt, Carter Wilkie, Lucas Ciona, Clark Bishop, Alex Gallant, Parker Bell, David Silye, Martin Frk, Aydar Suniev, Carter King, Sam Morton, Andrew Basha

Defencemen: Turner Ottenbreit, Artem Grushnikov, Jeremie Poirier, Etienne Morin, Simon Mack, Yan Kuznetsov, Nick Cicek, Hunter Brzustewicz

Goaltenders: Owen Say, Arseni Sergeev, Ivan Prosvetov

Rostered player on Flames call-up: Sam Honzek

Eagles available roster​


Forwards: T.J. Tynan, Jason Polin, Taylor Makar, Jason Megna, Jake Wise, Matthew Stienburg, Chase Bradley, Tye Felhaber, Mark Senden, Maros Jedlicka, Tristen Nielsen, Cooper Gay, Alex Barre-Boulet, Danil Gushchin, Ivan Ivan

Defencemen: Wyatt Aamodt, Jack Ahcan, Saige Weinstein, Hank Kempf, Alex Gagne, Garrett Pyke, Keaton Middleton, Bryan Yoon, Connor Kelley

Goaltenders: Isak Posch, Kyle Keyser

Notes and expectations​


If you missed some of the off-season news, Brett Sutter has now gone from Wranglers captain to Wranglers assistant coach to Wranglers interim head coach to Wranglers head coach. Trent Cull’s permanent promotion to the Flames gave Sutter the opportunity to take the reins of the team he ended his playing career with. These games will be the first looks we see of him in his first full season as Head Coach.

Another larger change the Flames’ AHL affiliate will see this year is between the pipes. Former Wranglers starter Devin Cooley has been promoted to be Dustin Wolf’s backup for the Flames, and Waltteri Ignatjew has gone to play in the SHL. Arsenii Sergeev was with the Wranglers on their playoff roster earlier this year but has yet to play a game for them. The only remaining familiar goalie in the minor leagues is Connor Murphy with the Rapid City Rush.

For the core of the team, much remains the same as last season. A couple of guys in particular, such as Sam Morton, Hunter Brzustewicz and Aydar Suniev, who had a shared NHL debut at the end of the 2024-25 season, are going to be pushing to get another shot with the big club. They each had some time in camp to show their off-season work, but their play in these early games with the Wranglers will further determine how close they are to another opportunity with the Flames.

It’s a clean slate and a fresh start to a new season this weekend. Calgary plays the Colorado Eagles on Friday and Saturday night with a 7:05 p.m. MT puck drop. Games are available to stream on FloHockey for a fee and multiple FlamesNation contributors will have updates on X (formerly Twitter).

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/wranglers-series-preview-a-season-opening-series-in-colorado
 
What to make of Zayne Parekh’s absence from the Flames’ lineup

The Calgary Flames are two games into the 2025-26 NHL season, and their highest-touted prospect in almost a decade, who made the team out of camp, has yet to make his season debut.

I’m of course talking about defenceman Zayne Parekh, who has watched the Flames’ opening two-game road trip from the press box.

Head coach Ryan Huska wasn’t asked about Parekh before Calgary’s tilt against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night, but he did address it prior to their game in Edmonton on Wednesday (via Flames TV):

“I think with Zayne there’s a lot of steps along the way and it’s our job is to to work him into being an everyday player and that sometimes takes time… We want to make sure that whether it’s tomorrow night or the next night, he’s ready for his opening night game. So, this gives him an opportunity to see an environment in a building that’s going to be quite a bit different from what he saw last year with us and what he’s seen in exhibition so far.”

Parekh made his NHL debut in Los Angeles against the Kings in the Flames’ final game of the 2024-25 season. He scored a goal and was a plus-three in 20:31 of ice time.

Huska went on to say this when asked about his development plan for Parekh:

“Well, I think a lot of that always falls on the player. Our plan is to make sure we’re going to put him in positions to succeed, but you also hope that the player, when he goes and plays the game, it’s like he’s never coming out again. So, that’s what you’d like to see from him and then it’s our job to make sure we work with him and continue to build his game and his confidence at this level.”

This has less to do with Parekh and more to do with the Huska and the Flames’ philosophy of sheltering young players from adversity, which is a strategy they’ve employed over and over again, most recently with Matthew Coronato and Dustin Wolf.

There are two ways of looking at it. You could say that this cautious approach is worthwhile, seeing as both Coronato and Wolf thrived last season when they were eventually unleashed. Conversely, it’s possible those players are just really good and would’ve been effective regardless of whether or not they were held out to begin last season, Wolf as the backup to Vladar and Coronato in the AHL.

Parekh’s absence from the lineup has caused quite a stir within the fanbase. Some believe in ripping the band-aid off and getting him out there, while others are inclined to trust the process. Huska and management are opting to hold him out as a way of easing him in, but there is the possibility that dragging out his debut could put even more of a microscope on him when he eventually does get into the lineup.

Looking at it from a different lens, how do you walk the line of prioritizing player development while also trying to field the best possible team on a nightly basis? Though Parekh’s game is still flawed at the age of 19, it’s difficult to make the case that Jake Bean should be in the lineup over him. Also, considering how the power play has faltered through two games, it’s hard to believe it could be any worse with the addition of Parekh.

Emphasizing player development over short-term success is wise for a rebuilding team, but what exactly that looks like obviously varies depending on who you’re talking to.

There is an expectation that Parekh will get into the lineup sooner rather than later, especially after defenceman Kevin Bahl was injured on Thursday night against the Canucks.

Parekh has now been with the team for their last 7 games, dating back to last season, but has been a healthy scratch for all but one. His next opportunity to crack the lineup will be the Flames’ home opener against the St Louis Blues on Saturday afternoon.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/what-to-make-of-zayne-parekhs-absence-from-the-flames-lineup
 
Wranglers recap: Special teams and early shots put a season opening victory out of reach

The 2025-26 Calgary Wranglers made their season debut in Loveland, Colorado on Friday night. Ivan Prosvetov got his first look in a Wranglers jersey and was heavily peppered in the first frame. Most of the damage was done in the first and second period and by the third, Calgary could not complete the comeback. A night where special teams especially could use some clean up ended in a 7-4 loss for the Wranglers.

Wranglers lines​


William Stromgren – Rory Kerins – Dryden Hunt

Aydar Suniev – Sam Morton – Martin Frk

Parker Bell – Clark Bishop – Andrew Basha

Lucas Ciona – Carter King – David Silye

Yan Kuznetsov – Hunter Brzustewicz

Nick Cicek – Jeremie Poirier

Artem Grushnikov – Simon Mack

Ivan Prosvetov

Owen Say (backup)

Game at a glance​


Ivan Prosvetov got the season opening start for the Wranglers and Isak Posch was in net for the Colorado Eagles. The Wranglers didn’t get the start they would’ve hoped for as Jeremie Poirier took an interference penalty at 1:23 and by 2:02, the Eagles put up their first goal of the season off a bar down shot.

A few minutes later, Jeremie Poirier was back in the box for high-sticking at 5:54. This penalty unfortunately had the same result, with an Eagles power play goal at 6:32. Tristen Nielsen was wide open in the slop and tapped the puck home to extend Colorado’s lead to 2-0.

Calgary was able to get their first look on the power play at 8:17 when Jason Polin was called for slashing. They finally got their first shot on goal during this man advantage but were unable to cut Colorado’s lead. Instead, the next goal was off the stick of Chase Bradley of the Eagles at 13:13 for the first even strength goal of the night.

The Wranglers were back on the power play at 16:32 when Chase Bradley interfered with Aydar Suniev. This power play proved to be more successful when Hunter Brzustewicz set Martin Frk up for a rocket of a shot at 17:44.

Frk lights the lamp 🔥 pic.twitter.com/HsOzILfQj5

— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) October 11, 2025

Later in the period, offsetting penalties were dealt to Clark Bishop and T.J. Tynan and the Eagles put up six more shots in the last two minutes of the frame. The first ended with the Eagles ahead 3-1 and miles ahead in shots 22-4.

The misfortunes of the first period appeared to roll over into the second when Chase Bradley scored his second of the game just 3:01 into the frame off a wrist shot in front. Calgary was able to answer back soon after with a goal from the top line. Dryden Hunt finished up a play with a backhand shot with Rory Kerins and Jeremie Poirier assisting at 4:46.

Dryden Hunt tucks it home 🚨 pic.twitter.com/nTPYiLBADv

— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) October 11, 2025

The scoring surge took a break for a few minutes, then Lucas Ciona was called for tripping at 7:38. In the second half of this penalty kill, Danil Gushchin scored the third Eagles goal of the game through traffic up the middle of the zone once again. By this point in the game, Colorado was up 5-2 and a perfect three for three on the power play.

Later in the period, Danil Gushchin scored once again off a back door set up at 17:10. 17 seconds later, Dryden Hunt also scored his second of the period set up by William Stromgren and Rory Kerins.

The dynamic duo 🫡 pic.twitter.com/gv5U5dSeE5

— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) October 11, 2025

Calgary had a good push to end the second period but were down 6-3 after 40 complete minutes of play. Shots by the end of the second were 33-12 Eagles. Early in the third period, Yan Kuznetsov scored his first goal of the year off an Eagles turnover at 3:04.

