After a big summer (and their second post-season jaunt in three years), the Calgary Flames finally hit the ice tonight in scenic Penticton, British Columbia to kick off the annual Young Stars Classic tournament. And what better way to kick the pre-preseason festivities off than how we’ll kick off the regular season: the Battle of Alberta. Many of the youngsters on both rosters aren’t well-acquainted, but history suggests that the Flames and Oilers prospects will grown to detest each other over the coming months and years. What better time to start than now?

The game kicks off at 5 p.m. MT and can be found streaming on the Flames site or on the airwaves from Sportsnet 960 The Fan (joined in progress at 6 p.m. following The Big Show).

Expectations are high for the locals this season and their prospect camp roster actually features some interesting youngsters led by 2012 first round pick Mark Jankowski. Fresh off a very strong freshman year in the American Hockey League, “the Big Jankowski” is expected to push for an NHL job this fall so he’s expected to set himself apart here. Other notables making the trek include World Junior gold medalist (and Memorial Cup champion) Tyler Parsons, World Junior silver medalist Dillon Dube, 2017 first round pick Juuso Valimaki and great-name-haver D’Artagnan Joly. (We have the whole roster here, if you missed it!)

The Flames won two out of three games in Penticton last fall, losing just once…to the Oilers. This is a three game tune-up for a handful of players who could get long looks at main camp – we’re looking at you, Jankowski, Valimaki and Spencer Foo – and otherwise it’s a chance for a handful of youngsters to make a case for future employment.

Here are lines for tonight, courtesy of our pal Pat Steinberg, who will be calling the game on the Flames online stream:

Andrew Mangiapane [88] – Mark Jankowski [77] – Spencer Foo [15]
Brett Pollock [60] – Dillon Dube [59] – Matthew Phillips [47]
Sam Dove-McFalls [89] – Adam Ruzicka [63] – Hunter Smith [71]
Mark Rassell [50] – Glenn Gawdin [80] – Zack Fischer [48]

Juuso Valimaki [42] – Rasmus Andersson [54]
Adam Ollas-Mattsson [68] – Kayle Doetzel [43]
Josh Healey [85] – Cliff Watson [73]

Tyler Parsons [82] starts in net.

Projected extra bodies for tonight are: F Ben Hawerchuk, D Tyson Helgesen, F D’Artagnan Joly, F Brad Morrison, D Sam Ruopp and one of G Mason McDonald or Nick Schneider

The days of the Oilers being a perennial punching bag are probably over, as years of drafting first overall culminated in them landing a big fish in the form of Connor McDavid – who’s just an incredibly fun player to watch, no matter where you’re from in the province. The Oilers’ improved fortunes mean their Penticton roster is a bit leaner than in the past, and concerns about Tyler Benson’s freshness for the WHL season will likely park him for this event. 2017 first round pick Kailer Yamamoto is arguably the shiniest bauble in the Oilers crop this year, but keep an eye on their rather WHL-heavy group of walk-on players. They have a dozen players in on try-outs, with 10 from the WHL including Calgary Hitmen forward Luke Coleman.

Oilers lines, via 630 CHED’s Bob Stauffer:

Ostap Safin – Joseph Gambardella – Kailer Yamamoto
Davis Koch – Chad Butcher – Kirill Maksimov
Brandon Saigeon – Lane Bauer – Trey Fix-Wolansky
Evan Polei – Austin Glover – Steven Owre

Caleb Jones – Ryan Mantha
Zivat Paigin – Ethan Bear
Dmitri Samorukov – William Lagesson

Dylan Wells and Stuart Skinner are the netminders, presumably with Wells starting

Scratches: F Grayson Pawlenchuk, F Tyler Benson, F Ethan Szypula, F Luke Coleman, D Liam Schioler, D Sahvan Khaira, D Austin Strand, G Shane Starrett

This is the seventh Young Stars tournament and, thus, the seventh time these clubs have met in Penticton. The Oilers have won four of the previous six meetings, including each of the last three. The Flames haven’t beaten Edmonton in Penticton since 2013.

Hockey’s back! Better yet, the Battle of Alberta is back!