Flames Team Notes

[Calgary Flames]

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[Calgary Flames]

Throwback Tuesday: The Curtis Glencross trade tree expanded with the Andrei Kuzmenko trade

A couple of weeks ago, the Calgary Flames traded Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, and two picks to the Philadelphia Flyers for Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost.

That trade is the topic of today’s Throwback Tuesday. Well, kind of, as we’ll look at how this trade has expanded to what it has become today thanks to one trade deadline move a decade ago.

Let’s take a look at the Curtis Glencross trade tree!

Curtis Glencross’ career as a Flame​

Growing up in Alberta, Glencross played for the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, scoring 42 goals and 68 points in his final year. However, he went undrafted, played two seasons at the University of Alaska – Anchorage, before turning professional and signing a contract with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

Glencross played parts of four seasons in the American Hockey League from 2003-04 until 2006-07, with the latter year seeing him make his National Hockey League debut where he played nine games with a goal. He played 36 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2007-08 where he scored six goals and 12 points before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers. Glencross scored an additional nine goals and 13 points in 26 games with the Flames’ provincial rivals.

In the summer of 2008, Glencross signed with the Flames and his career took off. In parts of seven seasons with the Flames, he scored 114 goals and 242 points in 418 games, including a career-high of 26 goals and 48 points in the 2011-12 season.

However, in the final year of his deal, the Flames traded him to the Washington Capitals on Mar. 1 for a 2015 second and third-round pick. Thus began a trade tree that still benefits the Flames massively to this day.

The #Flames have acquired a second rd. pick & third rd. pick from the #Caps in exchange for Curtis Glencross ~ http://t.co/blQdgti7eq

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) March 1, 2015

The 2015 third-round pick​

At the 2015 draft, the Flames used the Capitals’ third-round pick (83rd overall) along with their own third-round pick (76th overall) to land the 60th overall pick from the Arizona Coyotes. They used that pick to select defenceman Oliver Kylington.

Kylington played six seasons with the Flames, scoring 17 goals and 55 points in 201 games. His career year came in 2021-22, where he scored nine goals and 31 points in 73 games, with a goal and three points in 12 postseason games.

Due to the 27-year-old signing with the Colorado Avalanche this past off-season, this portion of the trade tree came to an end.

The 2015 second-round pick​

Like the Capitals third-round pick, the Flames packaged the second-round pick they received in the Glencross trade. The Flames packaged that Capitals pick with their own 2015 first-round pick (15th overall) and their own second-round pick (45th overall) for defenceman Dougie Hamilton.

The #Flames have acquired Dougie Hamilton from the Bruins! Details ~ http://t.co/FJ3V5MW85M pic.twitter.com/ZbqzQcK7d5

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) June 26, 2015

The defenceman only played three seasons with the Flames, scoring 42 goals and 137 points in 245 games. Moreover, he played four postseason games with the team in the 2017 postseason, picking up an assist.

On Jun. 23, 2018, Hamilton was traded along with Michael Ferland and Adam Fox (who seemed unlikely to sign) to the Carolina Hurricanes for Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin. Sure, Fox went on to win the James Norris trophy in 2020-21, but the Hurricanes also traded him for a second-round pick in the 2020 draft.

.@CortexBusiness Transaction Alert: The #Flames have acquired forward Elias Lindholm and defenceman Noah Hanifin from the Hurricanes! https://t.co/bOUPfPI3eO

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) June 23, 2018

Even then, this trade worked out pretty well for the Flames.

Noah Hanifin​

The shorter branch of this trade revolves around left-shot defenceman Noah Hanifin.

He was good for the Flames, playing 420 games and scoring 42 goals and 191 points. He was on the team’s roster when they finished first in the Pacific Division in 2021-2, playing 12 postseason games with three assists.

Before the 2024 trade deadline, there were plenty of trade rumours surrounding Hanifin and the Flames elected to trade him to the Vegas Golden Knights on Mar. 6, 2024. In return, the Flames received defenceman Daniil Miromanov, a 2026 first-round pick, and a 2024 third-round pick.

Full trade:

To #VGK: Noah Hanifin (75% retained)
To #Flames: Cond. 2025 1st Rd Pick, Daniil Miromanov, Cond. 3rd Rd Pick
To #Flyers: 2024 5th Rd Pick

Condition: 2025 1st unless VGK trades it this deadline, then 2026.
Condition: 3rd upgrades to 2nd if VGK win one round in ‘24

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 7, 2024

Miromanov played well after the trade, scoring three goals and seven points in 20 games with the Flames. The right-shot defenceman has become a regular for the Flames in 2024-25, playing 36 games where he has a goal and seven points in 36 games.

As for the 2024 third-round pick, it was used to select Russian netminder Kirill Zaurbin. This season with Tula Mikhailov Academy’s J-20 team, he has a .934 save percentage and a 2.34 goals against average.

Of course, the big return for Hanifin was the 2026 first-round pick. Unless there’s a massive falloff for the Golden Knights, that will be a late first-round pick. However, with how well the Flames drafted in 2024, don’t discount them from finding an impact player.

Elias Lindholm​

Also traded before the 2024 trade deadline was Elias Lindholm. The right-shot centre spent six seasons with the Flames, scoring 148 goals and 357 points in 418 games. This included a 2021-22 season where he scored 42 goals and 82 points in 82 games, by far a career-high.

On Jan. 31, 2024, Lindholm was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defence prospect Hunter Brzustewicz, and Joni Jurmo, as well as the Canucks 2024 first and fourth. To balance the salary cap, the Flames also received Andrei Kuzmenko. More on him in a bit though.

Elias Lindholm has officially been traded to the #canucks

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 1, 2024

Brzustewicz torched the Ontario Hockey League in 2023-24, scoring 13 goals and 92 points in 67 games, finishing second in defenceman points, four behind Zayne Parekh. Unfortunately, Brzustewicz hasn’t found the same success in the American Hockey League as of yet, as he has three goals and 18 points in 46 games.

Jurmo was picked by the Canucks in the third round of the 2020 draft. The 2024-25 season is his first in North America and he’s split it between the ECHL and AHL. With the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush, he scored two goals and seven points in nine games. In his 10 AHL games with the Calgary Wranglers, he has no points and four penalty minutes.

The 2024 first-round pick ended up being the 28th overall pick in the draft. It was used to select Russian winger Matvei Gridin, who has 27 goals and 61 points in 46 games with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Québec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.

At the draft, the Flames traded down, moving the Canucks’ fourth-round pick to the PhiladelphiaFlyers for the 150th overall pick and the 177th overall pick, selecting Luke Misa and Eric Jamieson respectively.

This season with the Brampton Steelheads of the OHL, Misa has 30 goals and 65 points in 49 games, tied for eighth in goals in the league and 17th in points. It’s worth noting that there are three Flames prospects ahead of him in points, Jacob Battaglia, Parekh, and defenceman Henry Mews. The 2024 draft was terrific for the Flames.

As for Jamieson, he plays for the Western Hockey League-leading Everett Silvertips where he has eight goals and 27 points. He’s just two goals and five points shy of matching his career-best season and is set to play for the University of Denver in 2025-26.

Lastly, we have Andrei Kuzmenko. After the trade, he scored 14 goals and 25 points in 29 games with the Flames. It’s worth noting he only had eight goals and 21 points in 43 games with the Canucks before the trade. However, he struggled this season, scoring just four goals and 15 points in 37 games with the Flames before being involved in the deal with the Flyers.

Andrei Kuzmenko​

Kuzmenko has played just one game for the Flyers, picking up an assist. Jakob Pelletier has yet to play for the team and who knows who the Flyers will pick with the 2025 second-round and 2028 seventh-round picks.

Frost and Farabee have made an immediate impact for the Flames. The former has two goals in five games while Farabee has a goal in five games. Both are under contract until at least the end of next season.

There’s a good chance that this trade tree can continue for a couple of more decades if the Flames can hit on one or two of their prospects. Who knows what the future holds but this trade tree just keeps on getting better.

Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

Sponsored by bet365:

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/throwb...-tree-expanded-with-the-andrei-kuzmenko-trade

 

[Calgary Flames]

4 Nations Game Day: Canada opens the tournament against Sweden (6pm MT)

After a year of hype, we’re finally going to get best-on-best hockey – or a reasonable approximation. The 4 Nations Face-Off finally begins on Wednesday night from the Bell Centre in Montreal. The Canadian national team tangles with their counterparts from Sweden, with a lot on the line in a high-stakes round robin tournament! The winning team will be pushed to the brink of the championship game, while the losing team will have their work cut out for them from here on out.

Tonight’s broadcast begins at 6 p.m. MT on Sportsnet.

Canada​

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff

Sam Reinhart [13] – Connor McDavid [97] – Mitch Marner [16]
Sidney Crosby [87] – Nathan MacKinnon [29] – Mark Stone [61]
Brad Marchand [63] – Brayden Point [21] – Seth Jarvis [24]
Brandon Hagel [38] – Anthony Cirelli [71] – Travis Konecny [11]

Devon Toews [5] – Cale Makar [8]
Josh Morrissey [44] – Colton Parayko [55]
Shea Theodore [27] – Drew Doughty [89]

Jordan Binnington [50] is expected to start in net, with either Adin Hill [33] or Sam Montembeault [35] dressed as backup. Travis Sanheim and Sam Bennett are the healthy extras for Team Canada.

We’ve been hearing hockey men fantasizing for years about what Team Canada would look like in a best-on-best environment. Well, here it is: a murderer’s row of offensive talent. It’s a stacked enough team that Brad Marchand, a very good hockey player, is on the third line. Shea Theodore is a third pairing defender! Sidney Crosby is playing on the wing!

The big question: can Canada’s big guns cohere into a capital-T team in a short timespan? If Canada’s players play to their capabilities, they’re going to be hard to beat.

Sweden​

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Filip Forsberg [9] – Elias Pettersson [40] – Adrian Kempe [10]
Rickard Rakell [67] – Mika Zibanejad [93] – William Nylander [88]
Jesper Bratt [63] – Joel Eriksson Ek [20] – Lucas Raymond [23]
Viktor Arvidsson [33] – Elias Lindholm [28] – Gustav Nyquist [12]

Victor Hedman [77] – Jonas Brodin [25]
Mattias Ekholm [14] – Erik Karlsson [65]
Gustav Forsling [42] – Rasmus Dahlin [26]

Filip Gustavsson [32] is projected to start in net, backed up by either Samuel Ersson [30] or Linus Ullmark [35]. Sweden’s healthy extras are Leo Carlsson and Rasmus Andersson.

Does Sweden have the aggregate talent level that Canada does? No, probably not. If you add up the individual capabilities of Canada’s players and compare them to Sweden’s, there’s a gulf between them. But one thing Swedish teams have traditionally been quite good at in these types of environments is coming together and playing roles within a structured system. If Sweden can play as a unit and make Canada play their style of game, they could have a shot – especially in a short tournament.