Just like they drew it up ✍️ pic.twitter.com/CuWjtzplAM

— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) October 11, 2025

The Wranglers appeared to get their control back of this game and kept the Eagles at bay. At 17:02, they pulled Prosvetov for the extra attacker and 20 seconds later, a big fight erupted that resulted in a continuing altercation misconduct, cross-checking and roughing call against Alex Gagne, a continuing altercation misconduct and cross-checking call against Dryden Hunt and a continuing altercation misconduct against Martin Frk.

Ivan Prosvetov needed to come back for the face-off following then skated back off at 17:43. At 19:08, Wyatt Aamodt cleared the zone fully and scored on the empty net to make it a 7-4 game. This dimmed any hope of a Wranglers comeback and that score remained for the final decision at the end of 60 minutes. Shots finished 40-18 for Colorado.

Scoring stat summary


Jeremie Poirier – 1A

Rory Kerins – 2A

William Stromgren – 1A

Dryden Hunt – 2G

Martin Frk – 1G

Yan Kuznetsov – 1G

Hunter Brzustewicz – 1A

Next up


This season opening series continues into Saturday with a start time of 7:05 p.m. MT. The Wranglers look to pick up a split against the Eagles before their next road series in Tucson, AZ next weekend.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/wrangl...ots-put-a-season-opening-victory-out-of-reach
 
‘We just didn’t capitalize on opportunities’: strong start slips away for Flames against St. Louis

The Calgary Flames played some very good hockey on Saturday afternoon when they hosted the St. Louis Blues.

They were skating well. They were defending well. They scored a power play goal. They generated what felt like zillions of good scoring chances in the second period as they poured on the pressure on the Blues.

But, as was the story often during the 2024-25 season, the Flames couldn’t convert oodles of scoring chances into oodles of goals. And ultimately, the difference in the game was pretty simple in a 4-2 loss to St. Louis.

“Two goals,” summarized Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “Again, similar to Vancouver, I liked our first couple periods. I thought there was a lot of good things there. We didn’t finish our chances when we needed to earlier in the game, and I think because of that, they were able to hang around, and then they capitalized on a couple point shots where I thought we were looser in front of our net, allowing guys to tip pucks in front of Wolfie. So that to me is the difference.”

The Flames received a pair of goals from Matt Coronato – a wide shot that bounced in off a Blues defender on the power play and a superb snipe off the rush later in the game – but they couldn’t muster anything more. Blues netminder Joel Hofer made 27 stops for the victory.

“Their goalie was playing really well,” said Andersson. “You know, we just didn’t capitalize on opportunities. I mean, I should have probably had three if you look at it. And then a few other guys should have probably scored a few too. So we just didn’t capitalize today.”

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Flames had eight 5v5 high-danger chances in the second period alone (and 14 overall), with five different skaters being credited with two apiece – Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Sam Honzek, Nazem Kadri and Yegor Sharangovich. They combined for zero goals.

Huska noted that the team needs to stick with their entire game to have success.

“It’s eventually, it’ll go in if you stay with it, but you have to stay with the other parts of the game as well,” said Huska. “So if you’re a 2-2, then you make sure you’re rock solid at the other end of the ice, and then everything else takes care of itself. Like I think for a couple nights in a row, the game’s got away from us a little bit in the third period, where you want to see a little bit more dig in, whether that’s a shot block that we needed, whether it was a better box out in front of our net, that game should stay 2-2, and we need to find a way to win that game.”

The other big story was the first game action of the season for 2023 first-round pick Sam Honzek and 2024 first-round pick Zayne Parekh, both healthy scratches for the team’s initial back-to-back road set against Edmonton and Vancouver. The top-ranked prospect this summer by the FlamesNation staff, Parekh’s absence in the first two games was the subject of much hand-wringing from the Flames fanbase. (Parekh noted to the media post-game: “I thought I kind of deserved to be up there if I’m being honest.”)

“I thought Zayne was good,” said Huska. “I thought he was fine. You know, there’s a few plays in his own zone where I think the more that he gets in, you’ll see a little bit more composure there with the puck, but I thought he had a fine game.”

“I was pretty nervous actually,” said Parekh. “I felt way more nervous going into this one than my first one. I thought I just tried to have fun with it. The worst thing that could happen is maybe I end up not playing the next game. There’s bigger things than hockey, so I just try to have fun with it. That’s why I play.”

Parekh played 17:21 overall, skating on the third defensive pairing with Brayden Pachal and on the second power play unit. He was even and credited with two shots.

Meanwhile, Honzek played 13:02 on the third line alongside Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman. He was a minus-2, and it was his errant pass in the second period that was intercepted by the Blues in the neutral zone leading to their first goal off the rush by Jake Neighbours.

The Flames are back in action on Tuesday when they host the Vegas Golden Knights.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/we-jus...-start-slips-away-for-flames-against-st-louis
 
Can the Flames learn anything from the Toronto Blue Jays?

While it’s difficult to compare baseball and hockey directly — two sports that share almost no similarities — when it comes to building a team and the mentality it takes to win, there are still lessons to be learned.

The Calgary Flames have opened their season with plenty of uncertainty when it comes to scoring goals, backup goaltending and more. Still, many believe this team can avoid landing in the “mushy middle” again and instead sneak into a playoff spot.

There’s a recipe for winning — something all top teams follow to a certain extent — and there’s a reason it works. So, why couldn’t the Flames look at winning teams in another sport and try to translate that success to hockey? What could the Flames learn from the Toronto Blue Jays?

Backup backstop​


This is one area where both teams entered their respective seasons in similar positions. Both the Flames and the Blue Jays had a bona fide backstop expected to play the bulk of the games. Both also began camp unsure of who would take the backup spot, but each had internal competition for the role.

For the Blue Jays, it was Tyler Heineman who won the job out of spring training — and he never looked back. What mattered most was his mentality. Heineman knew he wasn’t competing for the No. 1 job, but that never affected his effort or determination to perform. He understood that when called upon, he had to be ready — to earn the trust of his pitchers and the confidence of his teammates.

Even though it’s early, that’s something the Flames don’t have right now. They wouldn’t have started Dustin Wolf on back-to-back nights to open the season if they truly trusted their backup goalie. The internal competition didn’t work for Calgary. The Flames said they chose Devin Cooley based on “familiarity.” But familiarity doesn’t win games.

It’s been clear since the summer that the Flames need a veteran presence behind Wolf — someone who can make 15 to 20 starts and still give the team a chance to win each night.

Looking around the league, there are options. Several NHL teams have three capable goalies on their depth charts. Perhaps Matt Murray in Seattle, James Reimer in Toronto, or even a reunion with David Rittich of the New York Islanders could make sense. Free agency remains an option too, with Ilya Samsonov still unsigned.

If the Flames want any kind of success this season, they need to find their own Tyler Heineman.

The depth​


On a winning team, you always have your unsung heroes — depth players who entered the season with modest expectations but rose above them to become key contributors.

The Blue Jays had no shortage of that this season. Whether it was Ernie Clement, Nathan Lukes or Myles Straw, several players made meaningful contributions day in and day out. They didn’t sit back and wait for the stars to carry the load. They went out every day to prove they belonged in the lineup — and that they could be a force.

Through the pre-season and the first few games of the year, the Flames just don’t look dangerous. Aside from a couple of players, it feels like no one on the team is capable of scoring. You simply can’t rely on your top line to win every game.

This is where the likes of Adam Klapka, Justin Kirkland and Joel Farabee need to step up. Farabee has actually looked strong to start the season, but the Flames need much more from their bottom six if they hope to find consistent success.

There are also players with the Calgary Wranglers chomping at the bit for an opportunity to play NHL games. Those on the cusp between the Flames and Wranglers need to take charge — just as the Blue Jays’ depth players did — by doing the little things right and finding ways to contribute. Create some offence, keep the puck out of your net, and who knows where that could take your career.

The leadership​


The biggest difference between a team like the Blue Jays and the Flames is the level of star power. The Flames don’t have players comparable to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette or Kevin Gausman. They don’t have that one player — maybe apart from Wolf — who can single-handedly carry the team and win games on a regular basis.

But winning takes more than just star power. You need strong leaders — in the dugout or on the bench.

A fair comparison might be George Springer and Nazem Kadri. Both are veteran players who can still perform at a high level. While neither wears a “C” on their jersey, both are respected voices in their locker rooms and lead by example.

The Flames need more from their leaders. Mikael Backlund is a great captain, but even he needs to set a stronger example on the ice. Younger players look to veterans like Backlund, Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar to show them what being a professional looks like — and how to win. If the example isn’t there, there’s nothing to follow.

There’s also room for new leaders to emerge. Morgan Frost and Kevin Bahl could become new voices in that room. You don’t need to have a letter on your chest to lead.

You look at the Blue Jays, and they couldn’t embody the word “team” more if they tried. That starts at the top, but everyone plays a part. Everyone feels they belong, everyone feels supported, and everyone knows their teammates have their back — even after mistakes or slumps. A tight-knit team that’s on the same page will always play better. The Flames seem closer to having that kind of environment compared to where they were a couple of years ago, but it feels like there is still work to be done. There is space for new contributions and for the leaders already on the team to take it to another level.

At the end of the day, hockey and baseball are vastly different in how they’re played and built. But when you strip it down to mentality and mindset — both individual and collective — there’s a lot the Flames can take from a team like the Blue Jays.

