News Flames Team Notes

[Calgary Flames]

Zayne Parekh watch begins in Calgary as Saginaw eliminated from OHL playoffs

With their 6-3 loss to the Erie Otters on Saturday night, the Saginaw Spirit have been eliminated from the Ontario Hockey League playoffs after just five games — but it doesn’t look like Zayne Parekh’s season is over just yet.

Parekh, who the Flames selected with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, is now eligible to enter the organization’s pro ranks at any time. But while it’s technically possible for him to join the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, it’s far more likely he jumps right from the frying pan and onto the Flames’ roster.

Prior to the end of Saturday’s series-clinching win for Erie, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Ron MacLean discussed Parekh’s future during the “Saturday Headlines” segment on Hockey Night in Canada. At the time they recorded the segment, Saginaw was leading Erie by a 3-2 score in the second intermission of Game 5.

Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the #Flames have a plan to bring Zayne Parekh to Calgary if Saginaw is eliminated in the playoffs.

The Spirit are currently down 3-1 in their series against Erie.

But Saginaw is winning 3-2 tonight heading into the 3rd period. pic.twitter.com/dPJ9gB77AV

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 6, 2025

“He’s having a marvellous season, 107 points in 61 games. His team, Saginaw, was down 3-1 to Erie in this series but they are playing tonight as we speak,” Friedman said. “The Flames are just waiting here patiently. I do believe there is a plan to bring him to Calgary and how that would all look.

“We’ll see how it plays out. The Flames are prepared to welcome him, but they’ll be more than happy if the [Spirit] keep winning and he keeps playing.”

To his credit, Parekh recorded two assists and six shots on goal in the series finale, but he also finished with a minus-3 rating and was in the penalty box for Martin Misiak’s game-tying goal in the third period. Parekh finished the series with two goals, nine points, and 21 shots in five games.

The Flames made Parekh the third defenceman off the board when they nabbed him with the No. 9 pick in 2024, following Chicago selecting Artyom Levshunov at No. 2 and Ottawa taking Carter Yakemchuk at No. 7. After being snubbed from Team Canada’s roster at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, Parekh went on a ridiculous tear in the second half of the 2024-25 season, collecting 75 points in his final 32 games.

With seven games to go in the 2024-25 NHL season, the Flames currently sit five points back of the Minnesota Wild for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Parekh’s arrival could give them a huge boost in their chase, but it remains to be seen if he’ll be given a spot over the likes of experienced NHLers like Jake Bean, Joel Hanley, and Brayden Pachal.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/zayne-...lgary-as-saginaw-eliminated-from-ohl-playoffs

 

[Calgary Flames]

Recap: Early jump earns Wranglers 3-1 win over the Reign on Saturday

The Calgary Wranglers are in the playoff qualification race and are just points away from securing a spot. They helped their own cause on Saturday when they hosted the Ontario Reign and earned the win on home ice. With some work from newcomers Ty Tullio, Calgary kid Carter Wilkie and an insurance marker from Yan Kuznetsov in the third period, the Wranglers earned a 3-1 win.

Wranglers lines​

Rory Kerins – Sam Morton – Ty Tullio

William Stromgren – Sam Honzek – Martin Frk

Lucas Ciona – Clark Bishop – Parker Bell

Carter Wilkie – Kaden Bohlsen

Ilya Solovyov – Jonathan Aspirot

Yan Kuznetsov – Hunter Brzustewicz

Artem Grushnikov – Jeremie Poirier

Joni Jurmo

Devin Cooley

Game at a glance​

Devin Cooley was back between the pipes for this game after picking up the win earlier this week against the Tucson Roadrunners. On the other end, Phoenix Copley got the start for Ontario. The Reign had a bit of a shaky start and the Wranglers picked up on this early.

Just 3:24 into the game, Rory Kerins fed the puck up to Ty Tullio from behind the net, and Tullio, the birthday boy, scored the opening lamp lighter. Sam Morton also assisted on this first goal.

GOAL FOR THE BIRTHDAY BOY pic.twitter.com/i1hNnEcMEB

— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) April 5, 2025

Shortly after this goal, the Wranglers had another look when Parker Bell was able to win the puck battle along the boards and this knocked the puck free for Carter Wilkie to score his first professional goal off a sharp-angled shot. Jonathan Aspirot and Ilya Solovyov picked up the assists.

What a way to make his return home!! Wilkie pockets his first AHL goal pic.twitter.com/4LSefu3LCj

— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) April 5, 2025

The action didn’t stop after these two goals either when just about a minute and a half later, Parker Bell and Kaleb Lawrence dropped the gloves for one of Bell’s best tilts of the season at 6:40. They took their respective fighting majors and still had some chirps to exchange once they made it to the box.

The Reign were able to get a few shots off after being caught on their heels to start the period. At 14:50, the Reign were called for holding, then another penalty at 16:18 for delay of game. The Wranglers didn’t add to their lead on either of these opportunities but still finished the first period ahead 2-0. Calgary also doubled up Ontario 10-5 in shots in the opening frame.

Early in the second Ty Tullio was called for roughing but on this delayed penalty call, the Reign were able to get about 30 seconds of extra zone time before the whistle was blown. The next player to the box was Glenn Gawdin at 3:19 for hooking then William Stromgren for delay of game at 8:02.

Gawdin used this chance on the man advantage to score on a redirection in the Wranglers’ zone and cut Calgary’s lead in half. Gawdin’s goal came at 8:44 on the power play.

The Wranglers had a couple more penalties to kill off before the second period came to a close but managed to prevent any further scoring from their visiting competition. The score after 40 minutes was 2-1 Calgary and shots in this frame were 9-6 Ontario.

There were only a handful of shots from each side to start the third before Jonathan Aspirot and Francesco Pinelli were called for offsetting minors. Later in the period, the Reign rang a shot off the post at 6:02, then the officials reviewed it and confirmed it was no goal.

Around the midway mark of the period, the Wranglers were stringing some chances together and at 12:49, Sam Morton won a faceoff, which dropped the puck back to Yan Kuznetsov, who corralled the puck and ripped a shot past Copley to put Calgary up 3-1.

A BULLET!!! pic.twitter.com/RfwoJl3c5v

— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) April 5, 2025

The more comfortable Wranglers braced themselves for the final push from the Reign in the last half of the period. Ontario pulled their netminder at 16:31 and got three shots on Devin Cooley before regulation ran out. Calgary picked up the win with a 3-1 final score and shots finished 24-23 for Ontario. All three stars of the game went to Wranglers, with Carter Wilkie getting the first, Sam Morton getting the second and Devin Cooley getting the third.

Scoring stat summary​

Rory Kerins – 1A

Ilya Solovyov – 1A

Ty Tullio – 1G

Carter Wilkie – 1G

Yan Kuznetsov – 1G

Sam Morton – 2A

Jonathan Aspirot – 1A

Highlights​

Next up​

The Wranglers and Reign’s rematch is less than 24 hours later at the Saddledome. The back end of this back-to-back will get started at 1:00 p.m. MT.

Sponsored by bet365:

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/recap-early-jump-earns-wranglers-3-1-win-over-the-reign-on-saturday

 

[Calgary Flames]

BARN BURNER CANDY BRACKET: THE FINALS ARE HERE!

VOTE LINK

https://commoninja.site/d2258fc2-2c23-444d-b89e-c1a853e20231

After a sugar-fueled showdown that’s seen fan-favorite candies go head-to-head in heated matchups, we’ve officially reached the final round of the Barn Burner Candy Bracket!

It’s all come down to Skittles vs Sour Patch Kids – two powerhouse sweets that chewed through the competition with ease.

How We Got Here:​

• 
  Sour Patch Kids cruised past Gummy Bears, Mike & Ike, and Fuzzy Peaches, proving that sour-then-sweet is a winning formula.
  
• 
  Skittles battled through Twizzlers, Swedish Berries, and the always-popular Cola Bottles to claim their spot in the final.
  

The full bracket shows a wild ride of upsets, blowouts, and razor-thin victories – from Gummy Bears vs Nerds to Cola Bottles dominating Blue Whales. (Check the attached bracket and voting rounds to relive the path to the finals!)

Now it’s up to you to crown the ultimate candy champ. Will it be the rainbow chew of Skittles, or the tangy punch of Sour Patch Kids?

Voting runs from Monday, April 7th at 10 AM until Friday, April 11th at 11 AM.

This is it. No second chances. Only one candy will reign supreme.

Let the finals begin!

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/barn-burner-candy-bracket-the-finals-are-here

 

[Calgary Flames]

FlamesNation Mailbag: Delving into your questions with six games to go!

The Calgary Flames have six games remaining on their regular season schedule. They remain mathematically in contention for a berth in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, though they have their work cut out for them if they’re hoping to chase down the Minnesota Wild.

As a big, big week looms for the Flames, let’s dive into the mailbag!

I could Google this myself, but then what would Ryan do all day?

Why are the rights for different drafted players held for different amount of years? Why do their club rights expire after 2, 3 or 4 years or are held indefinitely?

— Forever Red (@FanInSectionG44) April 6, 2025

The amount of years an NHL club keeps a drafted player’s rights are negotiated as part of the collective bargaining agreement. Broadly-speaking, it’s four years for Europeans, two years for CHL players, and until a player graduates for college players. Back in the day things were a bit more one-size-fits-all, but over the years things have been tweaked and tinkered with until we reached the current system.

And Russian players are the only ones that have their rights held indefinitely, and that’s just because of a lack of a transfer agreement between the NHL and the Russian ice hockey federation.

Flames are devoid of Center prospects, what are they not liking with Giants Centerman Lipinski? Other he would be signed already..

— Derek (@KohutD) April 6, 2025

The big question with prospects is usually “What’s their upside?” You don’t sign prospects just to sign them, you sign them because you think they have attributes or qualities that give them NHL upside. I don’t want to nitpick Jaden Lipinski specifically – I’ve liked him in junior and he hasn’t played enough pro hockey for me to really have a read on him there – but scouts and development staff are trying to use the information available to them to project if 18, 19 and 20-year-olds will become good pros or even NHLers. It’s a tough thing to do, and it involves making judgment calls with what you think you know about players.

Why is yegor still in the lineup when we have suniev sitting watching games? We need scoring and he just turns the puck over whenever he has it

— Mikelitoris90 (@Mikelitoris901) April 6, 2025

I’m going to make a broad statement and a few specific statements here. First of all, the Flames are where they are because of the players that have been on the team all year. You can nitpick individual performances – and it’s probably fair to do so from time to time – but the 20-odd players on the team are the ones that helped this team get close to a playoff spot. They deserve the chance to finish the job.

Regarding Yegor Sharangovich specifically: he’s played over 300 games and the Flames have a good idea of his peaks and valleys at the NHL level, and can probably live with the downsides of his game. Aydar Suniev is 20, and to be blunt, the Flames know a lot less about how he’ll perform in the NHL. And the Flames really like Suniev, want him to succeed, and probably don’t want to throw him into a position where a mistake costs the team a playoff berth.

(See also: Zayne Parekh probably not playing NHL games until the Flames have clinched or been eliminated for similar reasons.)

