Friends, it’s the fall, and we’re all starting to prepare for the onset of the 2025-26 Calgary Flames season.

Every season, many young players begin their pro hockey journeys. But depending on the situation when each player signed their contracts – typically their age they were on Sept. 15 in the calendar year they signed their deals – some players could play pro hockey in 2025-26 without their entry-level contract being tolled, otherwise known as a “slide.”

Here’s a rundown of four Flames prospects, all of them 2024 draft choices, whose entry-level contracts could slide this coming season.

Parekh was the ninth-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. He signed when he was 18, prior to the 2024-25 season, so his contract can slide twice as long as he doesn’t play in 10 NHL games. It already slid last season.

For 2025-26, Parekh is considered a 19-year-old under the CBA – he’ll turn 20 in February – and so he’s eligible to play in the NHL or OHL this season since he was drafted while playing in the CHL. He’s expected to get every chance to make the Flames roster in training camp considering he’s laid siege to the OHL over the past couple seasons, so we’re operating under the assumption that the first year of his deal will get tolled because he’ll probably play 10 NHL games.

Gridin was the 28th-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. He signed when he was 18, prior to the 2024-25 season, so his contract can slide twice as long as he doesn’t play in 10 NHL games. It already slid last season.

For 2025-26, Gridin is considered a 19-year-old under the CBA – he’ll turn 20 in March – but because he was drafted out of the USHL and not the CHL, he’s able to play in the NHL, AHL or QMJHL this coming season. At this point, we’re projecting him to be in the AHL. If he plays fewer than 10 NHL games, his entry-level deal wouldn’t start tolling until next season, so he could end up getting a whole season of development in the AHL that doesn’t run down his entry-level years.

Basha was the 41st-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. He signed when he was 18, prior to the 2024-25 season, so his contract can slide twice as long as he doesn’t play in 10 NHL games. It already slid last season.

Since Basha is a late birthday, he’s considered a 19-year-old under the CBA’s contractual rules but 20 otherwise, and so he’s eligible to play in the NHL, AHL or WHL this season. Our current expectation is that Basha will be in the AHL this season. If he plays fewer than 10 NHL games, like Gridin, Basha’s entry-level deal wouldn’t start tolling until next season and he would get a “free” year of development in the AHL.

Battaglia was the 62nd-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. He signed when he was 19, late in the 2024-25 season, so his contract can slide once as long as he doesn’t play in 10 NHL games. (He signed after Mar. 1, so his deal didn’t come into force until 2025-26.)

For 2025-26, Battaglia is considered a 19-year-old under the CBA – he’ll turn 20 in March – and so he’s eligible to play in the NHL or OHL this season since he was drafted while playing in the CHL. Based on the sheer number of established pro forwards in training camp, we’re expecting Battaglia to be sent back to the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs and for his entry-level deal to slide and start tolling next season.