We’re hopeful the Blue Jays can continue their playoff run and bring a World Series back to Canada. And while it might not feel nearly as likely, perhaps the Flames can start heading in the right direction too — and maybe, just maybe, bring the Stanley Cup back to Calgary. It’s probably a few years away, but you never know.

For more on the Blue Jays as they begin the ALCS against the Seattle Mariners, check out our pals at Blue Jays Nation!

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/can-the-calgary-flames-learn-anything-from-the-toronto-blue-jays
 
NHL Notebook: Matthew Schaefer scores first career NHL goal

The first overall pick in the 2025 has scored his first National Hockey League goal.

On Saturday evening, Matthew Schaefer scored his first career goal for the New York Islanders, cutting the Washington Capitals’ lead in half. It wasn’t pretty, as he was able to poke a loose puck past the Capitals’ netminder on a scramble, but it was a special moment for the 18-year-old left-shot defender

MATTHEW SCHAEFER HAS HIS FIRST NHL GOAL‼️ #NHLFaceOff pic.twitter.com/zwByXMLoP2

— NHL (@NHL) October 12, 2025

Schaefer spent two seasons with the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters, scoring three goals and 17 points in 56 games in his rookie campaign in 2023-24. In 2024-25, the Hamilton, Ontario native suited up for just 17 games, scoring seven goals and 22 points.

Representing Team Canada at the 2025 World Junior Championship, Schaefer crashed into the boards hard and broke his clavicle, missing the remainder of the season. Despite that, the Islanders selected the high-potential defenceman first overall, and he has a goal and an assist in his two NHL games.

Brent Burns plays game 1,500​


From one of the youngest players in the league to one of the oldest, veteran defenceman Brent Burns played in his 1,500th career game on Saturday as the Colorado Avalanche took on the Dallas Stars.

Selected 20th overall in the 2003 draft by the Minnesota Wild, the 2025-26 season is Burns’ 22nd season in the NHL, and would be his 23rd if not for the lockout in 2004-05. He’s played seven seasons with the Wild, but made his mark with the San Jose Sharks, where he won the Norris Trophy in 2016-17.

After his Sharks tenure ended after the 2021-22 season, the defenceman spent three seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes before joining the Avalanche this past off-season.

Andrew Mangiapane reaches 500 games​


Another milestone came just north of Calgary, as former Flame Andrew Mangiapane reached the 500-game mark in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers. He celebrated the event with his second goal in as many games after signing a two-year deal this past off-season.

Mangiapane was drafted in the sixth round of the 2015 draft by the Flames, and became a regular with them in 2019-20. In 2021-22, he scored a career-best 35 goals and 55 points in 82 games and was traded at the 2024 draft to the Capitals.

In his one and only season in the United States’ capital, Magianpane scored 14 goals and 28 points in 81 games, picking up a secondary assist on Alexander Ovechkin’s record-tying 894th goal.

Josh Norris to miss significant time​


On Saturday morning, Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff noted that Josh Norris is set to miss a significant amount of time due to an upper-body injury.

Josh Norris will miss “a significant amount of time” with an upper-body injury, Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters. pic.twitter.com/huZ1f4soVx

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 11, 2025

Toward the end of Thursday’s game against the New York Rangers, Norris went to take a faceoff and was clearly in some discomfort, leaving the remainder of the game. Acquired in a trade deadline move last season, Norris only played three games with the Sabres after the trade, missing time with injury.

Norris just can’t seem to stay healthy, as his career-high in games played in a season was in 2021-22, where he played 66 games and scored a career-best 35 goals and 55 points. When healthy, the 19th overall pick in the 2017 draft is an efficient scorer, but his biggest hurdle so far in his career is staying in the lineup.



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/nhl-notebook-matthew-schaefer-scores-first-career-nhl-goal
 
Flames ‘hopeful’ Jonathan Huberdeau could play on upcoming road trip

The Calgary Flames have played three games over the first seven days of the 2025-26 National Hockey League season, and they’ve gone 1-2-0 without a pair of pretty important pieces of their lineup.

Absent from the first three games were forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Martin Pospisil.

After Monday’s practice, Flames head coach Ryan Huska was asked for updates on the two players.

“Huby skated this morning. He’s looking good and I’m very hopeful that we’ll see him on our trip. Pospisil has not skated yet.”

Both players were injured in last Wednesday’s pre-season game against Vancouver – y’know, the 8-1 loss. Pospisil left the game after being injured in a post-whistle scrum midway through the second period. Huberdeau was injured in an ugly collision when he crashed into Canucks netminder Kevin Lankinen while driving to the net late in the third period. The precise nature of each player’s injuries have not been disclosed by the club.

Neither player played in the pre-season finale last Friday against Winnipeg. Per reports, Pospisil made an appearance at last Monday’s practice, but has otherwise not been seen on the ice with the main group. Huberdeau hasn’t practised with the team at all.

Huberdeau, 32, seemed to recapture his swagger in 2024-25, playing in every game situation for the Flames and posting 28 goals and 62 points. He’s one of the best passers on the team, something that’s made him very useful on the club’s power play. Pospisil, 25, is the team’s primary agitator, and one of the most hated Flames by other fanbases for that reason. He posted 4 goals and 25 points in 2024-25 as he played on virtually every forward line.

With Huberdeau and Pospisil both on the injury reserve list currently, the Flames are at a full compliment of 23 players. So when either player is ready for game action, they’ll need to send someone – probably a waiver-exempt forward like Sam Honzek or Matvei Gridin – to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers to create a roster spot for them.

The Flames host Vegas on Tuesday night at home before hitting the road for games against Utah (on Wednesday) and Vegas (on Saturday).

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames-hopeful-jonathan-huberdeau-could-play-on-upcoming-road-trip
 
Flames prospect roundup: Yegor Yegorov and Kirill Zarubin have a strong week in Russia

Almost all Calgary Flames prospects have their season rolling.

This is the Oct. 7-13 edition of the Flames prospect round-up, where we look at how Flames prospects have done every week. Specifically, we’ll look at players playing overseas, in junior hockey, or at the college level, as the American Hockey League prospects will have an article of their own in the Wranglers recaps.

Let’s take a look at the week that was!

Cole Reschny​


Cole Reschny, the Flames’ 18th overall pick in the 2025 draft, got his season underway with the University of North Dakota this past week. The 18-year-old was held pointless in a 6-2 victory over St. Thomas. In the second game against St. Thomas two days later, a 5-2 victory, Reschny picked up a goal and an assist.

Calgary Flames 2025 first round pick Cole Reschny picked up his first goal in the NCAA last night 🔥

(🎥: @UNDmhockey | X) pic.twitter.com/A8KcwXJgaf

— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) October 13, 2025

This coming week, Reschny, Cade Littler, and the Fighting Hawks host Minnesota for a two-game set. Their first game is on Friday at 5:07 p.m. MT, and their second is the following day at 4:07 p.m. MT

Cullen Potter​


Cullen Potter and Arizona State University began their season with back-to-back losses against Penn State University, which we covered in the last roundup. This past week, they defeated Notre Dame by a score of 5-3 and Alaska-Fairbanks by a score of 5-2 to win the Ice Breaker Tournament.

Potter was held off the scoresheet in both games, picking up a penalty in the first game. So far this season, the 32nd overall pick in the 2025 draft has two assists in four games. Next up for the Sun Devils are two away games at Augustana on Friday and Saturday.

Theo Stöckselius​


In Sweden, Theo Stöckselius and Djurgårdens IF U20 played one game, defeating AIK U20 by a score of 1-0, with the Flames’ 20225 second-round pick getting an assist on the late third period goal. This season, he has a goal and nine points in 7 games in Sweden’s U20 league.

Up next for Djurgårdens IF U20 are two away games over the weekend. They take on Luleå HF U20 on Saturday, followed by a game against Skellefteå AIK U20 on Sunday.

Mace’o Phillips​


This past week, Mace’o Phillips and the Green Bay Gamblers took on the Waterloo Black Hawks in two games over the weekend, splitting the two games. The Flames’ third-round pick in 2025 scored in their 6-4 win on Saturday, but was held off the scoresheet in their 5-4 loss.

That was the left-shot defenceman’s first goal of the season, as he now has a goal and an assist in six games for the United States Hockey League team. It’s worth noting he also has 24 penalty minutes, quickly approaching his career-high of 67 he set last season.

It’s a busy week for the Gamblers, as they continue their road trip with a game against the USA Hockey National Team Development Program on Thursday, followed by two games against the Youngstown Phantoms on Saturday and Sunday.

Ethan Wyttenbach​


Ethan Wyttenbach, the Flames’ fifth-round pick in the 2025 draft, had a strong week for Quinnipiac University. They also participated in the Ice Breaker Tournament, falling 2-1 to Alaska-Fairbanks, with Wyttenbach scoring their lone goal. They followed that up with a 7-2 win over Notre Dame, with Wyttenbach picking up a goal and an assist.

#Flames 5th rounder Ethan Wyttenbach had a BIG weekend for the Quinnipiac Bobcats —

He buried a one-timer for his first NCAA goal on Friday (Alaska) then added two more points (1G, 1A) the following day against Notre Dame! pic.twitter.com/98w9ebTUTZ

— Flames Prospects (@BlastyProspects) October 12, 2025

The freshman has had a strong start to his collegiate career, scoring two goals and four points in three games. Thanks to his performance, Wyttenbach was named the ECAC Rookie of the Week. He has a chance to increase his point total this coming week, as Quinnipiac hosts Maine on Friday and Saturday.