Why are hotdogs at the saddledome $6 but pocket dogs are $9? Aren’t they pretty much the same thing? The only difference is how the bun is cut.

— Forever Red (@FanInSectionG44) April 6, 2025

In a previous life I ran a movie theatre, and the costs at the concessions are primarily based on the food costs of the individual items. The buns and dogs in pocket dogs are different (fancier!) than regular hot dogs, so they cost more.

What do you think are the team’s three biggest off season priorities?

— Eudaimonic (@JCanadiann) April 6, 2025

1) Figure out a Dustin Wolf extension.

2) Figure out Rasmus Andersson’s future with the club – suss out if you can work out an extension, otherwise start exploring trade options.

3) Find a bit more scoring for 2025-26, whether that’s by adding some youth or by adding veterans, or both.

From David via e-mail: The debate continues about whether CHL players assigned at the end of their season can play in the AHL playoffs if they are assigned to the AHL? Could an underager like Parekh be assigned to the Wranglers now that his CHL season is over and play in the AHL playoffs?

No. Essentially, the rule is that to go down to the Wranglers from the NHL after the trade deadline, you have to be on the AHL roster as of the trade deadline. You can go up from juniors, or join an AHL club via juniors or college on amateur try-out deals, but you can’t go to NHL and then go down to the AHL.

Please go out on a limb. Do the Flames make this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs or not?

— Ed Helinski (@MrEd315) April 6, 2025

A lot needs to go the Flames’ way for them to make the playoffs. Right now, I think they narrowly miss the playoffs. But it’d be fun to be proven wrong.

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-delving-into-your-questions-with-six-games-to-go

 

[Calgary Flames]

Instant Reaction: Flames rally back to beat the Sharks

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 headed into the Bay Arena on Monday night simply needing to get two points against the San Jose Sharks. They were not especially good in the first period and were merely fine in the second frame. But a fantastic third period gave the Flames exactly what they needed – a bunch of goals.

The Flames beat the Sharks by a 3-2 score to remain alive in the Western Conference playoff picture.

The rundown​

The Flames were pretty disjointed in the opening period, while the Sharks were pretty energetic. Dustin Wolf was really good, and faced way too many quality chances.

Late in the first period, the Sharks opened the scoring. Nikolai Kovalenko beat out Rasmus Andersson to a loose puck behind the net, and Kovalenko fed Will Smith in front of the net. Smith beat Wolf to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead.

The Flames get caught puck watching and it ends up in the back of their net. 1-0 San Jose.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/I4PkQDGRMB

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 8, 2025

First period shots were 18-8 Sharks. Via Natural Stat Trick, five-on-five scoring chances were 13-12 Sharks (high-danger chances were 8-2 Sharks).

Neither team scored in the second period, but the Flames were a lot better than in the first.

Second period shots were 11-8 Flames. Five-on-five scoring chances were 12-7 Flames (high-danger chances were 3-2 Sharks).

The Flames kept pressing in the third period.

Midway through the third, Martin Pospisil crashed into the boards awkwardly and Adam Klapka subbed in on Nazem Kadri’s line… and it resulted in a goal! Kadri and Klapka went in on an odd-man rush. Kadri’s initial shot was stopped by Georgi Romanov, but Klapka jammed in the rebound to tie the game at 1-1.

FLAMES GOAL

Adam Klapka puts home a rebound and ties the game for Calgary!

: NBC Sports | #Flames pic.twitter.com/7WSckT8Adn

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 8, 2025

A little later, Klapka was hauled down and the Flames got a power play. With Jonathan Huberdeau parked in front of Romanov, Morgan Frost fired the puck into the Sharks cage to give the Flames a 2-1 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Morgan Frost scores on the power play! The Flames come back once again.

: NBC Sports | #Flames pic.twitter.com/Iaz3DkuS9W

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 8, 2025

A little later still, Mikael Backlund provided some back-pressure on a Sharks defender as they attempted to skate the puck out of their end. Matt Coronato took advantage of that distraction to swipe the puck, skate in and beat Romanov to give the Flames a 3-1 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Matt Coronato takes advantage of a San Jose turn over and he buries it! What a shot!

: NBC Sports | #Flames pic.twitter.com/4CYTDLy0Dl

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 8, 2025

The Sharks got a late power play and, with Romanov off for the extra attacker to make it a six-on-four advantage, Smith scored his second of the game to cut Calgary’s lead down to 3-2.

Will Smith cuts the Flames lead in half.

: NBC Sports | #Flames pic.twitter.com/JW17sdmxql

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 8, 2025

But that’s as close as the Sharks got, and the Flames escaped the Shark Tank with a 3-2 victory.

Third period shots were 13-5 Flames. Five-on-five scoring chances were 8-2 Flames (high-danger chances were 5-1 Flames).

Why the Flames won​

This can’t have been an easy day for the Flames with Greg Millen’s passing. They looked a bit rattled and off their game early on, and you have to give them credit for finding their rhythm as this game went along. Wolf was excellent throughout this game, and the Flames found their execution and desperation in third frame.

Red Warrior​

Klapka continues to be a gem on the fourth line, and when he was elevated, the Flames found an extra gear.

Honourable mention to Wolf, who was fantastic.

Turning point​

Let’s just say “the third period,” especially that seven minute segment where they scored three goals and found their offensive swagger.

This and that​

After the passing of Greg Millen on Monday, Sportsnet carried the NBC Sports broadcast of Monday’s game rather than produce their own broadcast.

Randy Hahn of NBC Sports California remembered Greg Millen during tonight's Flames vs. Sharks game.

"All of us here with the San Jose Sharks and NBC Sports would like to express our sincerest condolences to all of you and especially the Millen family." https://t.co/gUZaMgpu4c pic.twitter.com/zTEukTVsjZ

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 8, 2025

Up next​

The Flames (37-27-13) are back in action on Wednesday night when they visit the Anaheim Ducks.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/instant-reaction-flames-rally-back-to-beat-the-sharks

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames prospect roundup: Several prospects’ seasons have come to an end

There are only a handful of Calgary Flames prospects still playing playoff games.

This is the Mar. 31 – Apr. 6 edition of the Flames prospect roundup, where we look at how Calgary Flames prospects did this past week, specifically those at the junior and college levels. The American Hockey League prospects have their own article in the Wranglers recaps.

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

Zayne Parekh​

Unfortunately, the Saginaw Spirit and Zayne Parekh won’t get the opportunity to defend their Memorial Cup, as they fell in five games to the Erie Otters.

They got a much-needed win in Game 3, as Parekh picked up an assist and scored twice, including the overtime winner. Parekh had an assist in their 7-3 Game 4 loss and an additional assist in the 6-3 loss that clinched the series.

THE SPIRIT STRIKE FIRST@NHLFlames prospect Zayne Parekh connects with Kristian Epperson on the back door, and Epperson buries it to give @SpiritHockey an early 1-0 lead!#OHLPlayoffs | @CHLHockey | #Flames pic.twitter.com/ZN07UCRvuu

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 3, 2025

In the five games, Parekh had two goals and nine points. For the regular season, the right-shot defenceman scored 33 goals and 107 points. He may get an opportunity to play in the National Hockey League to end the season.

Matvei Gridin​

It wasn’t perfect, but Matvei Gridin and the Shawinigan Cataractes are moving on to the second round of the Québec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playoffs.

Heading into this past week with a 2-0 series lead, the Cataractes fell 4-3 in overtime to the Val-d’Or Foreurs to cut their series lead in half, with Gridin scoring his second of the post-season. It was all the Cataractes from there, though, as they scored four second period goals for the 4-0 win. Gridin picked up an assist. In the series-clinching Game 5, Gridin scored twice and picked up a primary assist in a 5-2 win. So far this post-season, the winger has four goals and 10 points.

TourignyGridin (!!)#JeSuisCataractes#Flames pic.twitter.com/XfK4hLxE7Y

— Cataractes de Shawinigan (@Cataractes_Shaw) April 5, 2025

The QMJHL first round is still ongoing, as the Halifax Mooseheads have taken the Drummondville Voltigeurs to seven games. If the Mooseheads win, the Cataractes will play the Sherbrooke Phœnix. If the Voltigeurs win, the Cataractes will face the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, even more isolated than the Val-d’Or Foreurs.

Andrew Basha​

Andrew Basha has yet to play in the post-season, but his top-ranked Medicine Hat Tigers easily disposed of the Swift Current Broncos in five games. They fell 5-4 in Game 3, but won Game 4 by a score of 4-3 in overtime, followed by a 3-2 win to clinch the series. Basha was on the bench as they clinched the series, celebrating with his team.

Find someone who is happier that the @tigershockey are moving on than Andrew Basha!@NHLFlames | #Flames | #WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/OHv4oGJRtH

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) April 5, 2025

The final Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference series has yet to be decided, as the Prince Albert Raiders and Edmonton Oil Kings need to play a Game 7. After that’s done, the Tigers will know their opponent.

Jacob Battaglia and Henry Mews​

It wasn’t even a close series between Jacob Battalgia’s Kingston Frontenacs and Henry Mews’ Sudbury Wolves. Coming into the week, the Frontenacs were up 2-0, and it took only two games to clinch their ticket to the second round.

Game 3 saw the Frontenacs defeat the Wolves 4-2 to put the Northern Ontario team on the ropes. Battalgia and Mews each picked up an assist. In the series-clinching Game 4, Battalgia broke the 2-2 deadlock midway through the third period with his first goal of the post-season, helping the Frontenacs move on.

BATES COMES THROUGH!@NHLFlames | #Flames https://t.co/SBZRTQ2q8L pic.twitter.com/gwrqPDQHgN

— Kingston Frontenacs (@KingstonFronts) April 4, 2025

The Frontenacs will face the Barrie Colts in the second round of the Ontario Hockey League post-season, with Game 1 coming on Thursday at 5:00 PM MT. Game 2, also in Barrie, will be covered in next week’s roundup.

Kirill Zarubin​

Kirill Zarubin and the Tula Mikailov Academy played three games this past week, winning Game 1 of their post-season 3-1, followed by a 2-1 and 4-2 loss to fall to 2-1 down in the series.

The first game didn’t feature Zarubin as he backed up Ilya Kanarsky, who saved 67 of 68 shots for a .985 save percentage. I’ve never seen that before. Zarubin played in Game 2, saving 45 of 47 shots for a .957 save percentage, but he had a lack of run support. Kanarsky returned between the pipes in their 4-2 defeat, allowing four goals on 43 shots for a .907 save percentage.

However, the good news is that Mikhailov Academy is still alive. On Tuesday, they host JHC Dynamo SPB in Game 4 at 9:30 AM MT.

Luke Misa​

Another Flame prospect’s Canadian Hockey League season has come to an end, as Luke Misa and the Brampton Steelheads fell in six games to the Oshawa Generals.

Coming into the week, the two teams had split the first two games, but the Generals took control from there on out. Game 3 saw the Steelheads fall 7-5, with Misa picking up an assist. They fell to 3-1 in Game 4 as they lost 4-1, with Misa picking up the secondary assist on their lone goal. In the potential series-clinching Game 5, Misa scored once and picked up four assists as the Steelheads defeated the Generals 6-3 to stay alive. Unfortunately, they fell 4-1 in Game 6, with Misa picking up another assist.

