Flames assign Austin Czarnik to Stockton on a conditioning stint

The Calgary Flames made a minor roster move on Wednesday, announcing that they’ve assigned injured forward Austin Czarnik to the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat on a conditioning loan.

Czarnik’s been out since suffering an injury in the Flames’ Oct. 24 game against the Florida Panthers. He’s recently returned to full practice, though, and has been cleared for contact. Czarnik had three points in eight games prior to his injury.

The loan is, technically, a “long-term injury conditioning loan” designed to get Czarnik back up to speed. He’s eligible to be in Stockton for the longer of six days or three games, so that period would expire on Tuesday (Stockton only plays Wednesday and Saturday this week). However, the Flames could request that Czarnik stick around for two more games, which would push his AHL stint through next Saturday (Dec. 14). In short? Expect Czarnik to be in the AHL for the next 10 days or so.

For those curious: Czarnik won’t count against the 23-man NHL roster while he’s on this conditioning stint and while he’ll count against the cap technically, the team still benefits from his LTIR cap exception while he’s on the farm.