Jakob Leander​


Jakob Leander and HV71 U20 played two games this past week, falling 4-2 to Färjestad BK U20 and defeating Örebro HK U20 by a score of 5-4. The Flames’ seventh-round pick in 2025 was held pointless in both games.

This season, the 18-year-old right-shot defenceman has two assists through nine points, picking up an incredible 37 penalty minutes. He’s just 12 penalty minutes shy of reaching his career-high that he set last season over 39 games.

This week, HV71 U20 hosts Södertälje SK U20 on Saturday and Västerås IK U20 on Sunday.

Yan Matveiko​


The final 2025 draftee we’ll look at in this article is another seventh-round pick, Yan Matveiko. He was held pointless in the three games Krasnaya Armiya played this week, as they defeated Mikhailov Academy twice, before losing 3-1 to JHC Dynamo-M.

This season, Matveiko has six goals and 14 points in 14 games. Last season, the 19-year-old scored 10 goals and 24 points, so he’s still on pace to blow his career-high totals out of the water. Krasnaya Armiya’s next game is against Avto on Monday.

Jacob Battaglia​


Moving to the Canadian Hockey League for the first time in this article, 2024 second-round pick Jacob Battaglia and the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs played two games this past week against the Peterborough Petes. Battaglia was held off the scoresheet in their 5-2 loss in Peterborough, but followed that up with a three-goal, four-point game in their 9-1 win on Friday.

Jacob Battaglia had a night to remember!🧢🔥

A hatty and an assist for the #Flames prospect led the way in a 9-1 win for the black and gold⚫🟡@NHLFlames | @OHLHockey pic.twitter.com/r895EkSeoV

— Kingston Frontenacs (@KingstonFronts) October 11, 2025

In six games with the Frontenacs, Battaglia has five goals and eight points. He’ll have a chance to increase his totals, as the Frontenacs play back-to-back-to-back games over the weekend, hosting the Ottawa 67’s on Friday and the Oshawa Generals on Saturday, before taking Highway 15 up to Ottawa for a game on Sunday.

Henry Mews​


Former Ottawa 67’s defenceman Henry Mews was in action this week with the University of Michigan. They played two games against Providence, defeating them by a score of 5-1 and 3-1, with Mews being held off the scoresheet in both games.

So far in this young season, the Wolverines are outscoring opponents 26-3 in their four games, with Mews picking up four assists. This week, they host Robert Morris for two games, one on Thursday and one on Friday.

Kirill Zarubin​


Kirill Zarubin and Mikhailov Academy had a busy week, falling 5-2 and 2-1 to Yan Matveiko and Krasnaya Armiya, before defeating JHC Spartak 2-1. Zarubin didn’t feature in the 5-2 loss, but stopped 34 of 36 shots in their 2-1 loss and 30 of 31 shots in their 2-1 victory.

This season, the 20-year-old Russian netminder has a .932 save percentage and 2.05 goals against average in nine games. Removing the first game, where he allowed four goals on 26 shots, Zarubin’s save percentage jumps to .941.

Zarubin and Mikhailov Academy take on JHC Spartak on the road on Tuesday and host Red Machine-Yunior on Sunday.

Trevor Hoskin​


Trevor Hoskin and Merrimack have only played two games this season, both against the University of Massachusetts Lowell, with one coming in the past week. They got revenge after a 4-0 defeat in week one with a 4-1 victory. In that win, Hoskin picked up his first goal of the season to give him a goal in two games.

GOALLLLLL!

Trevor Hoskin finds twine and we open it up a little here!

Watch on @ESPNPlus #GoMack pic.twitter.com/eUWbU3E0xX

— Merrimack Men’s Hockey (@Merrimack_MIH) October 11, 2025

They’ll continue their one-game-a-week schedule for this coming week, hosting the University of New Hampshire on Saturday in what is another in-conference matchup.

Luke Misa​


This week, Penn State and Luke Misa took on Clarkson in two games, falling 6-4 in the first matchup but getting their revenge with a 5-2 victory in the second game. Misa was held off the scoresheet in both games, as he’s still searching for his first collegiate point after four games.

For the Gavin McKenna fans out there, the projected first overall pick in the 2026 draft picked up two assists. Next up for Penn State is two games against Long Island University at home, one on Friday and one on Saturday. It’s an important in-conference matchup.

Hunter Laing​


Hunter Laing and the Saskatoon Blades played three games this past week, defeating the Vancouver Giants 6-1, the Swift Current Broncos 4-1, and the Kamloops Blazers 3-0. The Flames’ sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft picked up two assists in their 6-1 win, was held pointless in their 4-1 victory, and didn’t play in the shutout victory.

This season, Laing has four goals and eight points through six games. Laing missed their most recent game with a lower-back injury, and it’s to be seen if he’s in the lineup this coming week. The Blades play a home-and-home against the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday and Saturday, before returning home to host the Edmonton Oil Kings on Sunday.

Eric Jamieson​


Eric Jamieson and the University of Denver played two games this past week, defeating Air Force 2-1 in a shootout and shutting out Bentley 6-0. The defenceman was held off the scoresheet in the shootout, but picked up a goal and two assists in their 6-0 victory.

HIGHLIGHT: Eric Pohlkamp opens the scoring for DU & Eric Jamieson picks up his first career NCAA point (assist). pic.twitter.com/xfaVeAQrTc

— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) October 12, 2025

The University of Denver hit the road to play Lindenwood on Friday and Saturday.

Jaden Lipinski​


The University of Maine and Jaden Lipinski began their season this past week, defeating Holy Cross 5-2 on Friday and 6-0 on Saturday. The Flames’ fourth-round pick in the 2023 draft is off to a strong start, scoring a goal and picking up an assist in each of the first two games.

OH, that was PRETTY 🚨🚨

💻: https://t.co/J0IrkbFZ4F | @ESPNPlus https://t.co/upboIf1dJs pic.twitter.com/cDeOzzx73o

— Maine Men’s Ice Hockey (@MaineIceHockey) October 11, 2025

This week, Lipinski and Maine will face off against Wyttenbach and Quinnipiac, as Maine heads on the road to play two games on Friday and Saturday.

Yegor Yegorov​


This past week, Yegor Yegorov and JHC Spartak MHA played three games, falling 2-1 to Taifun, before getting their revenge with a 4-3 shootout victory. That was the same score of their victory over Amurskie Tigry as well.

Yegorov played in both of the shootout victories, stopping 36 of 39 shots in the win over Taifun and 33 of 36 in their win against Amurskie Tigry. This season, the 20-year-old Russian netminder has a .916 save percentage and 3.07 goals against average in seven games, meaning he’s seen a ton of shots.

JHC Spartak MHA’s lone game this week comes on Sunday against Dinamo-Shinnik on the road.

Axel Hurtig​


Axel Hurtig returned to the Calgary Hitmen’s lineup in their two games this past week. In their 4-2 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers, the Flames’ left-shot defence prospect was held pointless, but was a +3. In their second game of the week, they fell 3-2 to the Portland Winterhawks, with Hurtig picking up a shot on goal. This season, Hurtig has a goal in four games.

This week, the Hitmen play two games. They head south to Lethbridge to play the Hurricanes on Friday, and return home to host the Spokane Chiefs on Sunday.

Cade Littler​


We started this article by looking at Cole Reschny, a freshman at the University of North Dakota. Cade Littler also got his season underway with the Fighting Hawks, scoring their first goal of the season in a 6-2 victory, also picking up an assist in that game against St. Thomas. In the next game, a 5-2 victory, the Flames’ 2022 seventh-round pick picked up his second assist and third point of the season.

First of the year goes to Cade Littler! #UNDproud | #LGH pic.twitter.com/UEPQ6wNEac

— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) October 11, 2025

Littler is already a third of the way in reaching his career-best in points, as he scored seven goals and nine points in 33 games in 2024-25. Next up for the Fighting Hawks are two games against Minnesota at home.



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

Sponsored by bet365:

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames...d-kirill-zarubin-have-a-strong-week-in-russia
 
The Wranglers are figuring things out early in the 2025-26 season

Gang, the first few weeks of American Hockey League games can be wild. In good ways and bad.

For various reasons, many of them financial and logistical, a lot of AHL teams do not play pre-season games. The Calgary Wranglers are among those teams. And so the first few weeks are when you see coaching staffs start to figure things out with their lineups.

The Wranglers lost both of their games against the Colorado Eagles last weekend, with freshman head coach Brett Sutter doing a lot of experimenting with his lines and pairings. We suspect the experimenting will continue as Sutter figures out what groups have chemistry and which don’t.

Sutter has a lot of things to balance – trying to win, trying to develop players, and learning how to run a bench as a head coach – so try to have some patience in the early part of the schedule. There will likely be some bumps along the way, as evidenced by their 7-4 opening-night loss to the Eagles. It’s a process.

Onto this week’s update!

Andrew Basha – LW/RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL


19; Calgary’s second round pick (41st overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 5’11”, 174 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 8th-ranked prospect 2025

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date200000000.00
2024-25 (WHL)2392029241297331.22

Basha played a pair of games in the Wranglers’ middle six. He played one game with Parker Bell and Clark Bishop, and the other with Aydar Suniev and Carter King.