Sometimes you gotta just catch your own rebound pic.twitter.com/oJvllfxvl6

— Brampton Steelheads (@OHLSteelheads) April 5, 2025

Misa finished his post-season with two goals and 12 points in six games. We’ll see if he signs an amateur tryout to finish his season with the Calgary Wranglers.

Hunter Laing and Axel Hurtig​

Two Flames late-round picks matched up in the Western Hockey League’s first round: Hunter Laing’s Saskatoon Blades and Axel Hurtig’s Calgary Hitmen.

Coming into the week, the Hitmen got the better of the Blades in the first two games, and that dominance continued in Games 3 and 4 as the Hitmen continued that in a four-game sweep. In Game 3, Hurtig picked up an assist in a 4-1 win, while Laing was a -3. Game 4 saw the Hitmen win 6-2, with both Laing and Hurtig being held pointless.

Laing finished his post-season with a goal in four games, while Hurtig had two assists in those four games. The Hitmen continue their post-season with a match-up against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Game 1 will be on Apr. 10 at 7:00 PM MT in Calgary, followed by Game 2 on Apr. 12 at 6:00 PM MT.

Eric Jamieson​

It may have been tough, but Eric Jamieson and the Everett Silvertips got it done.

Finishing first in the Western Hockey League, they’re in tough against the Seattle Thunderbirds, as the two teams split the first two games coming into this week. Game 3 saw Jamieson finish with a -1 and five shots on goal in a 6-3 loss. However, the Silvertips answered back with a 6-2 win in Game 4 and a 7-4 win in Game 5 – Jamieson being held pointless in both games.

Game 6 went to double overtime in what became an instant classic. Fighting for their playoff lives, the Thunderbirds put 57 shots on the Silvertips net, with the Silvertips picking up 48 shots of their own. The last one of the series is the one that counted, as Lukas Kaplan scored off a face-off for the 1-0 win and the 4-2 series winner.

Next up for the Silvertips is another match-up against a Northwest Pacific team in America, as they face off against the Portland Winterhawks.

Étienne Morin​

Like Jamieson, Étienne Morin’s Moncton Wildcats finished first in their league. Unlike the Silvertips, the Wildcats won all four games against the Québec Remparts.

Coming into this week, the Wildcats had a 2-0 lead. It wasn’t easy, as Game 2 was the only game where the Wildcats didn’t win 4-3, and even that was a lot closer than the score suggests. Morin picked up two assists in Game 3, a 4-3 overtime victory, and picked up an assist in their 4-3 regulation victory in Game 4.

Next up for the Wildcats are the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. This post-season, Morin has a goal and six points in four games.

Jaden Lipinski​

Jaden Lipinski’s season with the Vancouver Giants came to an early end, as they fell in five games to the Spokane Chiefs.

Coming into the series, the Chiefs had a 2-0 series lead, but Lipinski and the Giants cut that in half with their Game 3 win. Lipinski picked up an assist in their 3-2 win. It went downhill from there, though, as the Chiefs won Game 4 by a score of 6-2, followed by a 9-4 win in Game 5. Lipinski was held pointless in Game 4, but scored a goal and an assist in Game 5.

It's a 8-4 game! Thanks to Jaden Lipinski!@TheWHL | @NHLFlames | #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/H10zICgXSn

— X – Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) April 6, 2025

Lipinski finished his post-season with two goals and five points in five games. The right-shot centre has already played with the American Hockey League Calgary Wranglers this season, so it’s not out of the question he returns to the professional team for their stretch run.

Arsenii Sergeev​

Arsenii Sergeev didn’t play this past week, but he will in the coming week as his Penn State takes on Boston University in the Frozen Four. That game is on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. MT. What a nice run they’ve had.

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

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames-prospect-roundup-several-prospects-seasons-have-come-to-an-end

 

[Calgary Flames]

Throwback Tuesday: Looking all seven Flames trades with the Ducks

It’s been a hot minute since the Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames made a trade.

Earlier this season, when the two teams matched up, we looked at the penalty-filled 2006 post-season. There have been two post-season matchups between the two teams since then, with the Ducks getting the better of the Flames in five games during the 2015 post-season, and sweeping them in the 2017 post-season.

Instead, we’ll look at the seven trades between the two teams since the Ducks joined the league in 1993-94 as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The most recent trade came over a decade ago.

The first trade​

On Oct. 30, 1995, the Flames sent Bobby Marshall to the Ducks in exchange for Jarrod Skalde.

Marshall, a defenceman, was selected in the sixth round of the 1991 draft. After three seasons at Miami University in Ohio, he joined the Saint John Flames of the American Hockey League, scoring seven goals and 31 points in his first season. After just 10 games in his sophomore season, Marshall was on the move and finished the season with the Ducks’ AHL team, scoring three goals and 31 points to give him three goals and 36 points for the season.

The North York, Ontario native spent another full season in the AHL in 1996-97, scoring one goal and 36 points, but spent the rest of his career in the Central Hockey League, Germany, United Hockey League, and Western Professional Hockey League. The latter was created by former Flames general manager Brad Treliving.

Skalde had a long career, as he was drafted in the second round of the 1989 draft. He played just one game with the Flames in the NHL, but scored 32 goals and 68 points with their AHL team after the trade. For his career, Skalde played 115 games with 13 goals and 34 points with the New Jersey Devils, Ducks, Flames, San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Thrashers, and Philadelphia Flyers.

The three big ones​

The three biggest trades between the two teams came in a three-year stretch. On Jun. 10, 2000, the first one was made as the Flames traded Jean-Sébastien Giguère to the Ducks for a 2000 second-round pick

Up to this point, Giguère was just a high-potential goalie who hadn’t found results quite yet. That changed after the trade, finishing the 2000-01 season with a .911 save percentage in 34 games. He took over the Ducks’ crease in 2001-02, finishing the season with a .920 save percentage and 2.13 goals against average in 53 games.

The next season, Giguère had the same save percentage and 2.30 goals against average in 65 games. He dragged the Ducks to the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, where they fell in seven games. Giguère finished with an incredible .945 save percentage in that run, winning the Conn Smythe, just the fifth player on the losing team to win it. He was the latest as well until Connor McDavid won it in the 2024 post-season.

Giguère eventually won his Stanley Cup with the team in 2007 and finished his Ducks career with a .914 save percentage and 2.47 goals against average. He’s the best Ducks netminder in franchise history and finished his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche.

As for the pick, it was used to select Matt Pettinger, but not by the Flames. Before the 2000 draft, they traded it to the Washington Capitals for Miika Elomo, who played two NHL games, none with the Flames, and the Ducks’ 2000 fourth-rounder, used to select Hungarian Levente Szuper. I wrote more about this particular trade in this Throwback Tuesday here.

The Flames won the next trade, though. On Sep. 26, 2000, they traded Andrei Nazarov and a 2001 second-round pick for the rights to Jordan Leopold. Nazarov was acquired in the Michael Nylander trade in early 1999 and was coming off a season in which he scored 10 goals and 32 points in 1990-2000. He never came close to reaching those highs again, with his next best season coming in 2001-02, where he scored six goals and 11 points.

As for the pick, it eventually returned to the Flames in a trade with the Phoenix Coyotes, it’s a whole thing. Andrei Taratukhin was picked by the Flames and played just one season in North America with the AHL’s Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights.

Taratukhin played with Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik in 2013-14, four seasons later, Nazarov coached that team, but Tratukhin was no longer on it. They were also nearly teammates on Omsk Avangard, but Taratukhin played there in 2002-03 and 2003-04, while Nazarov played there during the lockout season in 2004-05.

Leopold was the best piece of the trade, with the left-shot defenceman playing parts of four seasons with the Flames in two separate stints. He scored nine goals and 33 points with the team in 2003-04, and added 10 assists during their run to the Stanley Cup Finals. They eventually traded him to the Colorado Avalanche before the 2006 draft for Alex Tanguay, and got him back in a trade before the 2009 trade deadline.

After the 2008-09 season, Leopold bounced around the league quite a bit, playing for the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009-10. He spent three seasons with the Buffalo Sabres after the 2009-10 season, scoring a career-high of 13 goals and 35 points in 71 games in 2010-11, but was eventually traded to the St. Louis Blues before the 2013 deadline. In his final season in 2014-15, Leopold split his time between the Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Minnesota Wild.

The last big trade between the two teams saw the Flames send Rob Niedermayer to the Ducks for Mike Commodore and Jean-François Damphousse. Starting with Damphousse, he played just six National Hockey League games, 10 with the Flames organization, before retiring after the 2004-05 season.

Commodore, a defenceman, had limited games with the Flames during the regular season, picking up one assist in 18 games between two seasons. However, he was a key shutdown defender during the Flames’ Stanley Cup Final run in 2004, playing 20 games with two assists. Commodore won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006, and played until the NHL until the 2011-12 season, retiring after the 2013-14 season.

As for Niedermayer, he won the 2007 Stanley Cup with the Ducks, scoring five goals and 10 points in 21 post-season games. He retired after the 2010-11 season, finishing his career with 186 goals and 469 points in 1,153 games.

The three most recent trades​

Since the 2009-10 season, there have been three trades between the teams.

The first of the three came on Mar. 3, 2010, as the Flames traded Curtis McElhinney to the Ducks for Vesa Toskala, yes, that Vesa Toskala who allowed a shot in from the opposite end of the ice. Toskala played six games for the Flames that season, posting a .918 save percentage and 2.27 goals against average before playing two seasons in the Nordic countries to end his career.

McElhinney spent his career as a journeyman backup netminder, getting his start with the Flames, but playing with the Ducks, Ottawa Senators, Phoenix Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, and Tampa Bay Lightning. He was on the team when the Lightning won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021.

On Jun. 10, 2010, the Flames traded Jason Jaffray for Logan MacMillan. Jaffray played 49 NHL games with four goals and 11 points, but only three games came with the Flames. MacMillan was selected 19th overall in the 2007 draft, but only played three seasons professionally in North America, before finishing his career in Austria and Great Britain.

The most recent trade between the two teams came on November 21, 2013, as the Flames sent defenceman Tim Jackman to the Ducks for the 2014 sixth-round pick. Jackman’s career-high came in 2010-11 with the Flames, scoring 10 goals and 23 points in 82 games, but he never came close to that success again, finishing his Flames career with 13 goals and 36 points. With the Ducks, he scored eight goals and 11 points in 83 games over three seasons.

As for the pick, the Flames used it to select defenceman Adam Ollas Mattsson. He played parts of three seasons with the Stockton Heat of the American Hockey League, but has spent the past six seasons playing in Sweden. He is the only player in this article who is still active.

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

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/throwback-tuesday-looking-all-seven-flames-trades-with-the-ducks

 

[Calgary Flames]

Why Zayne Parekh should play in important games for the Flames

The Zayne Parekh era in Calgary has officially begun. The Flames recalled their star defensive prospect from the OHL on Tuesday afternoon. Flames fans are excited for the potential see the 9th overall pick from the 2024 draft in game action over the next nine days.

The question now becomes when will we see Parekh play for the Flames?

