We are less than two weeks away from the start of the Penticton rookie tournament which means hockey season is just around the corner! With that in mind it’s time to start looking ahead to the regular season and make some predictions as to what we’re going to see this year from the Calgary Flames on Scotiabank Saddledome ice.
1. Andrei Kuzmenko will produce at more than a point per game pace.
We are about to witness the breakout season for Andrei Kuzmenko. The season where Kuzmenko puts himself on the map as one of the top point producers in the NHL.
He already proved in his rookie season that he can produce at a high end rate in the NHL. He might have had one of the quietest 74 point seasons in NHL history in 2022-23. But somehow he went from being a 74 point player, to being put in Rick Tocchet’s dog house, to being a salary dump in a trade for Elias Lindholm last January. But he is about to change his reputation by having a monster season with the Calgary Flames for a couple reasons.
First is opportunity. Kuzmenko will be the go to offensive weapon for Ryan Huska and the Calgary Flames. He should be playing on the first line alongside Nazem Kadri and be the player the Flames first power play unit runs through. Kuzmenko never really got that chance in Vancouver to be THE guy because he had Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser in front of him in the pecking order. That’s going to change as Kuzmenko is the most skilled forward on the Flames roster.
Second is chemistry with Nazem Kadri. Kuzmenko and Kadri lit up the NHL when they were put on a line and power play unit together at the end of last season. In their final 11 games, Kuzmenko put up 17 points and Kadri put up 15. That’s a 127 and 112 point pace respectively. They outscored their opposition 11-6 at five on five in the final 11 games of the season.
The numbers showed they had tremendous chemistry. But so did the eye test. Just take a look at some of the plays Kadri and Kuzmenko made together.
2. Kevin Bahl establishes himself as a legit top four defenceman
There is a lot of talk about the lack of depth on the Calgary Flames blueline next season. And for good reason. We don’t truly know what to expect from all of Bahl, Jake Bean, Daniil Miromanov and Brayden Pachal.
But I am going to go out on a limb and say that Bahl will be the guy who proves he is a top four, defensive defenceman in the NHL. And it all starts with a full off-season of training. In the summer of 2023, Bahl was rehabbing an injury and wasn’t able to train like he normally would, as he mentioned after being acquired on Flames Talk on Sportsnet 960 The Fan.
“Last summer, I didn’t really get the chance to workout just cause I was trying to rehab an injury. I didn’t workout and skate pretty much for 12 weeks. So last year was kind of one month to get in the gym, and get on the ice as quick as possible.”
A full off-season to train, get stronger, and work on his skating is going to be huge for Bahl in becoming a relied upon shut down defender for the Calgary Flames.
Despite not being able to train as much as players normally do in an off-season, Bahl still put up some solid underlying results with the Devils last season.
The defensive results he’s been able to put up in his first couple seasons in the NHL when he wasn’t 100 healthy is pretty impressive. Both JFresh and Evolving Hockey have high defensive grades for the 24 year old defender.
I see Bahl being put on a shutdown pairing with Rasmus Andersson and playing on the first penalty kill unit. On top of that he is going to provide some much needed size and physicality which are elements that are needed on this rebuilding Flames team. Bahl is someone Flames fans are going to come to appreciate this season.
3. Jonathan Huberdeau has his best statistical season as a member of the Flames
This prediction might not feel so bold because how low Huberdeau’s production has been since joining the Flames in 2022.
The bar is not all that high to pass for Huberdeau. He has produced 55 and 52 points in his first two seasons with the Flames after being an over a point per game player his last five years in Florida.
But this will be the year we start to see Huberdeau look a little more like he did as a Panther.
This is going to be Huberdeau’s third season in Calgary and second with head coach Ryan Huska. The excuses of Huberdeau not being comfortable, not used to his new surroundings, not used to the on ice style of play and systems, are over. He knows his teammates. He knows the Flames staff. He knows his way around the city. He is finally going to be comfortable being a Calgary Flame.
Huberdeau also finished last season strong.
When the calendar flipped to 2024, Huberdeau put up eight goals and 28 assists in 45 games. That’s a 15 goal, 51 assist, and 66 point pace over 82 games. Which is by far his highest level of production as a member of the Flames over a long stretch of games.
The production drastically increased in the second half of the season. And those numbers could have gone up had he got some more finishing help from his teammates. Huberdeau made a lot of plays to his linemates who were in a position to score but weren’t able to put the puck in the back of the net.
Between his relatively strong finish to last season and his comfortability in Calgary, Huberdeau is in for his best statistical season with the Flames. Look for him to put up 65+ points in the 2024-25 season.