Jacob Battaglia – LW/RW, Kingston Frontenacs, OHL


19; Calgary’s second round pick (62nd overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 196 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 7th-ranked prospect 2025

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date55387552442.38
2024-25 (OHL)6840509067574523935.06

Battaglia didn’t play a ton as Kingston had a light schedule, but he had a hat trick (and an assist).

Parker Bell – LW/RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL


21; Calgary’s fifth round pick (155th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; 6’4″, 192 pounds; shoots left

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date100000000.00
2024-25 (AHL)6175129129677.84

Bell played the Wranglers’ first game, playing on a line with Clark Bishop and Andrew Basha. He was a scratch for their second game.

Hunter Brzustewicz – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL


20; Vancouver’s third round pick (75th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Vancouver; 6’0″, 190 pounds; shoots right; FN’s 3rd-ranked prospect 2025

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date2011100119.93
2024-25 (AHL)70527321920137518.22

Brzustewicz had an assist over the weekend. He played the first game on a pairing with Yan Kuznetsov and the second with Nick Cicek.

Nick Cicek – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL


25; free agent signing; 6’3″, 201 pounds; shoots left

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Season to date200000010.00
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Cicek played the first game with Jeremie Poirier and the second with Hunter Brzustewicz.

Lucas Ciona – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL


22; Calgary’s sixth round pick (173rd overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 210 pounds; shoots left

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date200000010.00
2024-25 (AHL)68814221817149112.89

Ciona played both Wranglers games on a line with David Silye. They were joined by Carter King in the first game and Alex Gallant in the second.

Artem Grushnikov – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL


22; Dallas’ second round pick (48th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Dallas; 6’1″, 203 pounds; shoots left

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date100000000.00
2024-25 (AHL)61145343433.27

Grushnikov played the first Wranglers game paired with Simon Mack. He was scratched for the second game.

Trevor Hoskin – RW, Merrimack College Warriors, NCAA


21; Calgary’s fourth round pick (106th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 175 pounds; shoots right

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date2101111316.11
2024-25 (NCAA)361227392928238017.23

Hoskin scored his first Hockey East goal this weekend. He’s playing on the right side of Merrimack’s fourth line.

Axel Hurtig – D, Calgary Hitmen, WHL


20; Calgary’s seventh round pick (208th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’4″, 202 pounds; shoots left

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date310111128.25
2024-25 (WHL)5551116121410667.20

Hurtig returned from a brief injury absence and returned to the Hitmen’s top pairing.

Eric Jamieson – D, University of Denver Pioneers, NCAA


20; Calgary’s seventh round pick (208th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 200 pounds; shoots left

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date2123121554.00
2024-25 (WHL)6614223626271917513.51

Jamieson is playing on Denver’s top pairing and he had three points in their second game of the week.

Rory Kerins – C, Calgary Wranglers, AHL


23; Calgary’s sixth round pick (174th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 5’10”, 175 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 15th-ranked prospect 2025

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date2022222639.85
2024-25 (AHL)6333286152403513538.59

Kerins had two assists in the Wranglers’ opener. He was on a line with William Strömgren and Dryden Hunt on opening weekend.

Carter King – C, Calgary Wranglers, AHL


23; free agent signing; 5’11”, 190 pounds; shoots left

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2024-25 (NCAA)4421224331161411635.18

King played his first game with Lucas Ciona and David Silye and the second with Aydar Suniev and Andrew Basha.

Yan Kuznetsov – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL


23; Calgary’s second round pick (50th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 6’4″, 209 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 19th-ranked prospect 2025

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date2101111219.93
2024-25 (AHL)72615211216109511.62

Kuznetsov played one game with Hunter Brzustewicz and one game with Jeremie Poirier.

Hunter Laing – C/RW, Saskatoon Blades, WHL


19; Calgary’s sixth round pick (170th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’5″, 205 pounds; shoots right

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date64485442133.02
2024-25 (WHL)6425234840352915318.57

Laing played once and missed the second game with an unspecified injury.

Jakob Leander – D, HV71, U20 Nationell


18; Calgary’s seventh round pick (208th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’4″, 196 pounds; shoots right

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date9022222123.64
2024-25 (J20)39156353332.52

Leander played twice and didn’t register any points.

Jaden Lipinski – C, University of Maine Black Bears, NCAA


20; Calgary’s fourth round pick (112th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’4″, 204 pounds; shoots right

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date2224343364.45
2024-25 (WHL)5917415845302713424.34

Lipinski started his NCAA run with two multi-point games for an impressive Maine squad.

Cade Littler – C, University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, NCAA


21; Calgary’s seventh round pick (219th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 197 pounds; shoots right

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date2123232354.00
2024-25 (NCAA)33729898309.82

Playing on North Dakota’s fourth line, Littler had a two point game in their opener and an assist in their second game.

Yan Matveiko – C, Krasnaya Armiya Moskva, MHL


19; Calgary’s seventh round pick (211th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 150 pounds; shoots left

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date14681481162411.73
2024-25 (MHL)42101424202117686.70

Matveiko had a pair of quiet games offensively this week. He’s still scoring way ahead of last season’s pace.

Henry Mews – D, University of Michigan Wolverines, NCAA


19; Calgary’s third round pick (74th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’0″, 181 pounds; shoots right; FN’s 6th-ranked prospect 2025

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date40551101134.13
2024-25 (OHL)6814688251402723331.94

Mews has been a big part of a scary-good Michigan power play to start the season. He’s getting many second assists on their power play.

Luke Misa – LW/C, Penn State University Nittany Lions, NCAA


19; Calgary’s fifth round pick (150th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 5’10”, 170 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 13th-ranked prospect 2025

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Season to date300000040.00
2024-25 (OHL)6734518558634321133.60

Penn State played just one game this week and Misa is still waiting to register his first NCAA point.

Etienne Morin – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL


20; Calgary’s second round pick (48th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; 6’0″, 180 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 10th-ranked prospect 2025

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date100000010.00
2024-25 (QMJHL)6214445829402422221.79

Morin was scratched for the first Wranglers game and played in the second, on a pairing with Simon Mack.

Mace’o Phillips – D, Green Bay Gamblers, USHL


18; Calgary’s third round pick (80th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’6″, 228 pounds; shoots left

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date6112111167.65
2024-25 (USHL)25213333312.76

Phillips scored his first goal of the season this past week. He’s scoring at a higher clip than he was a season ago – on the stacked U.S. National Under-18 Team – so that’s positive. He’s also taking a ton of penalties, though.

Jeremie Poirier – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL


23; Calgary’s third round pick (72nd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 196 pounds; shoots left

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date2011010319.93
2024-25 (AHL)715374223261513223.57

Poirier had a game paired with Nick Cicek and a game paired with Yan Kuznetsov. He had a tough first game, taking two first period penalties that resulted in power play goals for the opposition.

Cullen Potter – C, Arizona State University Sun Devils, NCAA


18; Calgary’s first round pick (32nd overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 5’10”, 172 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 5th-ranked prospect 2025

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date40221211718.00
2024-25 (NCAA)351392216171311822.63

Potter didn’t hit the scoresheet in Arizona State’s weekend of games.

Cole Reschny – C, University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, NCAA


18; Calgary’s first round pick (18th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 5’11”, 183 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 2nd-ranked prospect 2025

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date2112211636.00
2024-25 (WHL)6226669270484621336.75

Reschny had a busy first weekend in college hockey. He had his first goal, his first assist, and his first injury scare after a knee-on-knee hit. (He returned to the game and actually set up a goal late in that game.)

Theo Stockselius – C, Djurgårdens IF, U20 Nationell/SHL


18; Calgary’s second round pick (54th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’2″, 181 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 12th-ranked prospect 2025

GPGAPP15v5
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U20 season to date71896752321.09
SHL season to date200000000.00
2024-25 (J20)402229513835299320.91

Djurgardens had a 10-day game in their schedule, which spanned this past week.

William Strömgren – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL


22; Calgary’s second round pick (45th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 175 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 16th-ranked prospect 2025

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date2011010319.93
2024-25 (AHL)7014354935262010727.90

Strömgren played both games with Rory Kerins and Dryden Hunt.

Aydar Suniev – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL


20; Calgary’s third round pick (80th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’2″, 198 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 9th-ranked prospect 2025

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date200000010.00
2024-25 (NCAA)3520183831211711934.99

Suniev played one game with Sam Morton and Martin Frk and the second game with Carter King and Andrew Basha.

Ethan Wyttenbach – RW, Quinnipiac University Bobcats, NCAA


18; Calgary’s fifth round pick (144th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 5’10”, 180 pounds; shoots right; FN’s 20th-ranked prospect 2025

GPGAPP15v5
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Season to date3224444330.61
2024-25 (USHL)4424275142383012726.61

Wyttenbach had three points over two games and was named the ECAC conference’s rookie of the week.

#Bitcoin Rookie of the Week Ethan Wyttenbach of Quinnipiac (@QU_MIH) had two goals and an assist to help the Bobcats earn two wins this weekend! 😸@sfstampede #ECACHockey pic.twitter.com/3eI8sAGxWu

— ECAC Hockey (@ecachockey) October 13, 2025

Owen Say – G, Calgary Wranglers, AHL


24; free agent signing; 6’2″, 185 pounds

GPTOISV%
Season to date160.955
2024-25 (NCAA)271531.920

Say made his professional debut over the weekend, allowing one goal in a 1-0 Wranglers loss.