Should Ryan Huska put him in the lineup for must win games down the stretch?

Or should Huska wait to play Parekh until the Flames are mathematically eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs?

Let’s take a look at both sides of the argument and come to a conclusion at the end of the article.

Play him​

Simply put, Zayne Parekh will make the Calgary Flames a better hockey team with him in the lineup.

What do the Flames need help with? Scoring goals. Creating offence. The power play. Parekh has the potential to make a positive difference in all of those aspects of the Flames game. He brings an elite set of offensive skills to the Flames. It’s something that this team does not have.

He’s coming off a couple historic campaigns in the OHL where he became the first defenceman since Bobby Orr to score 30 goals in consecutive years. This season, he led OHL defencemen in points with 107 and plus/minus with a +42

Parekh can be an asset when it comes to moving the puck up the ice to his forwards, and carrying the puck up the ice with possession making plays. Something the third pair has had difficulty with at times recently.

One of Parekh’s most impressive skills is his ability to walk the blueline and get pucks through traffic on net. That is exactly what the second power play unit needs right now. Parekh is would already be an upgrade on Rasmus Andersson on PP2 even as a 19 year old.

Zayne Parekh makes it look effortless

Throwing it back to @ZayneParekh’s hat trick against the Flint Firebirds ahead of the 2024 #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/myH5Z6SVIH

— Saginaw Spirit (@SpiritHockey) June 27, 2024

The key for the coaching staff would be setting Parekh up for success. Play him in a sheltered role on the third pairing at 5-on-5 along side Jake Bean. Let him quarterback the second power play unit. Don’t play him on the penalty kill. Set low expectations for the player and the fan base.

And it’s not like the Flames are playing upper echelon teams in the NHL over the next few games. You’re playing Parekh against the Ducks, Wild, and Sharks. The Kings and Golden Knights will be likely sit their star players. Parekh isn’t going to be matched up against the leagues best players.

In order to get Parekh in the lineup and play him on his strong side, the Flames would have to sit a guy like Brayden Pachal which wouldn’t be a huge deal as he has been a healthy scratch in six of the last 17 games.

Sit him​

The Calgary Flames are in the middle of a push to the playoffs where every game is a must win. Asking a 19 year old defenceman to play his first NHL game under those circumstances is a lot of pressure to put on his shoulders, even if he does play a limited role.

The jump from the OHL to the NHL is huge, especially at this time of year. Going from playing 17-20 year olds in Saginaw, to playing against grown men will be a major adjustment. And it might be too much too soon.

There is no denying that Parekh has the offensive skillset to play in the NHL. He would instantly become the most talented defender on the Calgary Flames.

But the concern for many fans and Flames observers is the play in his own end. The knock against Parekh throughout his junior career has been that he is a poor defender. We saw that from Parekh during the Penticton rookie camp, Flames training camp, and the preseason. He looked overwhelmed and had a difficult time keeping up with the pace of pro hockey.

The Calgary Flames play in a lot of one goal games. In fact, Calgary leads the NHL in the most time spent playing in close games (tied, leading by 1, trailing by one).

Via Natural Stat Trick, the #Flames have spent the most time in close games this season – up 1, down 1 or tied – of any NHL club. pic.twitter.com/Lx5mliSb8y

— Ryan Pike (@RyanNPike) April 8, 2025

Do you really want a 19 year old who is prone to defensive gaffs in his own end to be playing in tight checking, must win games? There is a risk to having him playing on a third pairing.

On top of all that, Parekh hasn’t even skated with the team yet. Today’s morning skate will be his first time on the ice with his NHL teammates since training camp. Is he going to be able to get up to speed quick enough to be able to be in lockstep with his teammates?

Speaking of his teammates, how would they feel about seeing one of their own be a healthy scratch for a 19 year old straight out of the OHL? This is a group that has got to this point together, why break that up now?

My 2 cents​

I think having Zayne Parekh in the Flames lineup gives them a better chance to win than with him in the press box. He brings a elite offensive skillset to a Calgary team that desperately needs help generating offence and scoring goals. That has been their achilles heel all season.

If they were a good offensive team and needed help defending, then putting a guy like Parekh in the lineup wouldn’t make sense. But because they struggle to score as much as they do, I don’t think it makes sense leaving the greatest offensive defensemen in modern OHL history in the stands when your team needs to score more goals.

Could he have a couple blunders in his own end? Yes, of course. At the same time there have been a lot of blunders and turnovers from guys like Rasmus Andersson, Jake Bean, and Brayden Pachal this season. Making mistakes is part of the game. Blunders don’t worry me. Not scoring goals is what worries me. And if Parekh can help generate some goals, then it’s worth the risk of playing him.

I don’t see an issue playing Parekh on a third pair at 5-on-5 and get him to run the second power play unit. Give him a limited role and set realistic expectations and I think he’ll be fine. No one is expecting him to come in and be a saviour.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/why-zayne-parekh-should-play-in-important-games-for-the-flames

 

[Calgary Flames]

Instant Reaction: Flames let one get away in Anaheim

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 went into Anaheim needing to get two points against the Ducks on Wednesday night to fuel their playoff hopes and dreams. The Flames, with less than five minutes left in the third period, had a two-goal lead against the Ducks.

But the Flames let this game slip away, as they allowed two quick goals to Anaheim to get this game to overtime, and the Ducks beat the Flames by a 4-3 score in extra time.

The rundown​

The first period was fairly even, in the sense that the Flames had the puck more but both teams were pretty even in meaningful puck possession.

Neither team scored a goal. The period was – aside from a mix-up on a high-sticking penalty call that first gave a double-minor to Nazem Kadri, then upon review wiped out the minor entirely – kinda dul..

First period shots were 13-7 Flames. Via Natural Stat Trick, five-on-five scoring chances were 5-5 (high-danger chances were 4-1 Flames).

In the second period, the Flames were a bit more patient and so they ended up turning puck possession into dangerous chances more often than in the opening 20 minutes.

14:18 into the second period, the Flames finally solved Ville Husso. The Flames chased down an errant puck that drifted into the Anaheim zone, then cycled the puck to the point. MacKenzie Weegar’s point shot was redirected by Mikael Backlund and wobbled into the Ducks net to give the Flames a 1-0 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

The captain opens the scoring in Anaheim!

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

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 10, 2025

Second period shots were 11-5 Flames. Five-on-five scoring chances were 12-4 Flames (high-danger chances were 7-1 Flames).

The Flames had a pair of third period power plays, which gave them a pair of opportunities to grab hold of the game. They didn’t generate very much with either man advantage.

A little bit after their second PP of the period expired, the Ducks had the Flames on their heels with their forecheck and the visitors were a bit too casual with the puck in their own end. The Flames turned over the puck, and Trevor Zegras sniped a shot bar-down over Dustin Wolf’s shoulder to tie the game at 1-1.

Trevor Zegras ties the game for the Ducks

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

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 10, 2025

The Flames battled back, though, and Yegor Sharangovich managed to score. A nice pass gave him a scoring chance right in front of the net, and he managed to drive the net and bury his own rebound to give the Flames a 2-1 edge.

FLAMES GOAL

Yegor Sharangovich gets the lead back for Calgary!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/Rfbwz2rf4t

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 10, 2025

A little later, a pass from Blake Coleman sent Backlund and Matt Coronato into the Ducks zone. Backlund fired the puck on net and Husso booted out a rebound. Coronato beat out the Ducks defenders to the rebound and beat Husso to give the Flames a 3-1 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Matt Coronato puts the Flames up by two! That's his 23rd goal of the season!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/ZsbAbDxC4e

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 10, 2025

But the Ducks battled back and scored twice in a nine second span to tie the game up. First, Frank Vatrano buried a one-timer feed from Olen Zellweger past Wolf off a nice rush passing play to make it 3-2.

Anaheim cuts the Flames lead in half.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/xfMIlKGx9F

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 10, 2025

Just after that, the Ducks entered the Flames zone after the next face-off and Cutter Gauthier fooled Wolf with a deceptive shot release to beat the Flames’ netminder low and tie the game at 3-3.

Cutter Gauthier ties the game for Anaheim

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/yT3L6d8K4o

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 10, 2025

Third period shots were 15-10 Flames. Five-on-five scoring chances were 8-7 Ducks (high-danger chances were 3-0 Flames).

This game went to overtime. And in overtime, Gauthier got a clear look on an odd-man rush (with Backlund caught up ice) and he fired the puck past Wolf to give the Ducks a 4-3 victory.

Cutter Gauthier wins it in overtime. Flames lose 4-3.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/03YNoDHw6A

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 10, 2025

Why the Flames got a point​

The Flames were generally pretty good in this game. But let’s pick on a few things: their power play was quite bad – they went 0-for-6 – and they were way too leaky defensively in the third period. The opportunities to grab hold of this game and run away with it presented themselves frequently, but the Flames just couldn’t do it.

Red Warrior​

We’ll give it to the Backlund-Coleman-Coronato trio. They were generally very good, especially at five-on-five.

Turning point​

Leading 3-1 and with their playoff hopes on the line, the Flames allowed two goals in eight seconds in the third period. That’s unacceptable for a team with playoff aspirations.

This and that​

The Sportsnet team returned to action after not broadcasting Monday’s game due to Greg Millen’s passing. Fittingly, the Flames broadcast was worked in Millen’s memory.

Backlund’s goal was his 212th as a Flame, tying him with Sean Monahan for eighth in franchise history.

Morgan Frost left the game twice after awkward collisions. Once briefly in the second period after colliding with teammate MacKenzie Weegar on the power play, then in third period after colliding with Zellweger near the end boards. He didn’t return to the game after the second collision.

Up next​

The Flames (37-27-14) are headed home. They’ll host the Minnesota Wild on Friday night at the Saddledome.

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 best warranty in the business with ten year warranties available. Check out the showroom at 2720 Barlow Trail NE or online at www.mitsu.ca

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/instant-reaction-flames-let-one-get-away-in-anaheim

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames goaltending prospect Arsenii Sergeev has earned the spotlight at the Frozen Four

Way, way back in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Calgary Flames selected promising young goaltender Dustin Wolf in the seventh round. So far, you could say it’s worked out pretty well for the Flames.

Well, the Flames opted for another late-round goalie two years later, selecting Russian-born netminder Arsenii Sergeev in the seventh round out of the North American Hockey League’s Shreveport MudBugs. It was a bit of a gamble at the time, rolling the dice on (a) a Russian, (b) a goalie, (c) a player from the fairly obscure NAHL, a level below the United States Hockey League and (d) a player playing in the hockey hotbed of Shreveport, Louisiana.

But nearly four years after that selection, Sergeev will be taking the spotlight at the NCAA’s Frozen Four – the semi-final and final event of college’s national championship tournament – after back-stopping the Penn State Nittany Lions to a fairly miraculous second-half turnaround.

Even before he was selected by the Flames at 205th overall in 2021, Sergeev had himself a unique hockey journey. A product of Yaroslavl, Russia, he worked his way up through Russian youth hockey before deciding in 2019 – as a 16-year-old – to move to North America to pursue his hockey dreams. He spent the 2019-20 season bouncing around three teams in three different levels, including a brief stint with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede – before landing in the NAHL for his draft year.

