A pair of Calgary Hitmen highlight Calgary Flames prospect camp invites

The Calgary Flames unveiled their roster for their 2023-24 prospect training camp on Wednesday. While the Flames are bringing quite a few of their homegrown prospects to camp, they’ve also invited several players to camp on try-outs.

Among the many try-out players are a pair of Calgary Hitmen: defenceman Tyson Galloway and forward Oliver Tulk.

Here’s a rundown of all the players attending camp that aren’t Flames property.

G Jari Kykkanen – From the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, the 19-year-old goaltender went 14-12-3 with a 3.85 goals against average and .896 save percentage last season.

D Charles Cote – From the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic, Cote is big (6’6″, 190 pounds) and had 21 points in 62 games last season.

D Mikael Diotte – From the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs, Diotte had 27 points in 62 games last season and is also big (6’3″, 205 pounds).

D Tyson Galloway – From the Hitmen, Galloway was a St. Louis Blues draft choice in 2021 but wasn’t signed by the June 1, 2023 deadline so he’s a free agent. He had 29 points in 64 games last season, and he’s big (6’4″, 214 pounds).

D Quinn Mantei – From the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, Mantei had 25 points in 67 games this past season.

D Donovan McCoy – From the OHL’s Peterborough Petes (the league’s reigning champions), McCoy had 13 points in 65 games last season.

F Oliver Peer – From the OHL’s Windsor Sptifires, Peer had 22 goals and 67 points in 63 games last season.

F Nathan Pilling – From the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings, Pilling had 13 points in 35 games last season (split between Moose Jaw and Edmonton).

F Oliver Tulk – From the Hitmen, Tulk had 24 goals and 60 points in 68 games last season.

Offensively, Tulk and Peer are probably the most intriguing potential prospects based on last season, but Galloway could also impress.

Finally, a quartet of Calgary Wranglers signees round out the camp invites.

In net, there’s Connor Murphy and Matt Radomsky. Both are college products – Murphy in X and Radomsky in Y. Radomsky dressed as backup to Oscar Dansk for a game last season (while Dustin Wolf was in the NHL making his debut), but both players seem pencilled in for a trip to Rapid City of the ECHL to begin the season.

On the back end, Jarrod Gourley split last season (his first pro campaign) between the AHL’s Utica Comets and the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder, where he earned a spot at the ECHL’s All-Star Game. The Wranglers’ blueline group seems pretty set, but he could carve out a role as a depth option.

And up front, OHL product Mark Duarte made a cameo appearance for the Wranglers at the end of last season on a try-out (but didn’t play) but evidently impressed enough to earn an AHL deal. He seems like an AHL/ECHL tweener, but he could surprise.