Arsenii Sergeev – G, Calgary Wranglers, AHL/Rapid City Rush, ECHL


21; Calgary’s seventh round pick (205th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 192 pounds

GPTOISV%
Season to date
2024-25 (NCAA)331982.919

Sergeev was assigned to Rapid City. The Rush start their season this coming weekend.

Yegor Yegorov – G, MHK Spartak-MAX, MHL


20; Calgary’s sixth round pick (176th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 183 pounds

GPTOISV%
Season to date7430.916
2024-25 (MHL)201032.904

Yegorov has been splitting starts with Spartak-MAX’s other main goalie, 17-year-old Yuri Ivanov. Yegorov played twice this week and won twice in the shootout.

Kirill Zarubin – G, AKM Tula, MHL


19; Calgary’s third round pick (84th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 178 pounds; FN’s 18th-ranked prospect 2025

GPTOISV%
Season to date10568.926
2024-25 (MHL)211157.935

After splitting starts about 50-50 with 18-year-old Victor Levchenko early on, Zarubin has started to take over the net and Levchenko has been mostly dressing as Zarubin’s backup and then occasionally appearing for AKM-Junior, the second string AKM academy team with mostly younger players. Zarubin’s been strong lately. He allowed six goals over three starts this week, getting pulled after two periods on Tuesday night, and he’s allowed 10 goals over five starts so far this month.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/the-wranglers-are-figuring-things-out-early-in-the-2025-26-season
 
Instant Reaction: Flames fall short against Mammoth

Welcome to Instant Reaction, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Calgary Flames game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!

The Calgary Flames were pretty good in the first 10 minutes of Wednesday’s game in Salt Lake City against the Utah Mammoth. They had a pretty good third period, too. The 30 minutes sandwiched in-between the good parts were, well, quite bad.

Playing in the second half of a back-to-back set, the Flames were held in this game by backup netminder Devin Cooley. But they just couldn’t muster enough offence to salvage this game, and they skated to a 3-1 loss to Utah to run their losing skid to four games.

The rundown​


The Flames got off to a good start and opened the scoring on the power play. And in keeping with this season, it was a weird goal. Morgan Frost’s shot was deflected by Rasmus Andersson. Karel Vejmelka stopped the initial shot, but the rebound bonked off Dmitri Simashev and into the Mammoth net to give the Flames a 1-0 lead.

🔥FLAMES GOAL🔥

Rasmus Andersson scores his first goal of the season and opens the scoring in Utah!

🎥: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/AtKBan5Z01

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) October 16, 2025

Shots were 4-3 Mammoth when Andersson scored. From that point onward, the Mammoth pressed and Devin Cooley had to be sharp.

First period shots were 10-5 Mammoth. Via Natural Stat Trick, 5v5 scoring chances were 3-2 Flames and high-dangers were 1-1.

Early in the second period, right after a successful penalty kill for the Flames, the Mammoth cashed in. Cooley fired the puck around the boards but it bounced and didn’t hit its intended recipient for the zone exit. The Mammoth grabbed the puck, made a couple passes, and Barrett Hayton scored with a shot from the slot to tie the game at 1-1.

Utah scores early in the 2nd period.

🎥: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/c1ndcqbmqJ

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) October 16, 2025

A little later, the Mammoth grabbed the lead. An attempted pass at the point from Brayden Pachal to Zayne Parekh was intercepted by J.J. Peterka, and he turned on the speed and beat Cooley on a breakaway to give the Mammoth a 2-1 lead.

JJ Peterka puts the Mammoth up 2-1.

The Flames are struggling to handle Utah's speed and quick puck movement. The shots are 19-6 right now.

🎥: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/msnwMZMVBk

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) October 16, 2025

Second period shots were 18-3 Mammoth. 5v5 scoring chances were 11-4 Mammoth and high-dangers were 6-2 Mammoth.

The Flames pressed in the third period, trying to get the tying goal. The Mammoth defended pretty well, for the most part, and got some key saves from Vejmelka.

Kevin Stenlund ricocheted a puck out of the Mammoth zone and it slid the length of the ice for the empty-netter to give the Mammoth a 3-1 victory.

Third period shots were 12-4 Flames.

Why the Flames lost​


The Flames were pretty decent in the first period! Then they seemed to unplug their controller, leaving poor Devin Cooley to fend for himself for much of the period.

Yeah, this was a scheduled loss because of the situation the Flames were in: playing their second game in as many nights with travel. But the Flames did themselves zero favours with how they managed the middle 30 minutes of this game, with their parade to the penalty box really taxing some of their key players.

Red Warrior​


Devin Cooley. He was, by far, the most impactful player on the road team.

Turning point​


The Mammoth scored twice in the first 4:24 of the second period – two goals in a span of just 3:08 – to take the lead.

This and that​


This was the Flames on-ice debut for Devin Cooley, after dressing once last season and four times this season as backup. The Flames made two lineup changes: Justin Kirkland and Brayden Pachal entered the lineup, and Matvei Gridin and Daniil Miromanov rotated out.

Adam Klapka fought Jack McBain in the second period.

Adam Klapka drops the gloves with Jack McBain!

Klapka is trying to get his team a boost of energy. Good on him.

🎥: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/gPQUs79rKM

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) October 16, 2025

After Burner​


Join Mike Gould and myself right after the game for After Burner!

Up next​


The Flames (1-4-0) are headed to Sin City! They’re back in action on Saturday night when they face the Vegas Golden Knights.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/instant-reaction-flames-fall-short-against-mammoth
 
Beyond the Boxscore: Flames offensive woes continue in 3-1 loss to Utah

It was another night where the Flames’ sticks stayed stashed, and the offence sputtered on the way to a 3-1 loss in Utah against the Mammoth.

CF% – 53.1%|| SCF% – 53.92%|| HDCF% – 58.4%|| xGF% – 48.66%

It’s a Team Game –
The Calgary Flames simply are not doing enough to challenge the middle of the ice in the attacking zone. When they do get on the offensive it is all perimeter play and shots from the high slot. They are not winning battles for rebounds, they are not winning races for loose pucks, and it’s resulting in a lack of goals. It’s not a surprise that the roster from last year that could barely muster three goals a night is down a 60-point winger and is average less than two goals per game. Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin being asked to shoulder the load is way to much to ask of this club – the veterans need to find ways to execute and get on the scoreboard. It can start with a good drive to the crease. Take the puck and stuff it in the crease like a slam dunk, or Eichel the night previous. Just a little more offensive juice – at 5v5.

Also, analyzing 5v5 play in a game that was consistently broken up by a parade to the penalty box for the Flames is hard. Lines stay mixed and it’s hard to get into a flow. The Flames penalty kill deserves a tip of the cap, and Devin Cooley too, tremendous work from that group that led to Calgary even having a shot in the third period.

Corsi King – Kevin Bahl (73.97 CF%) has been noticeably more active and mobile to start this year. A bit more swagger from the long-term extension perhaps? He’s a player that is rapidly becoming extremely important to the Flames. If Weegar (32.05 per cent) or Andersson (64.71 per cent) are gone everything then lies in Bahl’s hands. Next in line after him would be Joel Hanley (22.66 per cent) or Brayden Pachal (55.34 per cent). Point is – Bahl is a fixture and him playing with a bit more pep in his step isn’t a bad thing.

Under Pressure –

G5_SP_@UTA_26.png


Taken By Chance – Mikael Backlund (48.80 SCF% // 64.84 HDCF%) and his line once again remained on the positive side of all attempts. They went five high danger chances for to three against. All the chances in the world don’t mean a darn thing unless you can figure out how to get those pucks across the goal line. If they don’t then it’s just a bunch of sad cardio. MacKenzie Weegar (23.49 per cent // 20.87 per cent) has been getting beat or caught up the ice a fair amount of this year. I’m not concerned because once he finds his groove it will go well for a long stretch of time. To start this season though he’s not been winning his match-ups.

xG Breakdown –

G5_xG1_@UTA_26.png
G5_xG2_@UTA_26.png


xGF% – I have been quite lenient on Nazem Kadri (37.01 per cent). He’s been noticeable on offence, but nowhere near the level this team needs him to be at. With Huberdeau out it’s got to be him that stirs the drink of this offence. They need Kadri to find some net and really dominate his shifts. His linemates keep shifting, but something has got to stick for a while eventually. The other centre in the top 6 – Morgan Frost (85.88 per cent) – is clicking at a high level. Spending most, if not all, of his 5v5 ice time pushing play into the attacking zone. It was a nifty tuck pass inside the driving lane that led to Andersson’s (72.20 per cent) power play goal. I think if this continues he’s going to start finding more guys open with better shooting opportunities.

Game Flow –

G5_GF_@UTA_26.png


Game Score –

G5_HSC_@UTA_26.png


Shot Heatmap –

G5_SH_@UTA_26.png


In The Crease – Devin Cooley has a lot of people talking about how he can’t do it. It’s on social media, it’s on the regional and national broadcasts, it’s everywhere. All he did was go out and be one of the best players on the ice when he got a chance to play. His shorthanded work in particular was quite impressive. His form isn’t as smooth as Wolf’s – but nobody the Flames have access to is even close to that level of skill. If the team in front of him could figure out how to attack the middle of the ice he may have even earned himself a win. Alas, they did not and Cooley got stuck with an impressive L.