Sergeev helped backstop the MudBugs to the NAHL’s championship, the Robertson Cup, and that got him selected by the Flames and earned him an opportunity in the USHL with the Tri-City Storm for the 2021-22 season. Seemingly destined to be backup to Washington Capitals prospect Chase Clark in Tri-City – or at best in a tandem – Sergeev was good enough to take over the net entirely, and he was named the USHL’s top goaltender that season.

The next stop for Sergeev was college, where he spent two seasons with the University of Connecticut Huskies. The good news is that Sergeev was pretty good, but UConn’s coaches didn’t seem to have the patience for some growing pains while trying to remain competitive in a strong Hockey East conference, and so Sergeev ended up playing sporadically. His numbers were solid, but he wasn’t getting much growth or traction due to the stop-and-start nature of his usage. He entered the transfer portal after the 2023-24 season and was picked up by Penn State.

To their credit, Penn State’s coaching staff was pretty blunt about why they targeted Sergeev in the portal: they needed a reliable starter, and they felt he could be the guy. And to their credit, they stuck to their word. Even after Sergeev was injured in mid-November and John Seifarth played really well in relief, Penn State went right back to Sergeev when he was cleared for action in January.

And for that loyalty, Penn State has been rewarded handsomely. In 23 appearances back from injury, starting with his Jan. 3 game at Wrigley Field, Sergeev is 15-4-4 with a 2.63 goals against average, .921 save percentage and three shutouts. He has back-stopped Penn State to wins in 13 of their last 16 games, including a 42-save overtime victory over UConn (his old team) in the regional bracket final back on Mar. 30 to get Penn State into the Frozen Four.

Three times since coming to North America, Sergeev has been told by his coaches that he’s “the guy” in net for his team. At Shreveport, he helped his team win their league’s championship. At Tri-City, he was the top goalie in the league and helped his team to a superb regular season finish. And now, at Penn State, their faith in Sergeev’s abilities has gotten them to the Frozen Four.

There are three other strong teams in St. Louis for this weekend’s games and so it’s unclear how much further the Nittany Lions will go, but Sergeev has been a gigantic piece of the puzzle for Penn State’s second half turnaround and he very much deserves his moment in the spotlight this weekend.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames...v-has-earned-the-spotlight-at-the-frozen-four

 

[Calgary Flames]

A Flame from the Past: Marc Habscheid

Do you remember Marc Habscheid?

Every week, we’ll look at a forgotten Calgary Flames player in the weekly series “A Flame from the Past.” Of course, the player had to have played a significant number of games for the Flames – at least a full season. Each week, I’ll put every Flames season (since moving to Calgary) in the Wheel of Names. This week, it landed on the 1991-92 season, with the player we’ll look at in today’s article being Marc Habscheid.

Born to Luxembourger parents in the small Saskatchewan town of Wymark, Habscheid started his junior career with the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades in 1979-80, scoring two goals and five points in 15 games. He became a regular in his draft year, scoring 34 goals and 97 points in 72 games, being drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the sixth round of the 1981 draft.

Habscheid, who sadly never played for the Montréal Canadiens, played his last full junior season in 1981-81, scoring 64 goals and 151 points, which is tied for the 39th-most points in a WHL season. In his five post-season games in the league, he scored three goals and seven points.

The right-shot centre made his professional debut the same season, scoring a goal and four points in seven games.

In 1982-83, Habscheid became somewhat of a regular for the Oilers, scoring three goals and 13 points in 32 games. That same season, he played for the WHL’s Kamloops Junior Oilers, scoring seven goals and 23 points in six games, along with playing three post-season games in the Central Hockey League.

Habscheid mainly spent the 1983-84 season with the Moncton Alpines of the American Hockey League, scoring 19 goals and 56 points in 71 games, along with nine NHL games where he scored a goal. In 26 games with the Oilers in 1984-85, Habscheid scored five goals and eight points in 26 games, but spent the majority of the season with the AHL’s Nova Scotia Oilers where he scored 29 goals and 58 points in 48 games.

The Wymark native seemingly had had enough of playing in the AHL, as he refused to play for the Oilers’ AHL team and was traded to the Minnesota North Stars in Dec. 1985. He played 41 games in the AHL that season, scoring 18 goals and 50 points in 41 games, as well as six games played with the North Stars.

In 1986-87 and 1987-88, Habscheid played just 31 games with the North Stars, scoring six goals and 17 points. He mainly played with Team Canada those two seasons, scoring 53 goals and 122 points in 120 games.

Habscheid finally became a regular in 1988-89, where he scored a career-best 23 goals and 54 points in 75 games, along with a goal and three points in five post-season games. He had a productive 1989-90 season, scoring 15 goals and 26 points in 66 games in his first of two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

His final season in Michigan was a bit less productive, scoring nine goals and 17 points in 46 games. On Jun. 11, 1991, the Flames traded Brian MacLellan to the Wings for Habscheid. The centre only played one season with the Flames, scoring seven goals and 18 points in 46 games, the last season he played in the NHL.

Habscheid’s hockey career didn’t end, though. In 1992-93, he played with Bern SC in Switzerland. He returned to North America to play with the Las Vegas Thunder of the International Hockey League, scoring 14 goals and 54 points in 59 games. That season was Habscheid’s first taste of coaching, as he served as a player-assistant.

Five more games were played in Switzerland the next season, as well as 43 games with the Thunder. His 1995-96 season was the final of his playing days, spending it with the Augsburg Panthers in Germany.

After his playing days, Habscheid got into coaching, winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup twice, once with the Kelowna Rockets in 2002-03, as well as the 2018-19 Prince Albert Raiders, winning the Memorial Cup in 2004. Habscheid has also served as an associate coach with the Boston Bruins in 2006-07, and most recently coached two seasons in Austria.

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

Sponsored by bet365:

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/a-flame-from-the-past-marc-habscheid

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames Game Day 79: Making a last stand against the Wild (8pm MT)

Folks, virtually nobody projected that the Calgary Flames (37-27-14, 88 points) would be anywhere close to the Stanley Cup playoffs when the season began. And while the year has had its ups and downs, the Flames are still alive in the playoff race. But Friday night’s game with the Minnesota Wild (43-29-7, 93 points) at the Saddledome is, very much, a do-or-die contest for the Flames. If they lose, they’re functionally eliminated from the post-season race. If they win, they remain in the race a little bit longer. Can the Flames bounce back from a tough finish in Anaheim and tame the Wild?

Today’s broadcast begins at 8 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

The Flames​

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Jonathan Huberdeau – Nazem Kadri – Adam Klapka
Blake Coleman – Mikael Backlund – Matt Coronato
Yegor Sharangovich – Morgan Frost – Joel Farabee
Ryan Lomberg – Kevin Rooney – Martin Pospisil

Kevin Bahl – Rasmus Andersson
Joel Hanley – MacKenzie Weegar
Jake Bean – Brayden Pachal

We’re projecting Dustin Wolf to start in net, backed up by Dan Vladar. The projected extras look to be Daniil Miromanov, Zayne Parekh, Dryden Hunt and Aydar Suniev. Morgan Frost left Wednesday’s game in the third period with an injury, but appears to be good to go for Friday night.

The Flames played well against Anaheim… until they didn’t. They had a 3-1 lead in the third period, but some defensive lapses and uncharacteristic lack of composure in a close game cost them a huge point against the Ducks. The Flames will need to play their structured, pace-filled game against the Wild and be patient. They’ve been a smart, composed team for much of this season. They’ll need to lean on those qualities against the Wild.

The Wild​

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Kirill Kaprizov – Marco Rossi – Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Foligno – Joel Eriksson Ek – Matt Boldy
Marcus Johansson – Freddie Gaudreau – Gustav Nyquist
Yakov Trenin – Ryan Hartman – Justin Brazeau

Jonas Brodin – Brock Faber
Declan Chisholm – Jared Spurgeon
Jon Merrill – Zach Bogosian

We’re projecting Filip Gustavsson to start in net, backed up by Marc-Andre Fleury. The projected extras are Vinnie Hinostroza and Cameron Crotty.

The Wild haven’t been spectacular lately, but they got a boost on Wednesday night when both Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek returned to the lineup. The good news? The Wild scored eight goals! The bad news? They allowed seven goals and needed overtime to beat the San Jose Sharks. The Wild need to be better defensively, but they’re a formidable group offensively.

Unavailable players​

The Flames are without Anthony Mantha, Justin Kirkland and Connor Zary.

The Wild are without Jacob Middleton.

The numbers​

Flames	Wild
37	Wins	43
88 (.564)	Points (%)	93 (.589)
49.7% (17th)	xGF%	49.3% (19th)
20.4% (21st)	PP%	21.5% (17th)
75.6% (26th)	PK%	72.7% (30th)

Head to head​

This is the third and final meeting between these clubs this season. The Flames won each of the first two games against the Wild, but both were one-goal games. Heck, one was in a shootout.

Sponsored by bet365:

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/calgary-flames-game-day-79-making-a-last-stand-against-the-wild

 

[Calgary Flames]

Instant Reaction: Flames step up in big win over Wild

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 returned home on Friday evening to host the Minnesota Wild, the team they’re trying to reel in for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. With their season on the line, the Flames played the exact game they needed to play.

The Flames scored first and never trailed en route to a 4-2 home win over the Wild to keep their post-season hopes alive.

The rundown​

The Flames had some jump in their collective steps in the first period. They skated. They played well on both sides of the puck. And they generated some nice scoring chances because they were moving their feet.

Midway through the period, the Flames nearly scored off a scrambly play in the Wild end. A puck ricocheted off a couple players, bonked off Morgan Frost’s skate and nearly crossed the line before Wild netminder Filip Gustavsson dove and swiped the puck off the goal line with his stick.

it was good pic.twitter.com/8jn3d38jdz

— Mike Pfeil (@mikeFAIL) April 12, 2025

A little later, the Flames netted one. Gustavsson went to play the puck behind the net on a Flames dump-in, and his pass around the boards was intercepted by a forechecking Blake Coleman. Coleman chucked the puck on net. Gustavsson made the initial save, but Mikael Backlund was right on his doorstep to whack in the rebound to give the Flames a 1-0 lead.

MIKAEL BACKLUND!

The Flames open the scoring in the first period!

: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/BBz6kpwTwo

— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) April 12, 2025

First period shots were 14-7 Flames. Via Natural Stat Trick, five-on-five scoring chances were 12-6 Flames (high-danger chances were 6-2 Flames).

The Flames added to their lead 5:31 into the second period. Yegor Sharangovich made a zone entry, passed to Martin Pospisil, and then got his stick on Pospisil’s shot as he drove his way towards the slot area, redirecting the puck past Gustavsson to make it 2-0 Flames.

SHARANGOVICH!

He tips the puck into the net, giving the Flames a 2-0 lead!

: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/Uk7eiy5gWQ

— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) April 12, 2025

A little later, Jonas Brodin was called for a hooking minor on Nazem Kadri. On the resulting man advantage, the Flames parked Jonathan Huberdeau in front of the net and Kadri took advantage of the screen to beat Gustavsson to make it 3-0 Flames.