Daily Faceoff Live is on the road! From February 10th to 20th, we’re bringing you live shows every weekday straight from Four Nations, delivering exclusive coverage, insider analysis, and all the tournament action as it unfolds. Don’t miss a beat—subscribe to the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel and follow us on social for the latest updates. It’s international hockey, so expect intensity, excitement, and maybe even a little chaos. Stay locked in and catch us live from Four Nations!

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/4-nations-game-day-canada-opens-the-tournament-against-sweden-6pm-mt

 

[Calgary Flames]

Beyond the Boxscore: Canada survives late push from Sweden in 4 Nations Victory

The 4 Nations Face-Off got underway in what ended up as a very entertaining win for Canada, defeating team Sweden 4-3 in overtime.

CAN: CF% – 49.58%|| SCF% – 61.82%|| HDCF% – 71.61%|| xGF% – 55.64%

SWE: CF% – 50.42%|| SCF% – 38.18%|| HDCF% – 28.39%|| xGF% – 44.36%

It’s a Team Game – The start of this game was all Canada. They scored what could only be described as a stunning power play goal almost immediately as Nathan MacKinnon took a no-look backdoor feed from Sidney Crosby. The whole play initiated from Connor McDavid on the flank – a connection one would only ever find in a best-on-best tournament. Canada would keep the pressure up all period making me wonder if Sweden was going to come out of this game looking good at all. Then, Sweden made some adjustments in the first intermission. After that the Swedes were controlling a lot more of the neutral zone and were able to start pressing mor often. They kept that pressure up right until they finally tied the score at 3-3. Overtime saw both teams get their chances, but the Canadians had started to get a real push back and it resulted in Mitch Marner sending Canada to the locker room victorious.

Corsi King – Sweden had a great night from a player who was robbed of many prime international years with the lack of competition – Erik Karlsson (64.29 CF%). Karlsson was key in leading the initial pushback after the first period. He started finding great passing lanes through the neutral zone where his wingers had a chance to gain the attacking zone with some space. They gave the third star to Lucas Raymond (34.58 per cent) because he notched two assists, but it should have gone to either Karlsson or Adrian Kempe (61.51 per cent). Kempe was a threat to score all night and eventually beat Binnington with a goal the Canadian netminder certainly would want back.

Canada ended up having to lean very heavily on a reliable defence pair after Shea Theodore (46.48 per cent) left with an injury. That would be Colorado Avalanche duo Devon Toews (65.62 per cent) and Cale Makar (47.84 per cent). Toews and his 23:51 at 5v5 led for Canada and the coaching staffs trust in him was further rewarded with some overtime minutes. So much talent on this team it feels weird for a player as good as Sam Reinhart (52.89 per cent) to not see an overtime shift and not feel bad about it.

Under Pressure –

Taken By Chance – Sweden may have gotten better at possessing the puck as the game went on, but the Canadians were very stingy defensively in what they would allow through. The quality of a couple goals Sweden were able to score were not ones you would like to see from your choice of starting netminder. The Swedes only had one player on the ice for at least three high danger chances and that was Captain Victor Hedman (38.10 SCF% || 32.26 HDCF%). Hedman also saw six high danger chances go against him as he consistently ate the hardest minutes all night long. Rickard Rakell (48.24 per cent || 100 per cent), Mika Zibanejad (51.53 per cent || 100 per cent), and Viktor Arvidsson (32.74 per cent || 100 per cent) failed to register a high danger chances against at 5v5 as well.

Canada was led by defenceman Josh Morrissey (55.44 per cent || 74.67 per cent) and his involvement in eight high danger chances for and only three against. He almost ended up the bad guy with a high-sticking penalty late in regulation, but the Penalty Kill had a strong showing. Drew Doughty (65.55 per cent || 79.41 per cent) did not look rusty and made some great neutral zone reads to advance the puck in this one. Mitch Marner (75.75 per cent || 75.78 per cent) struggled with puck control and reads for most of regulation, but came up poised when it mattered in overtime. Not just the shift he scored his goal on, he got over the boards three times in the extra frame and each time he made his presence notable.

xG Breakdown –

xGF% – Sweden didn’t utilize their fourth forward line led by Elias Lindholm (58.58 xGF%) too much, but they never got caught on a bad shift either. Jonas Brodin (45.28 per cent) having the first snipe for Sweden was not on my Bingo card, but he labelled that shot for the top of the net. Another play from a defenceman stood out to me, when Mattias Ekholm (50.73 per cent) almost went into a full spin cycle because of the speed of his Oilers teammate. Speaking of…

Connor McDavid (57.36 per cent) sometimes just appears to be in a class of his own. Nathan MacKinnon (51.81 per cent) can match him for speed usually, but McDavid has that extra ability to just glue the puck to his stick while he effortlessly stickhandles through the attacking zone. Game one certainly ended up the Sidney Crosby (58.00 per cent) show – for good reason too, he deserved it – but I don’t think it will be long for us to see a game where McDavid just pops off. One more player I enjoyed the hustle out of, someone who kept the pace of the game a little higher even when it was trying to slow down, and that was Brandon Hagel (29.02 per cent). Great hustle in a limited role.

Game Flow –

Game Score –

CAN-SWE Ratings

Captain Canada on top pic.twitter.com/7XHUM4qMOU

— dom (@domluszczyszyn) February 13, 2025

Shot Heatmap –

In The Crease – I think Filip Gustavsson’s rapid ascension that got him a starting role in a major tournament by the age of 26 needs to be talked about more. That’s massively impressive and he more than deserves it. He played admirably against Canada surrendering just two goals against at 5v5 – both coming from the slot. The Mark Stone goal and Marner goal were from a very similar shot location as well, something to keep an eye on. 1.75 expected goals against at 5v5 with just the two getting by

Jordan Binnington has the job right now, but how secure is the starting job? I do believe Canada’s goaltending was exposed in this one and if not for a questionable goal overtime wasn’t necessary. It is what it is and Canada has to persevere through it if they want to win the tournament. 1.74 expected goals against at 5v5 with three getting past Binnington. Not enough to make an immediate change but Adin Hill should stay ready.

The Goals –

CANADA GOAL

That didn't take long! MacKinnon scores from Crosby and McDavid to kick off the Four Nations Faceoff!

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #Sweden pic.twitter.com/MT9J5fgliX

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 13, 2025

CANADA GOAL

Brayden Point to Brad Marchand to the back of the net! It's 2-0 Canada!

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #Sweden pic.twitter.com/3FpIAoJH75

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 13, 2025

SWEDEN GOAL

Jonas Brodin gets Team Sweden on the board.

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #Sweden pic.twitter.com/Vl3Rahdapy

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 13, 2025

CANADA GOAL

Sidney Crosby makes an incredible play to Mark Stone who buries it! Canada gets their two goal lead back!

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #Sweden pic.twitter.com/mh1yPSAcWw

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 13, 2025

SWEDEN GOAL

Adrian Kempe cuts the Canada lead to one.

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #Sweden pic.twitter.com/yL1ciOH0la

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 13, 2025

SWEDEN GOAL

Joel Eriksson Ek ties the game for Sweden.

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #Sweden pic.twitter.com/5IEISz3nj8

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 13, 2025

CANADA GOAL

MITCH MARNER WINS THE GAME IN OVERTIME!

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #Sweden pic.twitter.com/I84FpmgTqm

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 13, 2025

Flash’s 3 Stars –

1) Sidney Crosby

2) Erik Karlsson

3) Mitch Marner

(Stats compiled from Naturalstattrick.com – 5v5 Score and Venue Adjusted // Game Score from Hockeystatcards.com // xG and Under Pressure charts from HockeyViz.com // Game Flow and Shot Heatmap from NaturalStatTrick.com)



Daily Faceoff Live is on the road! From February 10th to 20th, we’re bringing you live shows every weekday straight from Four Nations, delivering exclusive coverage, insider analysis, and all the tournament action as it unfolds. Don’t miss a beat—subscribe to the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel and follow us on social for the latest updates. It’s international hockey, so expect intensity, excitement, and maybe even a little chaos. Stay locked in and catch us live from Four Nations!

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/beyond...es-late-push-from-sweden-in-4-nations-victory

 

[Calgary Flames]

Could Zayne Parekh be the Flames’ best defensive prospect ever?

Saginaw Spirit defenceman and Calgary Flames prospect Zayne Parekh has been on a historical run in his junior career. Now into the latter half of his OHL tenure, Parekh has established himself as one of the best defenceman in all of junior hockey.

Though the Flames are a storied franchise that has drafted and developed numerous elite defencemen, there’s a case to be made that Parekh is a more compelling prospect than anyone before him.

Parekh’s dominance​

Calgary selected the Markham, Ontario native with the ninth-overall pick in last years NHL Entry Draft. In his draft-eligible season, Parekh amassed 33 goals and 63 assists for a staggering 96 points in 66 games played, the most points by an OHL defenceman since 1995. His gaudy numbers make it puzzling that he was still available after eight selections, but general concerns over his defensive play allowed him to skid into the back of the top 10. Regardless of defensive concerns, which teenage Defenceman are typically associated with, finding a player with the offensive upside of Parekh is extremely rare.

Zayne’s 96 points in the 2023-24 OHL season were the third most all-time by a defenceman in their draft year. Additionally, Parekh already has two campaigns ranking in the top 50 all-time for single-season goals by an OHL defenceman, with one more season of eligibility.

Last season, Parekh led the Spirit on a lengthy run in the OHL playoffs before winning the Memorial Cup Championship shortly thereafter, capping off an already incredible draft-eligible campaign. This season, Parekh has only improved, scoring 26 times and adding 46 assists over 45 games played so far in Saginaw.

The field​

The Flames have drafted 12 defencemen in the first round over their history, dating back to their days in Atlanta. Their highest-drafted blueliner was David Shand, who was selected eighth overall by the Atlanta Flames in 1979. Tied for second are Dion Phaneuf and Zayne Parekh who were both taken by Calgary with the ninth overall pick in 2003 and 2024 respectively.

It’s at this juncture, that we’ll compare Parekh’s development timeline to that of his counterparts from the past.

Beginning with Dion Phaneuf, who is an appropriate comparable to Parekh based on draft position, but an inappropriate one based on play style. Phaneuf’s role as a defenceman couldn’t be more opposite to Parekh, which makes them difficult to compare. Dion was defensive-minded, to say the least, the 6-foot-4 220-pound Albertan was a punishing presence at the Junior and Professional level, who played a stay-at-home defensive style throughout his career. Conversely, Parekh’s calling card is his ability to create offensively, and unlike Phaneuf, he doesn’t possess great size or might.

Phaneuf may have been a more well-rounded prospect but lacked the massive upside that Zayne presents with his skillset. Dion, who played for Red Deer of the WHL, had just 0.42 points per game in his draft year and only improved slightly (0.69 points/game) the following season. Although his role wasn’t to score, you’d still like to see more offensive production against teenagers than Phaneuf was able to muster. Parekh’s offensive upside gives him the potential to be a transcendent player, given that he continues to improve on the defensive aspects of the game. Phaneuf was a safer prospect, whose skillset was almost certain to translate at the next level, but he was one-dimensional and lacked the ‘ceiling’ that Zayne possesses.

