Calgary Flames recall Ilya Solovyov from AHL’s Wranglers

The Calgary Flames returned to the practice ice on Monday and before they did so, they made a roster move. The club announced that they’ve recalled defenceman Ilya Solovyov from the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers.

Per CapFriendly, Solovyov’s recall is considered an emergency recall, meaning his presence on the NHL roster is related to the Flames potentially having fewer than six available healthy defencemen. It’s notable that blueliner Joel Hanley is out day-to-day, while Oliver Kylington left Saturday’s game against Edmonton after colliding with Nazem Kadri late in the third period.

Per Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg, the Flames had seven defenders on the ice for Monday’s practice. Solovyov was on the third pairing with Brayden Pachal, while Nikita Okhotiuk skated as the seventh defender. Kylington and Hanley didn’t skate at practice.

This is the third recall of the season for Solovyov, as he was summoned earlier in both October and December. He’s played six NHL games and has two assists, and has 14 points in 50 AHL games this season with the Wranglers. His second NHL game was the Heritage Classic outdoor game in Edmonton. Solovyov’s recall gives the Flames, oddly enough, four players with jersey numbers in the 90s: he wears #98 and joins Nazem Kadri (#91), Pachal (#94) and Andrei Kuzmenko (#96) as players with very high numbers.

Originally a seventh-round selection by the Flames back in 2020, the 23-year-old Solovyov is a left shot blueliner originally from Belarus. He’s primarily a shutdown defender and plays a responsible two-way game.

The Flames are back in action on Tuesday when they visit the San Jose Sharks.