KADRI TIES HIS CAREER HIGH!

The Flames currently hold a 3-0 lead against the Wild.

: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/TI0lihTibp

— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) April 12, 2025

The Wild had a couple power plays later on, overlapping by 18 seconds, but the Flames killed them both off.

Second period shots were 12-6 Flames. Five-on-five scoring chances were 6-2 Flames (high-danger chances were 1-0 Flames).

The Wild pressed to begin the third period, but the Flames defended fairly well.

Ryan Lomberg yoinked the puck away from a Wild defender at the blueline and went for a skate, beating Gustavsson stick-side to give the Flames a 4-0 lead.

LOMBERG SCORES ON THE BREAKAWAY!

The Saddledome is buzzing tonight!

: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/ZHlyr7VNqj

— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) April 12, 2025

(That spelled the end of Gustavsson’s evening, as Marc-Andre Fleury came into the game in relief.)

Yakov Trenin scored on a late breakaway (after a turnover and delayed penalty on Adam Klapka) to break Dustin Wolf’s shutout bid and cut the Flames’ lead to 4-1.

Trenin finds one for the Minnesota Wild.

: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/KgZXRXTHa2

— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) April 12, 2025

The Wild pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker, and Gustav Nyquist beat Wolf to cut the Flames’ lead to 4-2.

Nyquist makes it a two-goal game.

: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/s0zA743iSb

— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) April 12, 2025

But that’s as close as they got, and the Flames won 4-2.

Third period shots were 6-5 Flames. Five-on-five scoring chances were 6-5 Flames (high-danger chances were 3-1 Wild).

Why the Flames won​

There are times where pressure gets to a team and they get too amped up and try to do too much in a big game. In this game, the Flames were exactly what they needed to be. They played within their structure, they got some opportunistic offensive chances and buried them, and they didn’t give up too much to the Wild’s top guns.

The Flames looked like a team that wasn’t ready to call it quits in their playoff chase.

Red Warrior​

It’s a joint award for the Backlund-Coleman-Coronato line, as they did a great job keeping Minnesota’s top guys quiet.

Turning point​

The two quick goals in the second period gave the Flames a three goal lead and a ton of confidence. They didn’t look back from there.

This and that​

Prior to the anthems, there was a moment of silence in memory of Greg Millen and Ray Shero.

Backlund’s goal tied Al MacInnis for seventh place on the franchise leaderboard. Kadri’s goal tied his career high.

Up next​

The Flames (38-27-14) are back in action on Sunday night when they host the San Jose Sharks.

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi​

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/instant-reaction-flames-step-up-in-big-win-over-wild

 

[Calgary Flames]

MacKenzie Weegar named 2024-25 Peter Maher Good Guy Award winner

The Calgary Flames held an optional practice on Saturday morning, with just a smattering of players hitting the ice at the Saddledome. But there was other action at the ‘Dome on Saturday, as blueliner MacKenzie Weegar was named this year’s recipient of the Peter Maher Good Guy Award.

Named after longtime Flames radio play-by-play voice Peter Maher, honoured by the Hockey Hall of Fame with the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for broadcasting excellence, the Good Guy Award is bestowed every year to the Flames player who best exemplifies Maher’s values in their dealings with others: sincerity, integrity, dedication and respect. It’s voted upon by local media – disclosure, I have a vote – and is awarded at the end of the season.

Weegar is a really good choice and a very deserving recipient.

Weegar arrived in Calgary during the 2022 off-season as part of the Matthew Tkachuk trade with the Florida Panthers. He memorably joked to the media early in his first Flames training camp about it being playoffs already, a commentary on the difference in amounts of media coverage of hockey between South Florida and Southern Alberta.

“Coming from Florida, you know, it’s obviously different personnel, right?” remarked Weegar on Saturday morning. “And I didn’t really know how it was going to go. Obviously, I was nervous. But when you get all the cameras and all the mics in front of you when you first get here, it’s actually pretty exciting and it’s a lot of fun.”

Weegar signed an eight year contract extension during that first Flames camp and he’s emerged as a really good, really valuable player for the Flames. In addition to being one of the first players over the boards in virtually every game situation, Weegar has also become one of the most important voices in the Flames locker room. In addition to serving as one of the club’s alternate captains, he’s frequently one of the players called upon by the media after games – whether the team wins or loses.

In his dealings with the media, the 31-year-old Weegar is basically what he is on the ice: honest, forthright, insightful, and occasionally mixing in a few jokes when the situation calls for it. He’s a very deserving winner of the Peter Maher Award, on a team where there were many worthy contenders.

The previous winners of the Peter Maher Award include Blake Coleman (2023-24 and 2022-23 co-winner), Erik Gudbranson (2021-22), Derek Ryan (2020-21), Mikael Backlund (2019-20 and 2022-23 co-winner), Travis Hamonic (2018-19), Matt Stajan (2017-18), Chad Johnson (2016-17) and Joe Colborne (2013-14 through 2015-16).

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/mackenzie-weegar-named-2024-25-peter-maher-good-guy-award-winner

 

[Calgary Flames]

The Flames have two remaining paths to the playoffs, but need help on either one

The Calgary Flames were watching Saturday night’s out-of-town scoreboard hoping that the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild would both lose in regulation.

That didn’t happen, but the Flames remain alive in the playoff race. For now.

Standings after Saturday’s games​

On Saturday night, the Blues lost in a shootout to Seattle (gaining a point) and the Wild beat Vancouver in overtime (gaining two points).

Here’s how things look in the standings as Sunday begins: (GR: games remaining, RW: regulation wins, ROW: regulation/overtime wins)

Team	Pts	GR	RW	ROW	W
Wild [WC1]	95	1	33	41	44
Blues [WC2]	94	1	31	39	43
Flames [9th]	90	3	29	34	38

Can the Flames pass Minnesota?

Yes.

But the Wild have clinched the tiebreaker on the Flames, so Calgary needs to finish with more points than Minnesota. So the Flames must win all three games – regulation or overtime/shootout doesn’t matter – and the Wild cannot get any points out of Monday night’s regular season finale with Anaheim.

If the Flames fail to win any of their remaining games OR the Wild get any points out of Monday’s meeting with Anaheim, the Flames cannot catch them and the Wild will clinch a playoff spot.

Can the Flames pass St. Louis?

Yes, and there are a few scenarios where it could happen.

If the Blues lose in regulation to Utah on Tuesday (and finish with 94 points), the Flames would need to finish with 95 or 96 points to pass them. That means two wins and a overtime/shootout loss or three wins (of any kind).

If the Blues get a point against Utah (and finish with 95 points), the Flames would need to finish with 96 points to pass them. That would need three wins (of any kind).

If the Blues get an overtime/shootout win against Utah (and finish with 96 points, but only 31 regulation wins), then the Flames could finish with 96 points and win via tiebreakers, but only if they get three regulation wins. Both teams would finish with 96 points, but the Flames would have the first tiebreaker (32 regulation wins, compared to St. Louis’ 31).

If the Blues get a regulation win against Utah (and finish with 96 points and 32 regulation wins), then it’s impossible for the Flames to pass them because they wouldn’t win the first tiebreaker. If the two teams tie at 96 points and 32 regulation wins, St. Louis would win the second tiebreaker (regulation and overtime wins) 40 to 37.

Long story short: the Flames need three regulation wins, and some help, to play past Thursday night’s regular season finale.

A look ahead​

The good news for the Flames is they have three games remaining… against divisional opponents… who can do nothing to improve their placement in the standings.

On Sunday, the Flames host San Jose. The Sharks are eliminated from post-season contention and are likely going to finish in last place overall.

On Tuesday, the Flames host Vegas. The Golden Knights clinched their fourth consecutive division crown on Saturday, and they’re locked into facing the better of the two Western Conference wild card teams in the first round.

On Thursday, the Flames visit Los Angeles. The Kings are four points ahead of their first round opponent, Edmonton, and will likely have home ice locked up for that series by the time they face the Flames for Game 82.

In other words, friends: the Flames’ three remaining games are very important for them, but carry virtually zero standings importance for their opponents. Heck, Vegas and Los Angeles will likely be resting regulars in an effort to avoid unwanted injuries prior to their post-seasons beginning next weekend.

The Flames have two paths to the playoffs remaining. They need to run the table, and then get some help.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/the-fl...s-to-the-playoffs-but-need-help-on-either-one

 

[Calgary Flames]

Instant Reaction: Flames rally after slow start to tame Sharks

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 not at their best to start Sunday night’s game with the San Jose Sharks. Heck, the Sharks got most of the early shots and scoring chances, and even opened the scoring. But the Flames, as they have done often this season, righted their ship after a poor start and rallied back.

The Flames stayed afloat in the playoff picture via a 5-2 home victory over the Sharks.

The rundown​

The Flames were pretty flat early on and the Sharks were very energetic, which resulted in the Sharks registering the first nine shots on goal in this game. The eighth shot, Tyler Toffoli grabbing a rebound after a scramble out front, resulted in a Sharks goal to make it 1-0.

The Flames are getting worked by the Sharks. Outshot 8-0 and now down 1-0.

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

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 14, 2025

On the Flames’ fourth shot of the game, they tied it up. Adam Klapka held onto the puck in the Sharks zone near the point and passed it off to MacKenzie Weegar, entering the zone off the bench. Weegar took advantage of some space in the Sharks coverage and fired the puck past Georgi Romanov to make it 1-1.

FLAMES GOAL

MacKenzie Weegar rips a slap shot past Georgy Romanov and ties this game up!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/z4ahgKYh2L

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 14, 2025

A little bit later, the Flames took the lead off a gorgeous pass from Nazem Kadri. Kadri entered the zone, danced around Henry Thrun, and passed across the slot to the far post to Klapka, who beat Romanov to give the Flames a 2-1 edge.

FLAMES GOAL

Nazem Kadri makes an incredible play to set up Adam Klapka for a tap in goal!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/QeYHq2t9Z4

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 14, 2025

First period shots were 15-6 Sharks. Via Natural Stat Trick, five-on-five scoring chances were 12-10 Sharks (high-danger chances were 5-2 Sharks).

The Flames pressed early in the second period and had some good chances, but they couldn’t bury anything.

A Flames player broke their stick inside their blueline, giving the Sharks a bit of extra space to manuever. William Eklund’s initial shot was stopped by Wolf, but Jan Rutta jammed in the rebound to make it 2-2.

Jan Rutta ties the game for San Jose.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/Q4CJCzg4gf

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 14, 2025

Second period shots were 16-5 Flames. Five-on-five scoring chances were 9-4 Flames (high-danger chances were 5-2 Flames).

90 seconds into the third period, the Flames took the lead. Morgan Frost calmed down a bouncing puck off a zone entry, then handed the puck off to Yegor Sharangovich. Sharangovich fired a wrister that beat Romanov to make it 3-2 Flames.

FLAMES GOAL

Yegor Sharangovich puts Calgary up by one! That goals in three straight games for Sharky!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/SEovRleM7x

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 14, 2025

The Sharks got a power play later in the period, including a great scoring chance for Toffoli. But Wolf made a big stop.