Unlike Phaneuf, Al MacInnis played a similar style game to Parekh, an offence-first defenceman with a knack for scoring goals. Drafted 15th by Calgary in ’81, MacInnis would go on to become a household name in Calgary, as one of the best defencemen in franchise history. Though MacInnis had a hall-of-fame career, as a prospect he was still not as compelling as Parekh, who dwarfed the Flames legend’s point production in junior.

MacInnis had 39 points in 47 OHL games (0.83 points/game) the year he was drafted, then improved to 75 in 59 (1.27 points/game) the following season. Parekh’s production over that same timeline is much more potent, he operated at a 1.45 points-per-game clip in his draft year and has since upped that mark to 1.57 this season. Parekh, who has played 161 OHL games to MacInnis’ 159, already has more goals (79) than MacInnis did (74) in his entire junior career.

Though Adam Fox didn’t spend much time in Calgary, he was still drafted by the team and therefore must be included in this debate. Fox began as a third-round calibre prospect based on where Calgary selected him in the 2016 draft. It wasn’t until his freshman season at Harvard where he led all NCAA defencemen in assists and was named ‘Ivy League Rookie of the Year’, that Fox began to be considered an ‘elite’ prospect. Even still, Parekh’s explosive pre-draft season was on par with that of Fox’s post-draft season, and Zayne is already on pace to improve on his point total from 2023-24, whereas Fox’s production stagnated after his breakout campaign as a freshman.

Paul Reinhart is the only Flames defenceman whose junior production can hold a candle to that of Parekh’s. Reinhart put up 129 points across 66 games played for the Kitchener Rangers of the then-Ontario Hockey Association in his draft year, good for fifth-most in the league that season.

The knock on Paul is that he played both defence and centre throughout his junior career, meaning only a portion of those 129 points would have come when he was playing on the back end. Ultimately, it’s difficult to classify Reinhart as a pure defensive prospect given his hybrid role in junior, as a result, Zayne gets the edge here.

Gary Suter had a stellar pre-NHL career with the University of Wisconsin totalling 73 points in 74 games played, comparable to Parekh’s production in the OHL. Suter’s 22 points from the blue line in his draft year were substantial, but concerns over his 5-foot-9 frame turned many teams off of him and Calgary stole him in the ninth round of the 1984 NHL Draft.

Suter more than doubled his point total to 51 the following season in Wisconsin, establishing himself as a marquee player in the pipeline. Though Gary eventually overcame any concern regarding his size, it was still held against him as a prospect, as evidenced by his massive plummet at the draft. Parekh on the other hand, does not come with such concerns and is much more of a prototypical defenceman standing at six-foot, while being just as much of a threat offensively.

To conclude​

Amongst a pool of high-calibre prospects from the past, Parekh sticks out as having the highest potential. His lengthy track record of offensive explosiveness from the backend combined with team success makes him one of the most intriguing prospects the Flames have ever had.

Zayne already has all of the tools needed to produce offensively at the NHL level but is not yet polished defensively. However, if he does hash out the details defensively, he can truly become an elite defenceman in today’s NHL.

Given his low floor and high ceiling, there are a wide range of outcomes for Zayne’s career, only time will tell whether he’s remembered as a great prospect, a great player or somewhere in between.

Sponsored by bet 365:

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/could-zayne-parekh-be-the-flames-best-defensive-prospect-ever

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames prospect Henry Mews is having a breakout season in the OHL

In what was considered an exceptional draft by Calgary Flames GM Craig Conroy last summer, one player who could end up being one of the biggest steals of the draft was the Flames’ third-round pick, Henry Mews. Mews is a 6-foot-1, right-shot defenceman for the Sudbury Wolves, though he was drafted while playing for the Ottawa 67’s.

Mews is primarily known as a strong, offence-minded defenceman, a trait that stems from his experience playing forward for most of his life. He only switched to defence at age 15. This season, his offensive production has skyrocketed, placing him among the OHL’s top producers, though his defensive game remains a work in progress.

In terms of character, Mews is well known among teammates for his positive attitude and sense of humour. During his time with the Ottawa 67’s, he and some supporters pledged to donate $33 for every assist he recorded during the 2023-2024 season, with all proceeds going to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation. Along with being a solid hockey player, Mews also has the type of personality any organization would want in its ranks.

Let’s take a look at how Mews emerged as a strong prospect before the draft and how he has fared since being selected.

Last season​

The 2023-2024 season for Mews began with the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in July and August of 2023. Playing on a Canadian team that featured another top Flames prospect to be, Zayne Parekh, Mews had a strong tournament. Playing primarily on Canada’s top defensive pairing alongside Sam Dickinson, he recorded one goal and six assists in five games. Canada went on to win the tournament after an overtime victory against Czechia.

Mews returned to the Ottawa 67’s for his second OHL season. He started the season well, finding the scoresheet regularly, but struggled with consistency in his defensive game. It wasn’t until late November that his offensive game truly took off. Three consecutive multi-point games to close the month were followed by a three-point performance at the start of December. Over the course of 65 games, Mews tallied 61 points—15 goals and 46 assists—finishing seventh in points among all OHL defencemen.

In the playoffs, Mews and the 67’s played ten games, where he recorded two goals and three assists. After defeating the Brantford Bulldogs in six games, the 67’s were swept by the Oshawa Generals in the second round.

However, Mews’ season didn’t end there. In April, he travelled to Finland to join Team Canada for the U-18 Hockey Championship. His offensive prowess continued, as he recorded seven points in seven games en route to a gold medal victory over the United States.

Following a strong OHL season and two opportunities to represent Canada internationally, Mews’ next step was the NHL Entry Draft. With the 74th overall pick, the Calgary Flames selected Mews, adding him to an already promising defensive prospect pool that includes Zayne Parekh and Hunter Brzustewicz. Many analysts had projected Mews as a potential first-round pick, or at worst, a second-round selection. However, concerns over his defensive play saw him slide to the third round, potentially making him a steal for the Flames in the years to come.

In the FlamesNation 2024 summer prospects list, Mews made his debut ranking ninth overall.

This season​

The 2024-2025 season began with the Ottawa 67’s, though Mews got off to a slower start—going goalless in his first 12 games but still managing 11 assists. His production ramped up in November, when he tallied seven goals and 10 assists, followed by an exceptional December, during which he recorded four goals and 16 assists in just 11 games. His dominant performance earned him OHL Defenceman of the Month honours.

Hours before the OHL trade deadline on Jan. 10, Mews was traded to the Sudbury Wolves in a blockbuster deal. With little time to spare, he packed his bags and arrived for his first game with the Wolves just 30 minutes before puck drop. He made an immediate impact, scoring a goal and adding two assists in his debut. Not too bad of an introduction.

While Mews continues to work on his defensive consistency, his offensive production remains elite. He currently has points in ten consecutive games. Through 51 games this season, Mews has amassed 68 points—13 goals and 55 assists—ranking 17th among all OHL skaters and second among defencemen, trailing only fellow Flames prospect Zayne Parekh (74 points). Notably, Mews leads all OHL defencemen in power-play points with 28.

He has already surpassed his point total from last season and continues to set new career highs with each point scored. It’s unfortunate he wasn’t considered for Canada’s World Junior team this year, but he should be a near-lock to make the squad next winter.

Overall​

Mews possesses the tools of a gifted offensive defenceman and power-play specialist. The Flames plan to be patient with his development, hoping he can round out his defensive game. If he succeeds in doing so, he could become a truly special player. However, with Mews being a right-shot defenceman who has proven himself as an strong offensive producer, could he force Calgary’s hand and make the jump to pro hockey sooner than expected? For now, the focus remains on steady development, with the first step being the signing of an entry-level contract.

With Flames prospect Dustin Wolf graduating from prospect status and Mews enjoying a stellar season, the Flames’ prospect rankings are expected to shift this summer. The only question is: how high will Mews climb on that list?

This article is presented by Bon Ton Meat Market​

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames-prospect-henry-mews-is-having-a-breakout-season-in-the-ohl

 

[Calgary Flames]

4 Nations Game Day: The battle for Nordic supremacy (11am MT)

So far at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Sweden (0-0-1, 1 point) and Finland (0-1-0, 0 points) have played one game apiece. They both went toe-to-toe with a North American powerhouse, and both came up short despite playing pretty well. One of these teams will have an opportunity for a victory and to build some momentum heading into Monday’s round robin finale. One of these teams will still have a realistic chance at making Thursday’s championship finale after this game… but they’ll still have their work cut out for themselves.

Today’s broadcast begins at 11 a.m. MT on Sportsnet.

Sweden​

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff

Filip Forsberg [9] – Elias Pettersson [40] – Adrian Kempe [10]
Rickard Rakell [67] – Mika Zibanejad [93] – William Nylander [88]
Jesper Bratt [63] – Joel Eriksson Ek [20] – Lucas Raymond [23]
Viktor Arvidsson [33] – Elias Lindholm [28] – Gustav Nyquist [12]

Victor Hedman [77] – Jonas Brodin [25]
Mattias Ekholm [14] – Erik Karlsson [65]
Gustav Forsling [42] – Rasmus Dahlin [26]

Filip Gustavsson [32] is projected to start in net, backed up by Linus Ullmark [35]. Sweden’s extras are Samuel Ersson, Leo Carlsson and Rasmus Andersson.

Man, Sweden played some really good hockey on Wednesday against Canada. Yeah, they were on their heels for much of the first half of the game. But they did a great job limiting the damage Canada was able to do offensively, and then playing some smart counter-punch hockey. If they can replicate that effort against Finland, they have a great chance at a favourable result.

Finland​

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Artturi Lehkonen [62] – Aleksander Barkov [16] – Mikko Rantanen [96]
Roope Hintz [24] – Sebastian Aho [20] – Patrik Laine [92]
Eetu Luustarinen [27] – Anton Lundell [15] – Mikael Granlund [64]
Teuvo Teravainen [86] – Erik Haula [56] – Joel Armia [40]

Niko Mikkola [77] – Esa Lindell [23]
Urho Vaakanainen [18] – Nikolas Matinpalo [33]
Olli Maatta [3] – Henri Jokiharju [10]

Kevin Lankinen [32] is expected to start, backed up by Juuse Saros [74]. Their projected extras are Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen, Juuso Valimaki and Kaapo Kakko.

Give Finland credit: they hung in there against the United States on Thursday. Were they out-played? Yes. Based on the rosters of the two teams… that was probably to be expected. The floodgates opened in the third period and the Americans deluged the Finnish net. Given the quick turnaround, we’re fascinated to see if the Finns can shake it off and get back to their system against Sweden.



Daily Faceoff Live is on the road! From February 10th to 20th, we’re bringing you live shows every weekday straight from Four Nations, delivering exclusive coverage, insider analysis, and all the tournament action as it unfolds. Don’t miss a beat—subscribe to the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel and follow us on social for the latest updates. It’s international hockey, so expect intensity, excitement, and maybe even a little chaos. Stay locked in and catch us live from Four Nations!

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/4-nations-game-day-the-battle-for-nordic-supremacy-11am-mt

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames prospect roundup: Étienne Morin’s Wildcats clinch a post-season berth

The Calgary Flames’ Ontario Hockey League prospects continue to torch the league.