The Goals –

🔥FLAMES GOAL🔥

Rasmus Andersson scores his first goal of the season and opens the scoring in Utah!

🎥: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/AtKBan5Z01

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) October 16, 2025

Flash’s 3 Stars –

1) Rasmus Andersson

2) Devin Cooley

3) Morgan Frost


(Stats compiled from Naturalstattrick.com // Game Score from Hockeystatcards.com // xG and Under Pressure charts from HockeyViz.com // Game Flow and Shot Heatmap from NaturalStatTrick.com)

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/beyond-the-boxscore-flames-offensive-woes-continue-in-3-1-loss-to-utah
 
Flames expecting Jonathan Huberdeau back on Saturday against Vegas

The Calgary Flames are expecting to get a big piece of their lineup back on Saturday night.

On Thursday morning, Flames head coach Ryan Huska joined Matt Marchese and Mike Futa on Sportsnet 590’s The FAN Hockey Show. During the interview, he indicated that the Flames are expecting to get Jonathan Huberdeau back on Saturday when they visit the Vegas Golden Knights.

Here’s what Huska answered when asked how close Huberdeau was to a return:

Happy to say really close. Our expectation is that we’ll see him in Vegas for our next game here on Saturday night. So that’s what we’re planning on and we’re hoping for. We have a good practice here tomorrow [and a] pre-game skate, and if everything continues to go as it has right now, we’ll expect him in the lineup that night.

Huberdeau suffered an undisclosed injury back on Oct. 1 in the Flames’ second-last pre-season game when they faced the Vancouver Canucks. Down 8-1 late in the third period, Huberdeau drove the net to try to create a spark for his team… and collided awkwardly head-on with Canucks netminder Kevin Lankinen. He’s been out of the Flames’ lineup ever since, though he began skating with the group earlier this week and he accompanied them to Salt Lake City (and Las Vegas) on their current road trip.

The team’s highest-paid player, Huberdeau was a really important piece for the Flames in 2024-25. He was second on the team in points, behind only Nazem Kadri, and he led all forwards in ice time. The winger saw reps on the club’s first line at five-on-five, along with first unit power play and second unit penalty killing responsibilities.

In Huberdeau’s absence, the Flames have done their best to fill in the gaps caused by his injury. But while his contract is often the subject of hand-wringing by fans, he’s a really good, really important player for the Flames, and they’re a markedly worsened team when he’s not available to them.

The Flames are back in action on Saturday night in Vegas to conclude their two game road trip.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames-expecting-jonathan-huberdeau-back-on-saturday-against-vegas
 
5 thoughts on the first five games of the Flames season

The start of the 2025-26 season has not gone the way the Calgary Flames had hoped. They are 1-4-0 with their one win coming in miracle fashion on opening night in Edmonton. If it wasn’t for Stuart Skinner’s brain shutting off, the Flames wouldn’t have a single win.

And things don’t look like they’re getting any easier. The Flames finish off the month of October with games against Vegas, Winnipeg (x2), Montreal, New York, Toronto and Ottawa.

If the Flames don’t get their stuff together starting on Saturday night, they can kiss their playoff chances goodbye.

Here are five observations from the five games of the season.

1. Young players making an impact​


One of the positive storylines to come from the first five games of the season is the play of Zayne Parekh, Sam Honzek, and Matvei Gridin.

Parekh is looking like he is getting more comfortable and confident in the NHL. He is coming off his best game of the season in Utah. His passing and shot are electric. His ability to maneuver along the blueline is elite. He will need some time to refine his defensive game. Dealing with the speed and strength of NHL players is something he is going to have to get used to. But that will come as he gains more experience in the NHL.

Sam Honzek has played some solid minutes on a line with Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman. He has done a good job using his size, speed, and reach to cause havoc on the forecheck. He’s also played some big minutes on the penalty kill, including Wednesday night when the Flames went 6-6 on the PK.

Matvei Gridin has quietly put together some really good games. The best part of Gridin’s game is the high end plays he makes that set himself and his teammates up for grade A scoring chances. Gridin makes 1-2 elite plays per game that lead to goals or scoring chances that should be goals. It’s a skillset that this team is in desperate need of.

One of Gridin or Honzek will be sent to the AHL to make room for Jonathan Huberdeau. But it might be a smart idea to keep both of them up and roll four scoring lines.

2. Kevin Bahl has been great​


Kevin Bahl has been the best defenceman on the Flames this season. Plain and simple.

In the defensive zone he has been rock solid shutting down plays with his stick checks. He is breaking up cycles, boxing out in front of the net, and playing a little more physical than he was last season. It also looks like he is more confident with his puck movement. He’s making a lot of tape to tape passes.

The numbers would back up the eye test. Bahl is the only defenceman to be on the ice for more goals for than against at 5-on-5 (3-2). He is first in xGF% (54.24%) and HDCF% (18-12, 60%).

Bahl has been one of the few players to step up and play above expectations.

3. Defence pairings are off​


Speaking of defencemen. The pairings have been a little off this season. In an ideal world, you would have six defencemen who you know you’re going to start every game on the same pairing. But that just hasn’t happened yet this season.

The one pair that has been consistently put together is Bahl and Andersson. They’ve been the Flames best pairing thanks in large part to Bahl.

The other pairings have been all over the place. We’ve seen:

Hanley – Weegar

Weegar – Miromanov

Hanley – Parekh

Bean – Parekh

Bean – Pachal

Pachal – Parekh

It’s time for the Flames to figure out duos that work. We know that the Jake Bean and Daniil Miromanov experiments needs to end. Both players have struggled at the NHL level dating back to last season and they are taking up roster spots for both forwards and defencemen that should be with the Flames.

The other thing to consider is that Hanley and Weegar have not worked in the early going of this season. 5-on-5 high danger chances are 12-7 for the opposition and the score is 5-0 with that pair on the ice. They need to be broken up.

Here are a few different configurations the coaching staff could consider.

Option 1

Screenshot-2025-10-16-at-4.45.12-PM-1024x230.png


Option 2

Screenshot-2025-10-16-at-4.45.24-PM-1024x230.png


Option 3

Screenshot-2025-10-17-at-12.35.22-PM-1024x230.png


Any of these configurations would be better than what the Flames are putting on the ice through the first five games of the season.

4. Lack of offence is a major concern​


As of Oct. 17, the Flames are dead last in the NHL in goals per game. A place they are familiar being after last season.

Nazem Kadri is goalless. Matt Coronato has been very quiet outside of the St Louis game. Connor Zary and Yegor Sharangovich have one point each. The entire blueline has combined for three points.

Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee have played well but the production isn’t quite there yet.

The Flame shave had their chances, but they just haven’t been able to put the puck in the back of the net.

The team will get a boost when Jonathan Huberdeau returns to the lineup. That will help. But the group as a whole needs to step their game up and starting finishing.

5. Dustin Wolf needs to be better​


Dustin Wolf is the most important player on the Flames. The Flames go as far as Wolf will take them.

That’s not entirely fair for a 24 year old, second year goaltender in the NHL. But it’s a fact.

The Flames can’t score. They are dead last in the NHL in goals per game. Because of that you need your goalie to step up and single handedly win you games. It happened many times last season. It’s hasn’t happened yet for Wolf this season.

Among 18 goalies to play at least three games this season, Wolf ranks 14th in save percentage (0.873), 16th in goals against average (3.77), 16th in high danger save percentage (0.733), and 17th in goals saved above expected (-2.94).

You can make excuses for the goals he has let in. Whether it’s a perfect shot. Or tip ins. I’m not saying Wolf needs to stop everything. But he will need to start making more difficult saves and keep the puck out of his net because the team in front of him can’t score.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/5-thoughts-on-the-first-five-games-of-the-flames-season
 
Flames assign Matvei Gridin to Wranglers, activate Jonathan Huberdeau from injury reserve list

The Calgary Flames made some roster moves on Friday afternoon that will pave the way for the return of one of their most important players.

The club announced that they’ve assigned forward Matvei Gridin to the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers. Gridin’s re-assignment opened a roster spot, which they filled by activating forward Jonathan Huberdeau from the injury reserve list.

The 19-year-old Gridin was a first-round pick by the Flames in the 2024 NHL Draft, selected with the 28th overall pick that the club acquired from Vancouver in the Elias Lindholm trade. Gridin had a really strong training camp and definitely deserved a look in the regular season, which the injuries to Huberdeau and Martin Pospisil allowed the Flames to give him.

Gridin scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game – a pass that went into the Edmonton net off Noah Philp’s skate – and he consistently used his speed, skill and positional smarts to do a lot of good things on the ice. And he did so playing with Nazem Kadri and Matt Coronato against the opposition’s top defenders. But with the team getting healthy, the Flames needed to open up a spot on the wings and Gridin was the easiest player to send down, especially with Sam Honzek finding a nice rhythm with Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman on the third line.

Make no mistake: Gridin impressed during his first four NHL games. He’ll undoubtedly be back with the big club whenever they need to bring up an offensive-minded player.