Dustin Wolf robs Tyler Toffoli! What a save!

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

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 14, 2025

The Flames pulled away in the later stages of the third period.

Mikael Backlund cycled the puck from behind the net to Matt Coronato in the slot. Coronato received the pass with his skate, kicked it up to his stick, and fired it past Romanov to make it 4-2 Flames.

FLAMES GOAL

Backlund to Coronato to the back of the net! It's 4-2 Calgary!

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

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 14, 2025

Sharangovich added an empty-netter to make it 5-2 Flames.

The Flames held on for the victory.

Third period shots were 10-8 Sharks. Five-on-five scoring chances were 9-1 Flames (high-danger chances were 3-1 Flames).

Why the Flames won​

The Flames looked flat early in this game, and Dustin Wolf had to be really sharp. But once the Flames settled in, they took over the game. Ignore the first 10 minutes of the game, and it was basically all Flames.

Red Warrior​

A lot of players in red had good outings. We’ll give some attention to Sharangovich, who scored for the third consecutive game and brought a lot of energy when he was on the ice.

And once again, honourable mention to Wolf for his strong play early.

Turning point​

We’ll go with Sharangovich’s game winner. It was the goal they needed when they needed it.

This and that​

Sharangovich’s first goal was the 100th of his NHL career.

Up next​

The Flames (39-27-14) are back in action on Tuesday night when they host the Vegas Golden Knights in their home regular season finale.

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 best warranty in the business with ten year warranties available. Check out the showroom at 2720 Barlow Trail NE or online at www.mitsu.ca

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/instant-reaction-flames-rally-after-slow-start-to-tame-sharks

 

[Calgary Flames]

FlamesNation Mailbag: Heading into the final week of the regular season

The Calgary Flames have two games remaining in their 2024-25 regular season schedule. They are still alive in the Stanley Cup playoff picture, and while improbable, their pathway to the post-season is a lot less fanciful than it seemed a few weeks ago.

As we gird ourselves for a big week to come, let’s dive into the mailbag.

Who gets traded this summer after another missed playoff opportunity?

— Carly Culhane (@cculhane96) April 13, 2025

Honestly, considering how much Craig Conroy has touted “the plan” over the past year or two, I don’t think whether the Flames make the playoffs or not this season makes much difference regarding his off-season moves. I’m sure that the Flames will be looking for ways to move their program forward, and some of those opportunities may involve moving out an established player in an effort to get a bit younger or faster. That said, I don’t think they’re in any hurry to move anybody for the sake of moving ’em.

In your estimation, what went wrong as to why the the Flames could come up just short this season?

— Ed Helinski (@MrEd315) April 13, 2025

Let’s be honest here, folks: the Flames haven’t been in a position this season where they can out-score their mistakes. As a result, the margins for them – especially in terms of things like their play in overtime or with the man advantage – have been really, really tight. They’re a group that probably could’ve used an extra goal or two in those types of high-leverage situations in order to squirrel away an extra handful of points over the course of the regular season.

Hey Ryan. Are there any unsigned prospects in other organizations that Calgary should try and trade for? I see Tampas Isaac Howard is going back to school, as they don't have the cap space to sign him.

— Steve Kaye (@TaranakiSaint) April 9, 2025

If you’re a left shot winger or a goaltender, there probably aren’t going to be a ton of opportunities within the Flames system to distinguish yourself. The net belongs to Dustin Wolf, and they have oodles of left shot wingers. But if you’re a centre or a right shot winger, I think you can potentially be sold on the Flames’ ability to give you opportunities with the Wranglers to stand out. And the Flames have, for the next few seasons at least, oodles of draft choices and cap space with which to acquire and/or sign those types of players. I don’t know if Isaac Howard’s situation specifically is one that could benefit the Flames, but I think agents see a new building and the direction of the team and can be convinced to give Calgary a chance.

Would you mind clarifying how it works with signing Mews? Can he be a signed Flames prospect playing in the NCAA? And if not, how long do the Flames have control before he would become a free agent?

— LSigurd (@LSigurd) April 13, 2025

If you’re drafted out of Canadian major junior and remain there, the team that drafts you has until the second June 1 after you’re drafted to sign you. (For Henry Mews, that would be June 1, 2026.)

If you’re drafted out of Canadian major junior and commit to college before that second June 1 signing deadline, the deadline shifts. The Flames will hold Mews’ rights until the late of the fourth June 1 after he was drafted (e.g., June 1, 2028) or the Aug. 15 after he leaves college.

It essentially tacks on a minimum of two extra years to a player’s NHL rights.

From Travis via e-mail: One of the biggest debates this year has been whether or not to tank, but we should be asking why there is a system that encourages losing? What if the draft was a true lottery with each team having a 1 in 32 chance of winning? There shouldn’t be any incentives for tanking and rewards for losing.

The whole draft order and draft lottery system is designed with “parity” in mind. So the worst teams are supposed to have the first picks so they can select the best available players so they can get better. It doesn’t necessarily work out that way – some teams stay bad for awhile, like Buffalo – but you can sort of understand why they would operate that way, both in terms of business and competitive balance.

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-heading-into-the-final-week-of-the-regular-season

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames prospect roundup: Matvei Gridin scored his fifth goal of the post-season

The list of players on the Calgary Flames prospect roundup is only going to get smaller.

This is the Apr. 7–13 edition of the Flames prospect roundup, where we look at how Calgary Flames prospects did this past week, specifically those at the junior and college levels. The American Hockey League prospects have their own article in the Wranglers recaps.

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

Matvei Gridin​

Matvei Girdin and the Shawinigan Cataractes started a best-of-seven series against the Sherbrooke Phœnix on Friday, defeating them 5-4 in Game 1. Gridin was held off the scoresheet and finished the game with a -2 and a shot on goal.

He had a better game in Saturday’s Game 2, picking up his fifth goal of the postseason in what was a 5-2 defeat to take a 2-0 series lead. Through seven games this postseason, Gridin has five goals and 11 points, fifth in Québec Maritimes Junior Hockey League point scoring and tied for third in goals.

EST-TU SÉRIEUX, MATVEI !?
"ARE YOU SERIOUS, MATVEI !?"#JeSuisCataractes#Flames pic.twitter.com/wahXoLPJi1

— Cataractes de Shawinigan (@Cataractes_Shaw) April 12, 2025

There’s a solid chance that by this time next week, the series will be over. They’ll head to Sherbrooke for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. MT, respectively. If needed, Game 5 returns to Shawinigan on Friday at 5:00 p.m. MT and a potential Game 6 would be on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. MT.

Andrew Basha​

It was reported by Medicine Hat News’ James Tubb that if the Medicine Hat Tigers go on a deep run, Andrew Basha could return to the lineup. Well, they’ve had a good start to the second round.

On Saturday, they defeated the Prince Albert Raiders 6-4 to take a 1-0 series lead. They followed that up on Sunday with a 5-4 overtime win thanks to Liam Ruck’s second goal of the postseason. Moreover, the consensus first overall pick in the 2026 draft, Gavin McKenna, scored a fantastic goal.

GAVIN MCKENNA GOAL OF THE YEAR?!

The top 2026 #NHLDraft prospect is a human highlight reel!

(: @TheWHL) pic.twitter.com/5yiXXewL0s

— NHL (@NHL) April 14, 2025

The Tigers have a chance to take a commanding 3-0 lead as the series shifts to Prince Albert on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. MT. Game 4, also in Prince Albert, is the following day at 7:00 p.m. MT. If needed, Game 5 will return to Medicine Hat on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. MT.

Jacob Battaglia​

Jacob Battaglia and the Kingston Frontenacs are in tough against the Barrie Colts.

After taking a 2-0 lead in Game 1, with one assist from the Flames’ prospect, the Frontenacs allowed six unanswered goals as the Colts took Game 1 by a score of 6-2. The Frontenacs even led Game 2 in the first period, and had the game tied up at 4-4 in the second period, but the Colts scored three unanswered goals to win that one 7-4. Battalgia had two assists in Game 2.

So far this postseason, Battaglia has a lone goal and eight assists in six games. The series shifts to Kingston for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Thursday at 5:00 p.m. MT. If needed, Game 5 returns to Barrie on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. MT, before shifting back to Kingston if Game 6 is needed. That game will be at 5:00 p.m. MT.

Henry Mews​

Henry Mews’ Sudbury Wolves were eliminated by Jacob Battaglia and the Kingston Frontenacs in the first round of the Ontario Hockey League postseason.

It has been long rumoured that Mews had committed to the University of Michigan and on Sunday afternoon, he made that official.

Excited to announce my commitment to play at the University of Michigan next season. #goblue pic.twitter.com/TDukD3DBIA

— Henry Mews (@Mewsy88) April 13, 2025

Kirill Zarubin​

Kirill Zarubin and the Tula Mikhailov Academy were in tough the last time we looked at them in the prospect roundup. In a do-or-die Game 4, they fell 4-3 in overtime and were eliminated from postseason contention.

Zarubin didn’t factor into the game as he sat on the bench for the third time in four games. Overall, he finished his 2024-25 season with a .935 save percentage and 2.34 goals against average in 21 games.

Eric Jamieson​

Eric Jamieson and the Everett Silvertips seemingly love overtime. After defeating the Seattle Thunderbirds in double overtime to clinch their berth in the second round, both Games 1 and 2 have finished in overtime in favour of the Silvertips.

Game 1 saw the Silvertips win 3-2 thanks to an early goal from Jesse Heslop in the extra frame. Jamieson was held off the scoreboard, finishing with two shots, but his defence partner Landon DuPont, finished with two assists.

In Game 2, the Silvertips defeated the Portland Winterhawks 4-3 in overtime. Jamieson was once again held off the scoreboard, finishing with three shots and a +2. Landon DuPont had a goal and an assist, as Julius Miettinen scored the game-winning goal.

The series shifts to Portland for Games 3 and 4. Game 3 is on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. MT, Game 4 is the following day at the same time. If needed, the series would return to Everett for Game 5 on Friday at 8:05 p.m. MT, and Game 6 would be in Portland on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. MT.

Étienne Morin​

Étienne Morin and the Moncton Wildcats look unstoppable. In the second round, they’re facing the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, picking up a 7-0 win in the first game. Morin had two assists, one primary and one secondary as the Wildcats won their fifth in a row.

Game 2 was a bit closer, as the Drakkar scored a goal but still fell 4-1. Morin was held off the scoresheet, but was a +2 with a shot on goal. So far this postseason, the left-shot defenceman has a goal and eight points in six games as the Wildcats remain undefeated this postseason.

The series now shifts to Baie-Comeau for Games 3, 4 and 5, the last one if needed. Game 3 is on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. MT, Game 4 is the following day at the same time. If needed, Game 5 is on Friday at 5:00 p.m. MT.

Axel Hurtig​

The Calgary Hitmen are in a hole to begin their best-of-seven series against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Game 1 saw them fall 4-0 to the Hurricanes, with Flames’ prospect Axel Hurtig being held off the scoresheet with no shots on net. Game 2 was closer, as the Hurricanes defeated the Hitmen 2-1. Hurtig was also held off the scoresheet in this game, but finished with a shot on goal. So far this postseason, the left-shot defenceman has two assists in six games.