This is the Feb. 8-14 edition of the Flames prospect roundup, where we look at how 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!

Editor’s note: All stats are updated as of Saturday afternoon. Any non-Russian games this Saturday will be included in next week’s prospect roundup.

Zayne Parekh​

Zayne Parekh can’t stop scoring and the Saginaw Spirit can’t stop winning. This week, they defeated the Guelph Storm in a barn burner, winning 10-7. They followed that up with an 8-4 win before defeating the Windsor Spitfires 3-2 in overtime with a goal from top draft prospect, Michael Misa.

In the 10-7 victory, Parekh scored a goal and two assists, followed by another one-goal, two-assist affair in their 8-4 win. He was held off the scoresheet in Friday’s victory. This season, the right-shot defenceman has 26 goals and 74 points in 47 games. If you want to read more about the Flames’ best defensive prospect (maybe in history), check out his article here.

PAREKH WITH A SNIPE @NHLFlames prospect Zayne Parekh rips a lethal snipe in for the @SpiritHockey to get his 26th goal of the season and put Saginaw up 7-4!#OHL | @CHLHockey pic.twitter.com/HL6w27lZze

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) February 13, 2025

The Spirit sit fourth in the Ontario Hockey League’s Western Conference thanks to a 29-21-2 record with 60 points. Unfortunately, the top three spots in the conference aren’t obtainable as the Kitchener Rangers have 79 points. The only other likely spot the Spirit will finish in is fifth, as the Erie Otters have 56 points, with the sixth-placed Flint Firebirds trailing the Spirit by 11 points. The top eight teams in the conference make the post-season.

Matvei Gridin​

Matvei Gridin and the Shawinigan Cataracters played two games this week, losing 5-4 in a shootout loss to Étienne Morin and the Moncton Wildcats, as well as a 5-2 loss to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

In the game against the Wildcats, both Gridin and Morin scored, with Gridin picking up five shots on net. Unfortunately, he was held off the scoresheet in their 5-2 loss where he was a -1. For the season, the Russian winger has 28 goals and 62 points in 48 games.

With a 28-18-5 record, the Cataractes have 61 points, tied for the fourth-most in the Québec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s Western Conference. They are just three points back of the second-place Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Moreover, the top seven teams in the conference make the post-season. With a win (or a Victoriaville Tigres loss), the Cataractes will clinch a spot in the post-season.

Andrew Basha​

Andrew Basha is still out of action, but his Medicine Hat Tigers played three games this past week. They fell 5-4 in overtime to the Prince Albert Raiders, defeated Hunter Laing and the Saskatoon Blades 5-3 and got their revenge on the Raiders, defeating them 3-1.

The Tigers sit first in the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference with a 35-16-4 record. Their 74 points are three clear of the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Calgary Hitmen, who sit third and fourth respectively in the conference. Thanks to leading their division, the Raiders sit second despite having 62 points. More on that later.

Jacob Battaglia​

The leap Jacob Battaglia has taken has helped the Kingston Frontenacs drastically. They fell 6-0 to Luke Misa and the Brampton Steelheads in their first game of the week but defeated the Owen Sound Attack and Kitchener Rangers 4-2.

Obviously, Battaglia was held off the scoresheet in their 6-0 loss but was one of four players on the Frontenacs who didn’t have a minus in the plus/minus category. He was held off the scoresheet in the Frontenacs’ 4-2 win over the Attack but scored the insurance goal against the Rangers on Friday. This season, Battaglia has 32 goals (a new career-high) and 73 points in 52 games. If you want to read more about him, check out this article here.

Jacob Battaglia's career-high 32nd goal from last night. pic.twitter.com/fnKRZCQZ1m

— Ryley Delaney (@Ryley__Delaney) February 15, 2025

The Frontenacs are in a dogfight. Their 31-14-7 record has them in fourth place in the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Conference. However, they’re tied in points with the Barrie Colts and Brantford Bulldogs while just being two points behind the conference-leading Oshawa Generals. They’ll more than likely get home-ice advantage, it just depends on how many rounds they’ll have it for.

Henry Mews​

Sticking with the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Conference, the Sudbury Wolves didn’t have a great week as they fell 7-4 to the Erie Otters, 7-3 to the Brampton Steelheads, before defeating the Flint Firebirds 3-2.

Flames prospect Henry Mews had a solid week though, picking up two assists in their 7-4 loss and an assist in their 7-3 loss. However, he was held pointless, took two tripping penalties, and was a -2 in their 3-2 win. Still, it’s been a pretty good season for Mews, as the right-shot defenceman has 13 goals and 68 points in 52 games this season. His 68 points is the second-most in the OHL for defencemen, with just Zayne Parekh having more. Read more about Mews here.

The Wolves sit sixth in the OHL’s Eastern Conference thanks to a 25-21-5 record with 55 points. They only have one more than the Brampton Steelheads, but 11 more points than the eight-placed Ottawa 67’s, who happen to be Mews’ old team. They are six points behind the Niagara IceDogs for fifth in the conference.

Kirill Zarubin​

It was a busy week for Tula Mikhailov Academy, as they defeated Yaroslavl Loko 3-0 before falling 3-2 and 3-0 to Cherepovets Almaz.

Flames prospect Kirill Zarubin played in two games, the 3-0 victory and the 3-0 defeat. The first game saw him save all 39 shots he faced while also saving 33 of 36 shots in the 3-0 defeat. This season in Russia’s junior league, the third-round pick in the 2024 draft has a .933 save percentage and a 2.38 goals against average in 16 games.

With a 27-12-3 record, Mikhailov Academy sits fourth in the Western Conference’s Gold Division. The top five teams in the Gold Division make the post-season while teams that finish six through eight play an opening round against the top three teams in the Silver Division.

Trevor Hoskin​

Niagara University and Trevor Hoskin played two games this week, defeating Canisius University 6-2, but falling to Robert Morris 4-3 in overtime.

Hoskin had a solid week though, scoring a goal and an assist in their 6-2 victory as well as picking up an assist in their defeat. This season, Hoskin has 11 goals and 34 points in 30 games, a great freshman season.

With a 13-8-2 record in the division, they have 42 points in the Atlantic Hockey America standings. All 11 teams in the conference make the post-season, but the bottom six teams play an opening round against each other. It seems unlikely that Niagara will finish in the bottom six.

Luke Misa​

The Brampton Steelheads and Luke Misa had a good week, defeating Jacob Battaglia and the Kingston Frontenacs 6-0 and Henry Mews and the Sudbury Wolves 7-3. However, they fell 4-2 to the North Bay Battalion.

In their 6-0 victory, Misa had a goal and an assist and was a +3. He followed that up with a goal and two assists (and a +3) in the Steelheads’ victory over the Wolves and even picked up an assist in their loss. This season, Misa has 31 goals and 69 points in 51 games and will blow by his career-high in points if he stays at his current pace.

THE STEELHEADS STRIKE TWICE

Two quick goals from Troy Patton and @NHLFlames prospect Luke Misa have the @OHLSteelheads up by a pair of goals!#OHL | @CHLHockey pic.twitter.com/qF2MtDvzPd

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) February 13, 2025

As for the Steelheads, they have a 23-20-8 record with 54 points, good enough for seventh in the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Conference. They are just a point back of the Wolves and the team that’s on the outside looking in, the Battalion, have 12 fewer points.

Hunter Laing​

This week, Hunter Laing and the Saskatoon Blades went 2-1, picking up a 5-3 victory over the Regina Pats, falling 5-3 to the Medicine Hat Tigers, before defeating Axel Hurtig and the Calgary Hitmen 6-3.

Laing picked up an assist on the insurance goal in their 5-3 victory over the Pats while scoring a goal for the Blades in their 5-3 loss. He was held pointless in their 6-3 victory, but was a +1 with three shots. This season, Laing has a career-high 15 goals and 31 points in 49 games with the Prince George Cougars and the Saskatoon Blades.

With a 28-17-6 record, the Blades are fifth in the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference. However, they have an equal number of points as the Prince Albert Raiders, who sit in second place in the conference thanks to leading the division.

Eric Jamieson​

The Everett Silvertips and defenceman Eric Jamieson played two games this week, falling 6-2 to the Vancouver Giants and Jaden Lipinski before defeating the Prince George Cougars 3-1.

Despite falling 6-2, Jamieson didn’t have a bad game as he took a penalty, had a shot on net, and was a +1. The defenceman scored the insurance goal into the empty net in their 3-1 victory. This season, he has nine goals and 28 points in 53 games, one back of matching his career-high goal total and four points back of his career-high point total.

Jamieson is one of two Flames prospects who have clinched their spot in the Canadian Hockey League post-season. With a 38-9-7 record with 83 points, the Silvertips sit first in the Western Hockey League’s Western Conference. As it stands, they’ll have home ice throughout the post-season and have two fewer points than the CHL-leading London Knights.

Étienne Morin​

Étienne Morin’s Moncton Wildcats are the other Canadian Hockey League team that features a Flames prospect who has clinched a post-season berth. They played two games this week, falling 5-3 to the Charlottetown Islanders before defeating the Shawinigan Cataractes 5-4 in a shootout.

Morin picked up an assist in their loss and scored his ninth goal of the season in their shootout win. As mentioned in Matvei Gridin’s section, both Flames prospects scored in that game. For the season, Morin has 11 goals and 44 points in 48 games, tied for second in defenceman goals in the Québec Maritimes Junior Hockey League and fourth in points. Read more on Morin here!

Thanks to a 39-9-2 record, the Moncton Wildcats have already punched their ticket into the 2025 post-season. The only team with a chance to catch them in terms of getting home-ice advantage throughout the post-season is the Rimouski Océanic, the host of the Memorial Cup, as they have 75 points. The top nine teams in the Eastern Conference make the post-season.

Aydar Suniev​

Aydar Suniev has returned after nearly a month! In the one game that UMass played this past week, they defeated Boston College 3-2 and have another game against the top-ranked team on Saturday evening.

Suniev was held off the scoresheet, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying as he had five shots. For the season, the Russian sophomore has 14 goals and 27 points in 24 games, surpassing his career-best in both categories from last season.

With a 7-8-2 in-conference record, UMass has 24 points. They are just four back of fourth-placed UConn. All 11 teams in the conference make the post-season, with the bottom six teams playing in the opening round.

Jaden Lipinski​

Jaden Lipinski and the Vancouver Giants played two games this week, defeating the Western Hockey League-leading Everett Silvertips 6-2 before falling 5-2 to the Victoria Royals on Friday.

Lipinski reached the double-digit goal mark with his 10th of the season against the Silvertips but was held off the scoresheet in their 5-2 loss. This season, Lipinski has 10 goals and 41 points in 43 games, a rather disappointing season for the overager.

The Giants sit in seventh place in the WHL’s Western Conference thanks to a 25-21-6 record. They’re 13 points clear of the ninth-placed team and could realistically move up to fifth place as the Portland Winterhawks have 61 points. The top eight teams in the conference make the post-season.