The 32-year-old Huberdeau returns to a Flames team that’s 1-4-0 and could use a boost. One of the team’s alternate captains, Huberdeau is a savvy veteran who’s a really skilled passer. Moreover, Huberdeau is a player that touches every part of the game, usually skating on the top forward line, the top power play unit and the second penalty kill group. He probably won’t have another 115-point season in his career, but Huberdeau remains someone that can help a hockey club in a lot of different areas.

Per Sportsnet’s Derek Wills, Huberdeau practised Friday on the Flames’ top line alongside Kadri and Joel Farabee.

The Flames return to action on Saturday night when they face the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames...e-jonathan-huberdeau-from-injury-reserve-list
 
Flames Game Day 6: Storming the castle in Vegas (8pm MT, SN/CBC/City)

After a rough start to the regular season, the Calgary Flames (1-4-0, 2 points) will try to right the ship as they start a hectic part of their schedule. But they’ll face a tough foe in a tough building as they visit the Vegas Golden Knights (3-0-2, 8 points) at T-Mobile Arena!

Can the Flames take advantage of Jonathan Huberdeau’s return to topple a divisional foe? Or will their early woes continue? We’ll find out tonight!

Today’s broadcast begins at 8 p.m. MT on Sportsnet’s national feed, CBC, City TV and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

The Flames​


Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Jonathan Huberdeau – Nazem Kadri – Joel Farabee
Yegor Sharangovich – Morgan Frost – Matt Coronato
Sam Honzek – Mikael Backlund – Blake Coleman
Ryan Lomberg – Connor Zary – Adam Klapka

Kevin Bahl – Rasmus Andersson
Joel Hanley – MacKenzie Weegar
Jake Bean – Zayne Parekh

Dustin Wolf starts in net for the Flames, making his first-ever appearance in Vegas. He’ll be backed up by Devin Cooley. The expected scratches are Brayden Pachal, Daniil Miromanov and Justin Kirkland.

After five games on the shelf with an undisclosed injury – suffered when he crashed head-first into the Vancouver goaltender in a pre-season game – Jonathan Huberdeau is back! His return caused some line shuffles, which was probably needed given how few goals the Flames have scored and how few games they’ve won. They’re currently in the midst of a four game losing skid and need to start piling up some wins if they want any hope of making the playoffs. (And yes, they want to make the playoffs.)

The Flames are 2-9-2 all-time in 13 trips to T-Mobile Arena. Their last two trips were 3-0 and 5-0 losses last season, both with Dan Vladar in net. Their last win in Vegas was on Jan. 13, 2024. So… they’re due, right?

The Golden Knights​


Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Mark Stone
Pavel Dorofeyev – Tomas Hertl – Mitch Marner
Brandon Saad – William Karlsson – Reilly Smith
Cole Reinhardt – Colton Sissons – Keegan Kolesar

Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Ben Hutton – Zach Whitecloud
Jeremy Lauzon – Kaedan Korczak

We’re projecting Akira Schmid to start in net, backed up by Adin Hill. Vegas’ lone extra is Alexander Holtz.

So, Vegas is undefeated in regulation! They’ve won twice in regulation, once in extra time, and they’ve lost twice in extra time. They recently beat the Flames by a 4-2 score back on Tuesday in a game where the Flames were rock-solid but couldn’t hold a lead.

What can we say about the Golden Knights? They’re not invulnerable, but they’re a team that can definitely out-score their problems if you give them the time and space on the ice to do so.

Unavailable players​


The Flames are without Martin Pospisil.

The Golden Knights are without Alex Pietrangelo, Noah Hanifin and Brett Howden.

The numbers​

FlamesGolden Knights
1Wins3
2 (.200)Points (%)8 (.800)
49.2%
(18th)
xGF%49.2%
(17th)
15.8%
(21st)
PP%28.6%
(4th)
85.0%
(14th)
PK%66.7%
(28th)

Head to head​


This is the second of four meetings between these Pacific Division foes this season. They’ll meet twice more – once in Calgary on Dec. 20 and again in Vegas on Apr. 2.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames-game-day-6-storming-the-castle-in-vegas-8pm-mt-sn-cbc-city
 
The Flames are off to an all-time bad start

Things are not going according to plan for the Calgary Flames.

A year ago, the Flames entered the 2024-25 season after a chaotic 2023-24 curious about their team and willing to do nothing and see what the team was capable of. The answer? Turns out they were capable of quite a lot, and rode hot goaltending and a really tenacious checking style to within the regulation wins tiebreaker of a playoff spot.

But a virtually identical Flames team is off to a horrid start to the 2025-26 season, posting just one win over their first six games, with their two standings points tied with 1997-98 and 2015-16 for their clunkiest start in franchise history. (And yeah, the schedule’s not ideal, but every NHL club hates their schedules and the good ones overcome it.)

So what’s not working so far?

First and foremost, the team’s in-zone defence has been an adventure in the worst way. The team often looks and feels disconnected in the defensive zone, leading to miscues, miscommunication, and opposition players finding quiet ice with which to create strong scoring chances.

Flames head coach Ryan Huska put it pretty succinctly post-game after the loss in Vegas (via Flames TV): “We made some poor individual mistakes in the first period that cost us three goals.”

Last season, the Flames occasionally had defensive gaffes, but Dustin Wolf was able to bail them out. This season, that hasn’t happened as much. In 2024-25, Wolf’s high-danger save percentage was .847. So far in 2025-26, it’s .690. Does it feel like Wolf is facing more frequent high-danger shots? He is: 8.13 per 60 minutes at five-on-five versus 6.91 last season. (Stick-taps to Natural Stat Trick for these figures.)

So early on, the team is defensively worse than they were last season. And their goaltending? Less able to bail them out, which creates a snowball effect in games, and explains how games have gotten away from them quickly.

And for a team that is infamous for its scoring challenges over the past few seasons, being bad defensively creates a mountain in games that’s simply too steep to climb. They simply don’t have the firepower right now to out-score their defensive mistakes.

So what’s the solution? It may seem strikingly simple, but they need to defend better. For better or worse, the Flames are a team whose roster, style and structure are best-suited for tight-checking, low-scoring games. So they need to get back to basics and play a smarter, more connected game in their own end if they want to have success in any other part of the rink. And if they make mistakes with the puck, try to make them in the offensive zone where there are chances to rush back and recover rather than in the 20-30 feet immediately around their net.

The Flames don’t need to play perfect hockey to win games. But they certainly need to be better. And ideally soon, before their dreams of playoff hockey in the spring of 2026 are replaced with the stark reality of a draft lottery pick.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/the-flames-are-off-to-an-all-time-bad-start
 
NHL Notebook: John Tavares scores 500th point with Maple Leafs

On Saturday, John Tavares accomplished something that has been done by three other players.

With a two-goal performance during Hockey Night in Canada, Tavares became just the fourth player in National Hockey League history to score 500 points for two different franchises. The other three are Hall of Famers: Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, and Ron Francis.

Tavares was drafted first overall by the New York Islanders in the 2009 draft, spending the first nine seasons of his career with the team. Overall, he finished with 272 goals and 621 points in 669 games, before shockingly signing a seven-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2018 off-season.

Over 521 games with his hometown team, Tavares has 225 goals and 500 points, with 17 goals and 31 points in 51 postseason games. This past off-season, Tavares signed a four-year extension to keep him a Leaf until he’s 38 years old.

Kaiden Guhle injury​


On Saturday, the Montréal Canadiens announced that Kaiden Guhle will miss four to six weeks with a lower-body injury, a big loss for the Canadiens on their backend.

Le défenseur Kaiden Guhle (bas du corps, 4 à 6 semaines) et les attaquants Kirby Dach (bas du corps, évaluation quotidienne) et Patrik Laine (bas du corps, évaluation quotidienne) ne participeront pas au match de ce soir. L'attaquant Owen Beck a été rappelé du Rocket de Laval…

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 18, 2025

The Edmonton native was selected 16th overall in the 2020 draft after winning two Ed Chynoweth Cups in his Western Hockey League career. Making his NHL debut in 2022-23, the left-shot defenceman went on to score four goals and 18 points in 44 games.

In 2023-24, Guhle scored six goals and 22 points in 70 games, both being career bests. He matched his career-high goal total in 2024-25, also picking up 12 assists for 18 points, but he did so playing only 55 games.

In five games this season, Guhle has a goal and two points in five games. The Canadiens have an improved backend, but losing a top-four is never good.

The Sharks acquired Oskar Olausson from the Wild​


On Friday, the second trade of the 2025-26 NHL regular season was made. It saw the Minnesota Wild trade Oskar Olausson to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Kyle Masters. It’s a small trade, as was the other trade that saw the Lightning trade Pheonix Copley to the Los Angeles Kings for future considerations.

We have acquired forward Oskar Olausson from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Kyle Masters

Full details » https://t.co/Tt7kRpDW9I pic.twitter.com/GXdzTbdASI

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 17, 2025

The two teams essentially exchange minor league players. Drafted 28th overall in the 2021 draft by the Colorado Avalanche, Olausson has played just four NHL games, where he’s been held pointless. Last season with the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles, the 22-year-old scored 11 goals and 26 points in 61 games.

Masters was selected in the fourth round of the same draft, but hasn’t played an NHL game in his career. In fact, he’s only played 35 American Hockey League games, where he has a goal and six points. Most of his professional action has been played in the ECHL, where he scored five goals and 13 points in 27 games last season.



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

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi​


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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/nhl-notebook-john-tavares-scores-500th-point-with-maple-leafs
 
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