The Hitmen have to start winning some games. They travel to Lethbridge for Games 3 and 4, with Game 3 being on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. MT, with Game 4 being the following day at the same time. If needed, Game 5 will be on Friday at 7:00 p.m. MT in Calgary and Game 6 will be back in Lethbridge on Saturday at the same time.

Arsenii Sergeev​

All good things must come to an end, including Penn State and Arsenii Sergeev’s Cinderella run to the Frozen Four. Taking on Boston University, the powerhouse went up 2-0 on Sergeev, but they cut the lead early in the third period. Sadly, Penn State was unable to find the game-tying goal and an empty net with a minute left in the game sealed it.

Sergeev played to his usual standards, saving 30 of 32 shots for a .938 save percentage and 2.03 goals against average in the 3-1 loss. He finished his final collegiate season with a 19-9-4 record with a .919 save percentage and 2.54 goals against average.

On Monday, the Flames announced that Sergeev has signed his entry-level contract with them and will begin his professional career next season, likely with the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers.

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

Sponsored by bet365:

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames...idin-scored-his-fifth-goal-of-the-post-season

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames Game Day 81: Trying to take care of business against Vegas (7pm MT)

After 80 games and 189 days, the Calgary Flames (39-27-14, 92 points) enter the final three days of the 2024-25 NHL season still alive in the quest for a Stanley Cup playoff berth. While games occur elsewhere that will contribute to their fate, the Flames will try to avoid the out-of-town scoreboard and take care of what they can control when they host the Vegas Golden Knights (49-22-9, 107 points). It’s a Pacific Division clash between a team that’s clinched the top spot in the division and can’t alter their playoff seeding at all… and a team desperate to stay alive for another day.

Today’s broadcast begins at 7 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

The Flames​

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Jonathan Huberdeau – Nazem Kadri – Adam Klapka
Blake Coleman – Mikael Backlund – Matt Coronato
Yegor Sharangovich – Morgan Frost – Joel Farabee
Ryan Lomberg – Kevin Rooney – Martin Pospisil

Kevin Bahl – Rasmus Andersson
Joel Hanley – MacKenzie Weegar
Jake Bean – Brayden Pachal

We’re projecting Dustin Wolf to start in net, backed up by Dan Vladar. The projected extras look to be Daniil Miromanov, Zayne Parekh, Dryden Hunt and Aydar Suniev.

So here’s the deal: the Flames need to win this game. They have not beaten Vegas this season. But a very similar-looking group, featuring many of the same Flames players you see on the team right now, beat Vegas in three of four meetings last season. It can be done.

The Flames have, over their past two games, played five pretty good periods of hockey. They were not all that good on Sunday night in the first period against San Jose, but they were otherwise really good against the Wild and Sharks. If the Flames can get down to business early and play their game, we don’t hate their chances.

The Golden Knights​

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Ivan Barbashev – Brett Howden – Mark Stone*
Brandon Saad – Tomas Hertl – Pavel Dorofeyev
Reilly Smith – William Karlsson – Alexander Holtz
Tanner Pearson – Nicolas Roy – Keegan Kolesar

Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Zach Whitecloud – Noah Hanifin*
Ben Hutton – Kaedan Korczak

Per Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg: Ilya Samsonov starts for Vegas, backed up by Akira Schmid. The Golden Knights won’t be dressing Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Noah Hanifin or Alex Pietrangelo against the Flames. Among their extras last time out were Victor Olofsson (illness), Jonas Rondbjerg, Cole Schwindt and Nicolas Hague (illness), so we’ll see who rotates in to replace Hanifin and Stone.

So…. Vegas has locked themselves into the Pacific Division’s top spot, and they will be facing the first wild card team in the Western Conference when the playoffs begin. They can’t move up or down. They are locked in. They will be trying to play three solid periods of unremarkable hockey, avoid injury, and generally just try to get out of Calgary quickly so they can get ready for the playoffs.

Their motivation is much different than Calgary’s. They’re not gonna phone it in – they’re a damn good hockey team – but it may be tough for them to match the Flames’ urgency and desperation in this game.

Unavailable players​

The Flames are without Anthony Mantha, Justin Kirkland and Connor Zary.

The Golden Knights are without Alex Pietrangelo and Jack Eichel (and several other players they’re holding out for precautionary reasons).

The numbers​

Flames	Golden Knights
39	Wins	49
92 (.575)	Points (%)	107 (.669)
50.0% (17th)	xGF%	52.5% (6th)
20.5% (20th)	PP%	29.1% (2nd)
76.0% (26th)	PK%	76.5% (24th)

Head to head​

This is the fourth and final regular season meeting between these clubs this season. Vegas has won the three previous games, though the Flames lost in overtime in their last meeting.

Sponsored by bet365:

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/calgar...trying-to-take-care-of-business-against-vegas

 

[Calgary Flames]

Instant Reaction: Flames close out home schedule with shootout win over Vegas

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’ playoff fate was sealed before they hit the ice for the third period of Tuesday night’s home finale against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Flames had made enough miscues to be chasing in the game. But as has become tradition for games involving the red team, they managed to rally back in the final frame and make a game of it.

In a game that ended being of zero playoff consequence, the Flames battled to a 5-4 shootout win over Vegas.

The rundown​

The Flames had some shifts in the Vegas zone in the first period, but they couldn’t quite translate those into strong scoring chances.

The Golden Knights opened the scoring just over five minutes into the period. The Flames won a defensive zone draw, but Nazem Kadri’s breakout attempt was intercepted by Pavel Dorofeyev. He ended up settling the puck down at the top of the circles and flinging it towards the net. It ended up taking a few bounces and beating Dustin Wolf – it looked like the last bounce was off MacKenzie Weegar – and that gave Vegas a 1-0 lead.

Vegas scores a lucky goal that takes a couple of bounces before beating Dustin Wolf.

1-0 Knights.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/gSR8B6amro

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 16, 2025

The Flames responded back five minutes later on a power play. With Tanner Pearson in the sin bin, the Flames won the offensive zone draw, passed it around the zone quickly, and then a Morgan Frost shot from a bad angle got through Ilya Samsonov to tie the game at 1-1.

FLAMES GOAL

Morgan Frost scores on the power play! That's his first goal in 25 games!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/CIb9HuRVxA

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 16, 2025

A few minutes later, though, the Golden Knights got their lead back. After a puck blooped into the neutral zone, Brayden Pachal pinched to engage in a 50/50 puck battle… and the puck got past him. And then Jake Bean pinched on a 50/50 puck battle… and the puck was chipped by Ivan Barbashev off the wall to Nicolas Roy, who was skating through the zone. Kadri tried to chase down Roy, but the Vegas forward went top corner on Wolf to give Vegas a 2-1 lead.

Nic Roy scores on a breakaway. It's 2-1 Vegas.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/Bot1lG24mG

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 16, 2025

Near the end of the first period, Vegas got some insurance. Rasmus Andersson corralled a dump-in by Vegas, but threw it up the wall where it was intercepted. The puck trickled down to Brandon Saad below the goal line and he wheeled out from behind the net – with some confusion over which Flames defender should pursue him – and he fired a nice pass into the slot area, where it was redirected by Tomas Hertl past Wolf to give Vegas a 3-1 edge.

Tomáš Hertl scores. It's 3-1 Vegas.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/u74ZVlre3H

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 16, 2025

First period shots were 11-9 Golden Knights. Via Natural Stat Trick, five-on-five scoring chances were 9-7 Flames (high-danger chances were 4-3 Golden Knights).

Neither team scored in the second period. Both clubs had some decent chances, but for the most part it was the Flames pushing and Vegas doing their best to avoid giving up strong chances.

Second period shots were 13-8 Golden Knights. Five-on-five scoring chances were 12-12 (high-danger chances were 6-3 Flames).

The Flames scored two quick ones early in the third period.

They carried a power play over from the very end of the second period, and Kadri got the puck near the net and fired it past Samsonov to cut the Vegas lead to 3-2.

FLAMES GOAL

Nazem Kadri scores his 33rd goal of the season! That's his career high. What a season for #91

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/Ok2knfQSX8

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 16, 2025

On the very next shift, the Flames tied it up. The Flames carried the puck into the zone, Mikael Backlund cut across the zone at the top of the zone – above the circles – and fired the puck on net. There were a bunch of bodies in-between, and Backlund’s shot beat Samsonov to tie the game at 3-3.

FLAMES GOAL

Mikael Backlund ties the game! It's 3-3

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

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 16, 2025

Midway through the period, following a penalty kill, the Flames took the lead… briefly. Brayden Pachal fired the puck towards the net and it bonked in off Adam Klapka, parked at the far post, to make it 4-3 Flames.

FLAMES GOAL

Adam Klapka scores again! This guy is on fire!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/1ffve9DiSh

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 16, 2025

But 11 seconds later, Vegas tied it up. And it was a weird goal. Brandon Saad fired the puck on Wolf and it bounced up and into the crease. Pachal attempted to push the loose puck underneath Wolf to freeze it… but Wolf was sliding in his crease, admittedly there was some contact with Saad and Bean battling in front, and the puck (and Wolf) slid over the line to tie the game at 4-4. (The Flames challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal stood.)

Brandon Saad's shot flutters into the crease and eventually over the goal line!#VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/VwkbyDlDAK

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) April 16, 2025

Third period shots were 15-10 Golden Knights. Five-on-five scoring chances were 9-7 Flames (high-danger chances were 5-1 Flames).

This game headed to overtime. Both teams got some really good looks – including a Vegas flurry of chances with Wolf doing the splits and losing his goal stick in the frenzy.

Dustin Wolf makes another incredible save in overtime!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/eBtvWO5Yvg

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 16, 2025

Overtime solved nothing, so this one required a shootout to determine a winner. Morgan Frost scored for the Flames, while Wolf didn’t allow any goals (on chances from Victor Olofsson, Doroveyev and Shea Theodore) and the Flames won 5-4.

Why the Flames won​

Ultimately the shootout is a bit of a coin toss, but let’s give the Flames credit: they looked kind of off their game for the first half of this contest, and then they seemed to find their mojo in the back half of the game. (Especially the third period.) Their power play was dangerous. Their penalty kill was good. And while their five-on-five game was a bit wonky early on, that’s the part of their game that really improved over the course of this contest.

Red Warrior​

Y’know what? We can’t really blame Wolf for any of the pucks that got behind him in this game. He made some big saves and gave his team a chance.

Turning point​

You gotta feel for the Flames not being able to close this out in regulation, even just for the moral victory over a Vegas team that’s had their number this season. They finally got a lead in the third period, but a weird one gets into their net 11 seconds later. Oof.

This and that​

Backlund’s goal was his 214th as a Flame, breaking a tie with Al MacInnis for sixth place on the franchise leaderboard. He’s one goal behind Lanny McDonald for fifth place.

Up next​

The Flames (40-27-14) conclude their regular season schedule on Thursday night in Los Angeles.

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 best warranty in the business with ten year warranties available. Check out the showroom at 2720 Barlow Trail NE or online at www.mitsu.ca

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/instan...ut-home-schedule-with-shootout-win-over-vegas