Yegor Yegorov​

I prepped the article before bed on Friday (it was actually in the wee hours of Saturday morning) and caught a bit of Moscow Krylya Sovetov’s 3-0 loss to Khabarovsk Amurskie Tigry. Unfortunately, Yegor Yegorov didn’t play, nor did he play in their 5-0 defeat to JHC Spartak. This season, Yegor x2 has a .909 save percentage and a 3.05 goals against average in 13 games played.

It's 5:50 AM, and as I was prepping articles to go to bed, I stumbled upon Russia's Junior League.

Sadly, Yegor x2 (Yegor Yegorov) isn't playing. pic.twitter.com/n72WGqXtyg

— Ryley Delaney (@Ryley__Delaney) February 15, 2025

With a 19-18-4 record, Krylya Sovetov (meaning Wings of the Soviet) has 42 points, five back of Russkie Vityazi for third in the Western Conference’s Silver Division. The top three teams in the Silver Division play the sixth, seventh, and eighth teams from the Gold Division, so making up those five points is paramount for Krylya Sovetov. The good news is that they’ve played three fewer games.

Axel Hurtig​

Axel Hurtig and the Calgary Hitmen had a mixed week, defeating the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime before falling 6-3 to Hunter Laing and the Saskatoon Blades. Hurtig was held off the scoresheet in both games but finished +1 in each game. For the season, the left-shot defenceman has four goals and 13 points in 44 games.

With a 33-14-5 record, the Hitmen are fourth in the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference. However, they have an equal number of points as the Hurricanes and are just three points back of the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Cade Littler​

Cade Littler and the North Dakota Fighting Hawks played two games this past week, beating Colorado College 3-1 before falling 4-0 to Denver University. Littler was held pointless in each game, registering two shots in their 4-0 loss. For the season, the right-shot centre has three goals and five points.

With a 9-7-1 record, North Dakota sits fifth in the conference with 28 points, two back of Denver. The top eight teams in the nine-team conference finish in the post-season with teams playing in the traditional 1-8 format.

Arsenii Sergeev​

Arsenii Sergeev and Penn State played two games this past week, defeating Wisconsin 6-2 and Notre Dame 5-3.

The Russian netminder had a great game against the Wisconsin Badgers, saved 39 of the 41 shots he faced for a .951 save percentage, including 22 shots in the second period. However, he didn’t have his best performance in the 5-3 win against Notre Dame, saving 24 shots on 27 opportunities for an .889 save percentage. For the season, the 22-year-old netminder has a .914 save percentage and a 2.58 goals against average in 22 games.

With a 6-10-3 in-conference record, Penn State’s 23 points have them sixth in the conference, one point back of the Badgers. All seven teams make the post-season.

Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

Sponsored by bet365:

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames...ne-morins-wildcats-clinch-a-post-season-berth

 

[Calgary Flames]

A Flame from the Past: Colin Patterson

Do you remember Colin Patterson?

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 1985-86 season, with the player we’ll look at in today’s article being Colin Patterson.

Patterson played two seasons for the Royal York Royals in the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League in 1978-79 and 1979-80. In his first season, the forward scored 16 goals and 46 points in 40 games. Patterson followed that up with 30 goals and 90 points but went undrafted.

Instead, he committed to Clarkson University in New York, playing three seasons there, scoring 64 goals and 155 points in 100 games, captaining the team in his final season, the 1982-83 season. Patterson signed with the Flames after his junior year, playing seven games with their Central Hockey League team to finish the season.

Starting the 1983-84 season in the CHL with the Colorado Flames, he played just six games with two goals and five points before being called up. Originally meant to be a short stint, Patterson impressed and became a regular with the Flames, scoring 13 goals and 27 points. His 1984-85 season was his career-best, scoring 22 goals and 43 points.

In 1985-86, Patterson scored 14 goals and 27 points, along with six goals and nine points in 19 games as the Flames made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Montréal Canadiens. Patterson had a similar season in 1986-87, scoring 13 goals and 27 points in 68 games.

Unfortunately, Patterson missed a large portion of games in 1987-88 due to a concussion, playing just 39 games where he had seven goals and 18 points. The Rexdale, Ontario native returned before the postseason, scoring a goal in nine games.

Patterson was with the Flames when they won their first and only Stanley Cup during the 1988-89 season. He scored 14 goals and 38 points in 74 games and also finished second in Selke Trophy voting, as he was a terrific two-way forward. In the postseason, the forward scored three goals and 13 points in 22 games as the Flames won the postseason.

Like the 1987-88 season, Patterson’s 1989-90 season was plagued with injuries, playing 61 games with five goals and eight points. He missed the entirety of the 1990-91 season due to a knee injury, playing one postseason game before the Flames traded him to the Buffalo Sabres.

In Patterson’s final two seasons, he scored eight goals and 18 points in 88 games, electing to head to Europe to finish out his playing days. Patterson joined Hokejsko drsalno društvo Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia (let’s just call them Olimpija for simplicity’s sake) where he scored an absurd 32 goals and 83 points in 14 games. That’s 2.29 goals per game and nearly six points per game, I can’t even do that in Be a Pro!

That was Patterson’s final season of his playing days. Getting a degree in marketing from Clarkson, Patterson served as Shaw Communications Vice President of Operations in the Noughties. He’s still active in the community and participates in alumni events. Not too shabby for an undrafted player.

Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

Presented by…​

This article is presented by Servus Credit Union. Start saving now to have your chance at winning $1 million with the Servus Big Share® Contest.

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/a-flame-from-the-past-colin-patterson

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames prospect Luke Misa looks like a steal of a fifth-round pick

The Calgary Flames’ top prospect is undoubtedly Zayne Parekh.

His teammate on the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit is Michael Misa, who has 46 goals and 102 points, leading the league in the latter category. Michael’s brother, Luke, was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the 2024 draft.

Making his OHL debut as a 15-year-old, but turning 16 years old shortly into the 2021-22 season, Luke Misa scored four goals and 26 points in his first season with the Mississauga Steelheads. In his aged-17 season the following year (he has a late-November birthday), he improved to 13 goals and 43 points in 64 games.

The 2023-24 season was his draft year and Misa put up 26 goals and 81 points in 55 games, helping the Steelheads make the postseason for the third consecutive season. Despite being ranked in mock drafts around the late second round to early third round, the Flames were able to pick him up in the fifth round.

Misa is part of the Curtis Glencross trade tree, as the Flames traded the fourth-round pick they got in the Elias Lindholm deal for the pick used to select him and a 2024 sixth-round pick.

Coming into the season, Misa ranked as FlamesNation’s 13th-best Flames prospect. According to his The Hockey Writers scouting report, he is a quick skater and a good playmaker, helping create chances for his team. His shot isn’t at the same level though and he’s a bit small (5’10”, 176 lbs) but will still get involved in board battles.

Misa’s numbers have improved drastically in 2024-25 with the now Brampton Steelheads. In 51 games, his 31 goals and 69 points have him second in each respective category. Carson Rehkopf has 32 goals and top 2025 draft prospect Porter Martone has 79 points. Still, his 31 goals are tied for seventh in the OHL while his 69 points are the 14th most in the league. Misa is one of four Flames prospects sitting in the top 17 in OHL point scoring.

This season, Misa has exceeded expectations and is on pace for 41 goals and 92 points. A rebuilding team needs to hit on their late-round picks and Misa sure looks like a player who could play NHL hockey within the next five years or so, especially if he adds some muscle to his frame. It’ll be interesting to see how he performs at the professional level next season.

Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social

Sponsored by bet365:

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames-prospect-luke-misa-looks-like-a-steal-of-a-fifth-round-pick

 

[Calgary Flames]

Instant Reaction: Rematch set as Canada holds on to beat Finland

It may have a bit more dramatic than anyone had intended, but Canada punched their ticket to the 4 Nations Face-Off final – and a rematch with the United States – by way of a Monday matinee victory over Finland at TD Garden in Boston.

Canada got out to a 4-0 lead and then withstood a late Finnish push to win 5-3.

The rundown​

Canada put on an offensive clinic early in this hockey game. Connor McDavid opened the scoring just over four minutes in, intercepting a clearing attempt by Finland and walking in and beating Kevin Lankinen with a wrist shot. That made it 1-0 Canada.

CANADA GOAL

Connor McDavid opens the scoring!

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #Finland pic.twitter.com/bBmfO26xjF

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 17, 2025

46 seconds later, Nathan MacKinnon put a shot past Lankinen to give Canada a 2-0 advantage.

CANADA GOAL

Nathan MacKinnon scores 46 seconds after Connor McDavid! It's 2-0 Canada!

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #Finland pic.twitter.com/D2xAcRLZqv

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 17, 2025

Midway through the first, McDavid led an odd-man rush into Finland’s zone. Travis Sanheim’s shot was stopped but Brayden Point jammed in the rebound to make it 3-0 Canada.

CANADA GOAL

Brayden Point puts Canada up 3-0!

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #Finland pic.twitter.com/TDgG6syThI

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 17, 2025

First period shots were 11-5 Canada. Via Natural Stat Trick, five-on-five scoring chances were 10-7 Canada (high-danger chances were 3-1 Canada).

Finland swapped goalies to begin the second, putting Juuse Saros in net.

Five minutes into the second period, MacKinnon scored again to make it 4-0 Canada.

CANADA GOAL

Nathan MacKinnon scores his second goal of the game! It's 4-0 Canada!

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #Finland pic.twitter.com/NmexcKduid

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 17, 2025

Second period shots were 12-8 Finland. Five-on-five scoring chances were 12-8 Finland (high-danger chances were 9-3 Finland).

Finland found their desperation in the third period, and they pushed back and chipped away at Canada’s lead in last 10 minutes of regulation.

Midway through the period, Esa Lindell spoiled Jordan Binnington’s shutout bid to make it 4-1 Canada with a shot from the bottom of the circles.

FINLAND GOAL

Esa Lindell breaks the shutout bid for Jordan Binnington.

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #Finland pic.twitter.com/HvSBMKOuHL

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 17, 2025

A little later, with Saros pulled for the extra attacker, Mikael Granlund scored on Binnington to cut the lead to 4-2.

FINLAND GOAL

Mikael Granlund cuts Canada's lead to two.

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #Finland pic.twitter.com/xzovMWpYMa

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 17, 2025

Even later, with Saros pulled again, Granlund scored again to cut the lead to 4-3 Canada.

FINLAND GOAL

Mikael Granlund makes this a one goal game late in the third period!

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #Finland pic.twitter.com/YrBYZo7xaL

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 17, 2025

But Sidney Crosby put a dagger in the Finnish comeback hopes with an empty-netter to make it a 5-3 Canada win.

Third period shots were 9-9. Five-on-five scoring chances were 4-1 Canada (high-danger chances were 0-0).

