Calgary Flames prospect Jaden Lipinski joins AHL’s Wranglers, Samuel Honzek day-to-day with injury
By Ryan Pike
3 months agoAnother Calgary Flames prospect has joined their top American Hockey League affiliate. The Flames announced on Thursday that forward Jaden Lipinski has joined the Wranglers on an amateur try-out contract. The club also disclosed that Samuel Honzek, Lipinski’s junior teammate from Vancouver, is day-to-day with an injury but has travelled to Calgary.
Honzek and Lipinski are teammates from the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants and were both selected by the Flames in the 2023 NHL Draft – Honzek was a first-round pick while Lipinski was grabbed in the fourth round. Presumably once Honzek is cleared from his injury, he would be able to join the Wranglers as well. Honzek is under an NHL contract this season, while Lipinski is not yet under contract.
A product of Scottsdale, Arizona, Lipinski, 19, has had a superb year under really challenging circumstances. A right shot centre, Lipinski was really leaned on by the Giants this season, as they had a handful of key players – most notably Honzek, their captain – out for big chunks of the season. So Lipinski was essentially used to plug holes in the Giants’ lineup until the team started to get healthy (and added some reinforcements at the WHL’s trade deadline).
It worked out pretty well, though. Here’s how I summarized his season a couple weeks back in the Prospect Update:
And while being relied upon heavily, he performed really well. His 66 points were tied for the team lead. He led the Giants in shots. Nobody took more face-offs than he did on the team – he took 619 more draws than the next-best Giant. Nobody on his team won draws at a higher rate, either – he won 57.4% of them. Heck, in the entire Western Hockey League, only Prince Albert’s Aiden Oiring took more face-offs than Lipinski, and only Red Deer’s Kai Uchacz won more draws.
The Flames, organizationally, are lean on centres. So a 19-year-old that’s a rightie, plays centre, has size and can consistently take (and win) a lot of face-offs is something of great potential value. We’ll see how Lipinski fits into the Wranglers’ plans and if he can find his way into a game or two down the stretch. You never know, he may end up there full-time next season.
The Wranglers are back in action on Thursday evening when they host the Abbotsford Canucks.
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