This and that​

Here’s how Canada skated:

Point – McDavid – Stone
Crosby – MacKinnon – Reinhart
Hagel – Cirelli – Marner
Marchand – Bennett – Konecny

Reinhart – McDavid – Marner
Crosby – MacKinnon – Stone
Marchand – Bennett – Jarvis
Hagel – Cirelli – Point

Toews – Makar
Morrissey – Parayko
Sanheim – Doughty

Binnington
(Hill)

Scratches: Montembeault, Harley, Jarvis

Here’s how Finland lined up:

Kakko – Barkov – Rantanen
Hintz – Aho – Granlund
Luostarinen – Lundell – Laine
Lehkonen – Haula – Armia

Mikkola – Lindell
Maatta – Jokiharju
Vaakanainen – Matinpalo

Lankinen
(Saros)

Scratches: Luukkonen, Valimaki, Teravainen

Up next​

Finland’s tournament is over.

Canada faces the United States on Thursday in the tournament final.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/instant-reaction-rematch-set-as-canada-holds-on-to-beat-finland

 

[Calgary Flames]

Instant Reaction: Sweden closes out the round robin with win over USA

By the time the puck dropped for Monday night’s game between the United States and Sweden, the game had been rendered meaningless. The USA had already punched their ticket to the final, and Canada did the same earlier on Monday.

With the stakes essentially null and void, Sweden battled back from an earlier deficit against an undermanned American team and held on for a 2-1 victory.

The rundown​

35 seconds into the game, the United States opened the scoring. Chris Kreider batted a rebound past Sweden netminder Samuel Ersson to give the USA a 1-0 lead.

USA GOAL

Chris Kreider opens the scoring for the US!

: Sportsnet | NHL#USA #Sweden pic.twitter.com/bodIrgCTdd

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 18, 2025

But Sweden battled back. Midway through the period, Gustav Nyquist batted a rebound past Jake Oettinger to tie the game at 1-1.

SWEDEN GOAL

Gustav Nyquist ties the game for Sweden!

: Sportsnet | NHL#Sweden #USA pic.twitter.com/1MZNgT9fIR

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 18, 2025

Late in the first, Sweden scored the eventual game-winner. Jesper Bratt received a pass in the slot and spun and fired the puck past Oettinger to give Sweden a 2-1 lead.

SWEDEN GOAL

Jesper Bratt scores in the final minute of the first period to put Sweden up 2-1!

: Sportsnet | NHL#Sweden #USA pic.twitter.com/39DMwrJKKc

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 18, 2025

First period shots were 13-8 United States. Via Natural Stat Trick, five-on-five scoring chances were 8-4 USA (high-danger chances were 7-1 USA).

The second period was pretty back and forth, with both teams getting chances. Neither team scored.

Second period shots were 9-8 Sweden. Five-on-five scoring chances were 8-7 USA (high-danger chances were 3-1 USA).

The Americans pressed throughout the third period, even pulling Oettinger for an extra attacker. But the Swedes kept them at bay and held on for the victory.

Third period shots were 11-6 United States. Five-on-five scoring chances were 10-5 USA (high-danger chances were 3-3 USA).

This and that​

Here’s how the United States skated:

Guentzel – Miller – Hughes
B.Tkachuk – Eichel – Kreider
Nelson – Larkin – Boldy
rotating – Trocheck – Connor

Slavin – Faber
Werenski – Sanderson
Hanifin – Fox

Oettinger
(Swayman)

(Yeah, they played a man short, and they were also without Brady Tkachuk for much of the game.)

Scratches: Hellebuyck, Matthews, M.Tkachuk, McAvoy

Here’s how Sweden lined up:

Bratt – Carlsson – Nylander
Kempe – Eriksson Ek – Raymond
Forsberg – Lindholm – Pettersson
rotating – Nyquist – Arvidsson

Hedman – Brodin
Forsling – Karlsson
Dahlin – Andersson
Ekholm

Ersson
(Gustavsson)

Scratches: Ullmark, Rakell, Zibanejad

Up next​

Sweden’s tournament is over.

The United States faces Canada on Thursday in the tournament final.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/instant-reaction-sweden-closes-out-the-round-robin-with-win-over-usa

 

[Calgary Flames]

Throwback Tuesday: Looking at how the Flames traded Sven Bärtschi for Rasmus Andersson

It’s hard not to see the parallels between this season and the 2014-15 season for the Calgary Flames.

Nearly a decade ago, the Flames made two trade deadline moves. On Mar. 1, 2015, they traded Curtis Glencross to the Washington Capitals for two picks, a trade tree that still has a massive impact on the team to this day. However, we looked at that in last week’s Throwback Tuesday.

The other move came a day later, as the Flames traded Sven Bärtschi to the Vancouver Canucks for a 2015 second-round pick.

In this Throwback Tuesday, we’ll look at Bärtschi’s career as a Flame and how he did after the trade, as well as what that pick turned into. Let’s dig in!

Sven Bärtschi’s career as a Flame​

After playing parts of two seasons in Switzerland, Bärtschi played for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League in his draft year. In 2010-11, he scored 34 goals and 85 points in 66 games, with 10 goals and 27 points in 21 post-season games. That led to the Flames selecting the Swiss winger 13th overall in the 2011 draft.

Bärtschi returned to the Winterhawks for the 2011-12 season, scoring 33 goals and 94 points in 47 games, along with 14 goals and 34 points in 22 postseason games. In March, 2012, Bärtschi joined the Flames for five games where he scored three goals.

The left wing started his first full professional season with the Abbotsford Heat of the American Hockey League in 2012-13, where he scored 10 goals and 26 points in 32 games. After the 2012-13 lockout ended, Bärtschi joined the Flames where he scored three goals and 10 points in 20 games. The 2013-14 season mainly saw him play in the AHL, scoring 13 goals and 29 points in 41 games, with two goals and 11 points in 26 games in the NHL.

Bärtschi’s final season in the Flames organization came in 2014-15. Once again, he didn’t get much of an opportunity, playing just 15 games where he had four points and was a -3. His scoring in the AHL was solid, potting eight goals and 25 points in 36 games, but Bärtschi was dealt to the Canucks on Mar. 2, 2015, ending his Flames career.

Sven Bärtschi took off as a Canuck​

In the three games Bärtschi played for the Canucks in 2014-15, he scored two goals in three games, along with seven goals and 15 points in 15 games with their American Hockey League team. It wasn’t until the 2015-16 season that Bärtschi lived up to his draft status, as he scored 15 goals and 28 points in 69 games for the Canucks that season.

His 2016-17 season was his career-best year, as Bärtschi scored 18 goals and 35 points in 68 games, followed by 14 goals and 29 points in 53 games in 2017-18. Through the first nine games of the 2018-19 season, Bärtschi scored three goals and six points but was checked to the head in a game against the Vegas Golden Knights and missed nearly two months with a concussion.

Upon returning on Dec. 29, 2018, ironically against the Flames, Bärtschi finished the season with a respectable six goals and eight points in 16 games. Overall, nine goals and 14 points in 26 games isn’t too shabby.

Despite finding success at the NHL level for the past four seasons, Bärtschi was waived by the Canucks before the 2019-20 season, playing the majority of the year with the Utica Comets of the AHL where he scored 13 goals and 46 points in 43 games. In the six games he played with the Canucks, he had two assists and was a -2.

Bärtschi failed to appear for the Canucks in the 2020-21 season, playing the entire season with the Comets where he had five goals and 14 points in 24 games. In the off-season, he signed with the Golden Knights, playing just one game at the NHL level while scoring 15 goals and 28 points in 44 games.

The Swiss returned home to Switzerland for the 2022-23 season, signing a three-year deal with Schlittschuh Club Bern (SC Bern), scoring four goals and 14 points in 36 games. Bärtschi retired after the 2022-23 season.

Unfortunately, one injury can change the trajectory of a player’s career, which was the case for Bärtschi. If he didn’t get checked to the head and deal with post-concussion syndrome, could he still be in the league having a productive career? It’s just sad to think about.

But what about that pick?​

The Canucks’ pick in the second round of the 2015 draft turned out to be the 53rd overall pick. With it, the Flames selected defenceman Rasmus Andersson, who is still with the team.

Throughout nine seasons with the Flames (with him being a regular for seven seasons), Andersson has 44 goals and 221 points in 510 games. His career year in terms of points came in 2021-22 when he had 50 points while scoring 11 goals the following season.

Andersson’s contract expires at the end of the 2025-26 season and he’ll become an unrestricted free agent. Still, the Flames feel confident they’ll be able to re-sign him when they’re able to on Jul. 1 of this year. If they can’t, expect this minor trade tree to grow exponentially as right-shot defencemen are always in vogue.

Either way, it was a good piece of business in hindsight, although Bärtschi broke out after departing the team.

Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/throwb...mes-traded-sven-bartschi-for-rasmus-andersson

 

[Calgary Flames]

NHL Notebook: Quinn Hughes added to Team USA’s 4 Nation Face-Off roster

It’s been a busy day for the Vancouver Canucks.

On Tuesday, it was reported that Quinn Hughes will replace Charlie McAvoy on Team USA’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster, as McAvoy was admitted to a local hospital on Monday. Hopefully, it’s just a precautionary measure for his upper-body injury.

So much in-flux this morning. Team USA was told one hour ago that they couldn’t add anyone.

Mike Sullivan now says Quinn Hughes is en route to join USA as an injury replacement.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 18, 2025

Hughes is arguably the best defenceman in the league, scoring 14 goals and 59 points in 47 games this season. The left-shot defenceman is a front-runner for the James Norris Trophy which would be the second-consecutive season he’s won it.

However, unless there is another injury, Hughes won’t be eligible to play in the final game on Thursday, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

I’m told another injury is needed for Quinn Hughes to play

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 18, 2025

Minutes after it was reported that Hughes was joining Team USA, the Canucks announced that they’ve signed Drew O’Connor to a two-year extension worth $2.5 million a season, or $5 million in total.

General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the #Canucks have agreed to terms with forward Drew O’Connor on a two-year contract extension worth $2.5M AAV.

DETAILS | https://t.co/0VMPsQ0LoA pic.twitter.com/OEusLDxG6t

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) February 18, 2025

O’Connor was acquired along with Marcus Pettersson from the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this month. Since joining the Canucks, O’Connor has two goals in four games, bringing his season total to eight goals and 18 points in 57 games this season. Like O’Connor, Pettersson signed an extension as well.

Lastly in Canucks news, it was reported by The Athletic’s Thomas Drance that netminder Thatcher Demko won’t be joining the Canucks on their upcoming five-game road trip. It’s not the same knee that kept him out towards the end of last season, the post-season, and the beginning of the 2024-25 season but he’s out week-to-week.

Thatcher Demko (lower body) won’t be making the upcoming road trip with the team, will be reevaluated when the #Canucks return from Seattle next weekend.

It’s not the knee. Officially “week-to-week”, per team spokesperson.

— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) February 18, 2025

On a surface level, Demko’s numbers aren’t great as he has an .891 save percentage and a 2.87 goals against average in 17 games played with a 6-6-3 record. However, over his past five games, he had a .955 save percentage and a 3-1-0 record before being pulled from Feb. 8’s game.

Golden Knights traded Grigori Denisenko to the Predators​

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – we’re approaching the 2025 trade deadline. On Tuesday afternoon, the Vegas Golden Knights traded Grigori Denisenko to the Nashville Predators for future considerations.

The Vegas Golden Knights have traded Grigori Denisenko to the Nashville Predators in exchange for future considerations. #VegasBorn https://t.co/spcJLqfl27

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 18, 2025

The Russian winger was selected 15th overall in the 2018 draft by the Florida Panthers, making his National Hockey League debut with them in 2020-21 when he had four assists in seven games. He played just one game with them in 2021-22, before an additional 18 games with the reigning Stanley Cup champions in 2022-23 where he picked up three assists in 18 games.

Denisenko’s 2022-23 season in the American Hockey League was his breakout year at that level, scoring 12 goals and 36 points in 56 games, up from the nine goals and 18 points in 30 games the season before. In 2023-24, he played just six games for the Golden Knights, but scored 20 goals and 56 points with their AHL team.

So far in 2024-25, Denisenko has played just one game in the NHL but has 10 goals and 24 points in 42 games with the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL.

Jérémy Lauzon out four-to-six months for the Predators​

Sticking with the Nashville Predators, they’ll be without defenceman Jérémy Lauzon for four-to-six months due to a lower-body injury.

#Preds Injury Update: Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon will miss 4-6 months with a lower-body injury.

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) February 18, 2025

The Val-d’Or, Québec native was selected in the second round of the 2015 draft by the Boston Bruins, making his debut with the team in 2018-19. In 16 games, he scored a goal and was a -1. Lauzon only played 19 games with them in 2019-20, followed by 41 games in 2020-21 with the Bruins. Lauzon was selected by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 expansion draft.

After scoring one goal and six points in 53 games, Lauzon was traded before the 2022 trade deadline to the Predators, where he finished the season with a goal in 13 games. The 2022-23 season was a career-best for the left-shot defenceman, scoring three goals and 12 points in 67 games. He improved the following season, scoring six goals and 14 points in 79 games while leading the league in hits.

Unfortunately for the Predators, Lauzon was seen as someone they could’ve potentially traded before the Mar. 7 trade deadline. He’s still under contract until the end of the 2025-26 season with a cap hit of $2 million.

Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/nhl-notebook-quinn-hughes-added-to-team-usas-4-nation-face-off-roster

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames prospect Ilya Solovyov is knocking on the door for an NHL opportunity

For whatever reason, the Calgary Flames have found a lot of good value late in the NHL Draft. In 2019, they drafted Dustin Wolf in the seventh round, and he’s become a pretty decent NHL goaltender. In 2020, they selected a pair of players in the last two rounds that have played NHL games so far: sixth-rounder Rory Kerins and seventh-rounder Ilya Solovyov.

Solovyov, in particular, has quietly become a pretty important player within the Flames system. And while he may lack elite upside – it’s probably fair to say that Zayne Parekh will probably produce more points than Solovyov – Solovyov seems like he could be pushing for a regular NHL opportunity in the near future.

Last season​

Solovyov entered the 2023-24 season with a good amount of momentum on his side. He found his stride as an AHL defender in 2022-23 on a pairing with Nick DeSimone, and he continued to be paired with DeSimone for the first part of the 2023-24 campaign – before DeSimone was called up to the Flames and then subsequently claimed on waivers by New Jersey mid-season.

While he was with the Wranglers, Solovyov posted 15 points over 51 games. He played with a rotation of different blueliners, including Jordan Oesterle, Mark Pysyk, Jonathan Aspirot and Brady Lyle. His role was to provide the defensive prowess that allowed the club’s more offensive-minded D-men to do their thing.

The Flames went through a lot of personnel changes during the 2023-24 season, and Solovyov ended up being one of the first blueliners called up early in the season, stepping in briefly when Rasmus Andersson was suspended. Solovyov made his NHL debut on Oct. 26, 2023 and his second NHL game was actually the 2023 Heritage Classic. Because of injuries and trades, Solovyov ended up playing 10 games with the Flames across three call-ups, registering three points.

Solovyov in the NHL was a lot like Solovyov in the AHL: quiet, reliable, and able to block a lot of shots.

He was ranked 14th in FlamesNation’s summer prospect rankings, slotting in fourth among the organization’s defensive prospects.

This season​

Solovyov signed a two-year contract extension over the off-season. He cleared waivers after training camp and headed back to the Wranglers. On the farm, he’s done basically what he did last year: he’s the defensive conscience of the team, and he’s been used to shore up a bunch of different pairings with a rotation of partners – Joni Jurmo played his first handful of AHL games alongside Solovyov, for example.

While serving as the defensive conscience, Solovyov has also posted the best offensive numbers of his AHL career this season, with 21 points over 43 games. He was called up to the NHL just before the 4 Nations Face-Off break, playing in the top four alongside Rasmus Andersson and looking quite effective.

Solovyov has played over 200 AHL games and he’s a pretty known quantity at the pro level. He plays a really simple, low-risk style of hockey. He’s a physical, defence-first kind of player. The Flames have a ton of players in their system with high offensive upside – among them Zayne Parekh, Henry Mews, Hunter Brzustewicz and Jeremie Poirier. Solovyov doesn’t quite have that upside, but he may be the ideal type of player to play alongside those puck-moving defenders in the coming seasons.

Solovyov’s two-year deal converts to a one-way deal next season; he’s making NHL money in 2025-26 regardless of where we’re playing. We’re optimistic that he’ll be in the mix for a full-time NHL gig.

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[Calgary Flames]

Flames legend Jarome Iginla appears on Daily Faceoff’s NHL Quarter Century Team

Hey, remember Jarome Iginla?

Sure you do! He’s one of the best players in National Hockey League history, and surely one of the best in recent history. He spent 16 seasons with the Calgary Flames and basically re-wrote the franchise’s record book while being a pillar in the community. (Most Flames fans from the early 2000s have a story about a sweet Iginla goal they witnessed, an endearing encounter with him in the community during his tenure, or both.) He’s currently serving as special assistant to Flames general manager Craig Conroy.

Anyway, the NHL is commemorating the first 25 years of the current century with a series of Quarter-Century Teams. While the NHL is doing fan balloting to determine the top 25 players of the past 25 years, our pals at Daily Faceoff conducted a staff vote to determine their own list.

Iginla landed at 21st on Daily Faceoff’s list. Here’s what DFO’s Matt Larkin had to say about Iginla:

Iginla was the game’s premier power forward in his day, a deadly goal scorer, a great leader and a vicious competitor who would readily drop the gloves. He led the league in goals twice and points once, was a three-time first-team all-star and, perhaps most impressively, buried 625 goals – 556 since 2000 – despite playing a significant chunk of his career during one of hockey’s lowest-scoring eras.

Since Jan. 1, 2000, just three NHL players have scored more goals than Iginla: Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos. He’s also third in even-strength goals, fourth in power play goals and fifth in game-winning goals. He’s also eighth since the beginning of 2000 in points. In terms of Flames players in that span, Iginla leads the team in goals (244 more than Sean Monahan), assists (88 more than Johnny Gaudreau) and points (334 more than Gaudreau).

Iginla had longevity, tenacity, and an absolute nose for the net during his playing career. Those qualities are what helped him define the Flames during his tenure, and they’re what made him one of the NHL’s best players of the quarter century.

Head on over to Daily Faceoff to check out the rest of their list!

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames...rs-on-daily-faceoffs-nhl-quarter-century-team

 

[Calgary Flames]

Examining the Flames’ playoff outlook following the 4 Nations Face-Off break

We are now entering the final stage of the 4 Nations Face-off, a tournament that has captivated the hockey world over the last eight days. With only the 4 Nations Final to be played, NHL teams have hit the ice for a streamlined training camp before play resumes on Saturday. This seems an appropriate time to pick back up where we left off and revisit the Calgary Flames’ current position within the league.

The Flames left off on a sour note in their final game before the break, ceding a 2-0 lead late to the Kraken on Feb. 8, in an eventual 3-2 OT loss. That gut-wrenching defeat made it three straight, their first three-game skid since November.

Prior to the teams’ struggles, they had held the final wildcard spot in the West, and with only the Vancouver Canucks to beat out, Calgary seemed poised to make a run at the postseason. Now, nearly two weeks later, there is much more skepticism surrounding the team and its playoff odds.

The Flames (26-21-8) currently sit three points shy of the Canucks (26-18-11) who own the final wildcard spot, each with 27 games remaining. Conversely, Calgary has a three-point buffer and a game in hand on the Utah Hockey Club (24-23-9), the only non-playoff team within five points of the Flames.

Different playoff models have slightly ranging odds for Calgary to end up with a playoff berth.

MoneyPuck – 22.5%
Hockey Reference – 26.3%
PlayoffStatus – 28.0%

Each model takes a different approach to calculating playoff odds, hence the incongruent results from site to site. They ballpark the Flames’ odds at 22-28%, which is around where they’ve hovered for the better part of the previous two seasons. Regardless of how much weight you put into these models, the Flames’ odds are bleak, there’s no other way around it.

There is cause for hope in Flames land, however, as there is positive news on the injury front. Both Connor Zary and Kevin Bahl have resumed practising after extended absences from the team due to injury. The eventual return of Zary gives Calgary some much-needed scoring, they currently rank 30th in the league in goals for per game. Bahl’s re-insertion into the lineup fills a hole on the backend that the Flames have struggled to fill since the 6-foot-6 blueliner went down on January 25th.

Conversely, the injuries ailing the Canucks still linger as it was announced that starting goaltender Thatcher Demko will not travel with the team on their five-game road trip due to a lower-body injury. Additionally, star defenceman Quinn Hughes continues to deal with the injury that held him from participating in the 4 Nations Face-off.

Vancouver and Calgary both have rather difficult paths to the playoffs and share an identical strength of schedule rating of 0.555 (combined point % of remaining opponents) as per Tankathon. Many of the Flames’ toughest remaining match-ups come within the next few weeks, meaning we’ll have a clearer view of their playoff outlook sooner rather than later.

Though their odds of making the playoffs are slim, Calgary has exceeded every expectation set out for them so far. Now faced with an uphill battle, It’s up to them to prove everyone wrong again.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/examin...utlook-following-the-4-nations-face-off-break

 

[Calgary Flames]

4 Nations Beyond the Boxscore: Canada remains the kings of hockey after overtime victory against the USA

The 4 Nations championship ended with as much suspense and entertainment any fan could ask for as Canada downed the USA 3-2 in overtime.

USA: CF% – 47.85%|| SCF% – 44.69%|| HDCF% – 38.31%|| xGF% – N/A

CAN: CF% – 52.15%|| SCF% – 55.31%|| HDCF% – 61.69%|| xGF% – N/A

It’s a Team Game – Credit to the NHL for giving us international hockey back (after they took it away) because that was suspenseful, dramatic, and emotionally charged a performance as I have ever seen outside of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Canada and the USA both wanting nothing more than to simply see the other team lose – a pure rivalry. Canada got things underway when Nathan MacKinnon scored from the point after dazzling with some speed and hands to get off the wall and create a hole through traffic. The Americans started to lose grip of the game as the first went on, but were able to salvage it after Brady Tkachuk was able to whack home a centring pass. From there the flow of play at 5v5 levelled out – both teams still earning quality looks and capitalizing on them as well. Jake Sanderson found a loose puck to take a brief lead before Sam Bennett would roof it on a partial break to keep things locked up. Overtime started and the Canadians took control – pressing the Americans consistently just waiting for someone to miss an assignment. Auston Matthews then made one singular mistake and left McDavid alone for three seconds, but that was all it took for Canada to come out champions.

Corsi King – Jake Guentzel remained a great offensive threat from start to finish for this tournament. He never turned in a bad game and was extra feisty getting into shoving matches multiple times as the game went on. Auston Matthews (53.76 per cent) may have made the overtime mistake, but prior to that was a force for team USA. Jordan Binnington was forced to make consecutive top shelf saves because of Matthews late in the third period, coming close to ending things for the Americans,

Seth Jarvis (74.12 per cent) got to contribute every time he got called upon. He and Brad Marchand (73.55 per cent) were effective in the minutes they earned. Canada’s big guns allowed a few more chances than they were able to achieve.

Under Pressure –

Taken By Chance – One American player that opened eyes on forward was Dylan Larkin (28.89 SCF% || 51.12 HDCF%). All tournament long he was reliable and kept making the right move to maximize how dangerous and effective he could be. He and Zach Werenski (52.01 per cent || 36.40 per cent)) stood tall above most other American performances. If not for Hellebuyck’s existence than Werenski would have been the best player in the entire tournament.

Canada had a bit of an x-factor in this match they were missing in their first one. Cale Makar (70.11 per cent || 72.55 per cent) led the team with involvement in ten high danger chances at 5v5. He was consistently flying back towards the American net on the majority of his shifts. His speed was able to get the puck deep in the attacking zone with possession and allows for him to cover a lot of ice when defending. He was a force in this one.

xG Breakdown –

xGF% – Due to some form of data collection issue the xG percentages are missing.

I was more critical of Jaccob Slavin than most after the first match. He had allowed a few high danger chances I felt were preventable – I was in the minority. His performance tonight, however, was nothing short of spectacular. His anticipation in his own zone to get in the way of shooting and passing lanes was the only answer Mike Sullivan had to trying to contain McDavid. That and blanket him with Jack Eichel – who showed the world maybe he should be getting some more Selke consideration. Eichel’s defensive game was at a level on par with Alex Barkov and was consistent enough to call him America’s best centre of the tournament.

Mitch Marner had himself a better game than the first time he played. The coach sensed that too and had him go back to playing with McDavid – a golden decision. McDavid struggled to make things happen all night long. His passes were slightly off target, he was a step ahead of the puck more often than he should have and genuinely looked discombobulated. None of that mattered after he slipped away from Matthews in the attacking zone to roof the game winning goal for his country.

Game Flow –

Game Score –

CAN-USA Ratings pic.twitter.com/jdIBaF6Kjd

— dom (@domluszczyszyn) February 21, 2025

Shot Heatmap –

In The Crease – Credit to Jordan Binnington. It may not have looked pretty, proper, or perfect but it was a championship performance anyways. He made the game more interesting for myself as there were multiple instances where Binnington’s positioning in relation to the Americans shots had my anxiety level spike to the literal maximum. Connor Hellebuyck was his usual dialed In self. MacKinnon getting his goal through traffic was the anomaly of this game – a rare hole from the best goaltender on the planet. There still may be questions around goaltending going forward, but Binnington has now earned the chance to defend his spot with the Olympics coming rapidly into focus.

The Goals –

CANADA GOAL

NATHAN MACKINNON OPENS THE SCORING FOR CANADA!

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #USA pic.twitter.com/l6cpVXPADV

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 21, 2025

USA GOAL

BRADY TKACHUK TIES THE GAME AND FIRES UP THE BOSTON CROWD!

: Sportsnet | NHL#USA #Canada pic.twitter.com/o10vpW1Lcj

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 21, 2025

USA GOAL

JAKE SANDERSON RIPS A REBOUND INTO THE BACK OF THE NET!

IT'S 2-1 USA

: Sportsnet | NHL#USA #Canada pic.twitter.com/D90HLkEw0H

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 21, 2025

CANADA GOAL

MITCH MARNER MAKES AN INCREDIBLE PASS TO FIND SAM BENNETT AND HE BURIES IT!

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #USA pic.twitter.com/MDCwgIglUJ

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 21, 2025

CANADA GOAL

CONNOR MCDAVID WINS THE FOUR NATIONS FACEOFF FOR CANADA!!!

: Sportsnet | NHL#Canada #USA pic.twitter.com/Zab3LSX1QX

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 21, 2025

Flash’s 3 Stars –

1) Cale Makar

2) Connor Hellebuyck

3) Connor McDavid

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

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/4-nati...hockey-after-overtime-victory-against-the-usa

 

[Calgary Flames]

NHL Notebook: Canucks sign Kevin Lankinen to a five-year extension

The Vancouver Canucks remain one of the busiest teams in the league.

On Friday, the Canucks announced that they’ve extended netminder Kevin Lankinen to a five-year, $22.5 million deal worth $4.5 million a season.

Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the club has agreed to terms with goaltender Kevin Lankinen on a 5-year contract extension with a $4.5M AAV.

DETAILS | https://t.co/XniqSp5kLn pic.twitter.com/wZXI7rtVv7

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) February 21, 2025

The Finnish netminder went undrafted, making his National Hockey League debut with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2020-21, playing a career-high 37 games with a .909 save percentage and a 3.01 goals against average. After another season with the Blackhawks, Lankinen joined the Nashville Predators before the 2022-23 season, posting a .908 save percentage and a 2.82 goals against average in 24 games last season.

Shortly before the 2024-25 season began, Lankinen signed a one-year, $875,000 deal with the Canucks. In his 34 games with the Pacific Division team, the 29-year-old netminder has a .905 save percentage and a 2.53 goals against average with a 19-8-7 record.

As of the end of the 4 Nations Face-Off (Lankinen played two games for Team Finland), the Canucks have a 26-18-11 record with 63 points, occupying the final Wild Card spot.

Sean Durzi is set to return on Saturday​

According to Brogan Houston of Deseret News Sports, Utah Hockey Club head coach André Tourigny said that right-shot defenceman Sean Durzi will be back in the lineup on Saturday against his former team, the Los Angeles Kings.

Per Tourigny, Sean Durzi will play on Saturday against his former team, the LA Kings.

Logan Cooley is also day to day, but Bear says the blue jersey was an indication of non-contact.

Connor Ingram is day to day. Tourigny doesn’t expect Jaxson Stauber to play during this…

— Brogan Houston (@houston_brogan) February 18, 2025

Durzi has played just four games this season after a shoulder injury in mid-October, picking up two assists. He’s been a big loss for the Hockey Club, as they sit six points back of the Vancouver Canucks for the final Wild Card spot while needing to surpass the Calgary Flames in points as well.

Last season, Durzi matched a career-high with nine goals while picking up 41 points, surpassing his previous best by three. The franchise (then known as the Arizona Coyotes) acquired the 26-year-old defenceman from the Kings before the 2023 draft for a 2024 second-round pick.

Connor Hellebuyck and Josh Morrissey won’t play for the Jets on Saturday​

On Friday morning, Winnipeg Free Press’ Ken Wiebe reported that Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel said Josh Morrissey and Connor Hellebuyck won’t suit up for the Jets game this weekend. However, Kyle Connor will play against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.

#NHLJets HC Scott Arniel says D Josh Morrissey and G Connor Hellebuyck are flying back to Winnipeg and won’t suit up this weekend, while LW Kyle Connor is heading to St Louis and should be in the lineup vs #stlblues on Saturday.

— Ken Wiebe (@WiebesWorld) February 21, 2025

Morrissey won the 4 Nations Face-Off with Team Canada but was a scratch shortly before the game due to being sick. Hellebuyck played in the game, allowing three goals for Team USA in a loss. Connor was also scratched before game time as Chris Kreider took his spot.

The Jets can afford to lose two of their better players, as they’re one of the best teams in the league this season. With a 39-14-3 record, the Jets’ 81 points top not only the Western Conference but the entire league.

Morrissey has been their best defender this season, scoring seven goals and 46 points in 56 games while playing key minutes. Hellebuyck is on the way to winning his second consecutive Vezina Trophy thanks to a .925 save percentage and a 2.06 goals against average in 43 games.

Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/nhl-notebook-canucks-extend-kevin-lankinen-to-a-five-year-extension

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames prospect Jacob Battaglia continues standout season with spectacular spinning goal

There might not be a single Calgary Flames prospect who has exceeded expectations this year to a greater degree than Jacob Battaglia.

The Kingston Frontenacs winger has continued to pile up the points in the second half of the 2024-25 OHL regular season, adding three more to his total in Friday’s 4-2 victory over the Brantford Bulldogs. He now has 33 goals and 76 points in 55 games this year.

But while Battaglia’s raw production is impressive by itself, it’s his combination of highly sought-after attributes that makes him one of the Flames’ most exciting prospects — and his rare talent was on full display as he scored the game-tying goal against Brantford on Friday.

Standing in at 6’1″ and 202 pounds, Battaglia is a big man who plays his size while also routinely making defenders look silly with moves you might expect to see from a much smaller player. Late in the second period of Friday’s game in Kingston, Battaglia scooped up the puck at centre ice, deked around a pair of Bulldogs players with nifty fakes in the neutral zone, and then executed a perfect give-and-go with teammate Cedrick Guindon while spinning around yet another Brantford defender.

If there’s another play that better encapsulates everything that Battaglia brings to the table, we haven’t seen it. His 33rd goal of the season made it a 2-2 game with 6:09 remaining in the middle frame.

LIL' SPIN AND GO FROM BATES!

That's number 33 for Jacob Battaglia and it's a BEAUTY!@NHLFlames | #Flames https://t.co/zFzJBzJAgr pic.twitter.com/BoG5QfX660

— Kingston Frontenacs (@KingstonFronts) February 22, 2025

Battaglia subsequently recorded the primary assist on Gage Heyes’ game-winning goal in the final minute of the second period, but it was his goal that remained the talk of the town in Kingston while also making its way into Flames circles. (BarDown reposted an even better view of the highlight-reel play on their socials late on Friday night).

It isn’t difficult to see why fans in Calgary are so excited about all four of the players the team drafted out of the OHL last year, and Battaglia certainly isn’t an exception. The Mississauga product has taken an enormous step forward in his first post-draft season and currently ranks ninth and 11th among all OHLers in goals and points, respectively.

In addition to Battaglia and Mews, the Flames also nabbed Zayne Parekh and Luke Misa out of the OHL at the 2024 NHL Draft. Exactly half of their 2024 draft class hails from Ontario, although fourth-round pick Trevor Hoskin came from the OJHL and now plays at Niagara University.

For now, the only real question about Battaglia is whether he’ll sign with the Flames over the next few months. As a 2006-born player, he won’t be eligible to enter the American Hockey League until the 2026-27 season, and with fellow Flames-affiliated OHL star Henry Mews likely headed to the NCAA next year, it stands to reason that Battaglia may end up following suit. Either way, it’ll be fascinating to watch him continue to grow as a player in the months and years to come.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames...tandout-season-with-spectacular-spinning-goal