Flames Weekly Prospect Update: Some more good news

7 years ago

Welcome back to our Weekly Prospect Update on FlamesNation. This article will be awkwardly sandwiched between Embers and the FGD. Unfortunate, because it’s probably the best Flames news you’ll read today. (I wrote this before last night’s game, so I guess this is actually the cherry on top. Pessimism is not a good life choice sometimes.)

Here’s the week one update, and here’s our fancy table. I added in a week-to-week NHLe column and a weekly tracker sheet. They’re kind of useless right now in the small sample size period, but at the end of the year, they’re useful for tracking the consistency of a prospect (which you’ll see at the end of the year, I guess).

Forwards

Dillon Dube has been named to the WHL’s team for the CHL-Russia series. Sure, it’s a relatively meaningless tournament, but the cool thing to take away is that Dube was named without having yet played a game for the Kelowna Rockets this season. He’s still recovering from an undisclosed lower body injury, and has been week-to-week, but should be returning soon.

Eetu Tuulola came back from his week-to-week injury this past week in a game against Matt Phillips’ Victoria Royals. However, he was held off the scoresheet. That’s okay, because his “anything is possible in this life” philosophy is still prevalent throughout the club

Speaking of, Matt Phillips still has yet to score a point that isn’t primary. He’s the cog in the Royals’ offence, and leads all skaters in scoring.

Mark Jankowski is also in the no-points-but-primary club, netting three in two games over the past week. He is also leading the Heat in scoring.

Morgan Klimchuk also broke out this weekend. He replaced suspended captain Mike Angelidis, and scored two points in a 5-1 rout of the Texas Stars. That was 2/9ths of his production last year.

Other good Heat prospects: Andrew Mangiapane has a point per game and Hunter Shinkaruk has two goals.

Some are saying that Shinkaruk is looking a step ahead of his AHL peers, which is pretty good news. I’d like to see him come up and play, if they can find the cap room for it.

Even Brandon Bollig found the net, but I don’t think we can consider him a prospect at this point.

Emile Poirier has been mostly a non-factor, but he’s still putting in positive performances. He’s currently leading the team in shots on goal, and has generally been noted as a playdriver. Maybe he’ll put it all together at some point this season, because the clock is ticking on his final ELC year.

Mitchell Mattson has started to fall off the map. He began the season with three assists in four games, but hasn’t scored yet. Take what you will from plus/minus, but he was on the ice for three goals in a 5-0 loss to Muskogee and on the ice for zero in a 7-0 win against Cedar Rapids. Still early in his development, but being un-noteworthy as an 18-year-old in the USHL is troubling.

Across the pond, Pavel Karnaukhov has been sent back down to the VHL Zvesda after injured players returned to parent club CSKA Moscow. His shooting percentage is starting to slip, and so is his NHLe.

Linus Lindstrom finally got himself on the scoresheet in the SHL with two assists. He’s still a while away from North America (figuratively) but any news is good news.

Defenders

Nothing exceptional to report this early into the season. I guess Stepan Falkovsky is keeping himself busy in Adirondack, playing as a top pairing defender.
Rushan Rafikov looks pretty good as a top four option for Lokomotiv. Who knows if he’ll actually come over (the Flames hold his rights for one more year), but I guess he’s giving the team a tempting reason to offer him a North American deal.
Brandon Hickey and the Boston University Terriers cleaned up this weekend, winning their two games by scores of 7-0 and 3-0. However, Hickey didn’t hit the scoresheet once, only registering four shots on goal. He also appears to have been bumped off of the powerplay and PK. This is concerning, but it is still early in the season.
Adam Fox still has yet to play an actual game for the Harvard Crimson. He picked up an assist on the tying goal in a 3-3 exhibition tie against Dartmouth this weekend, but actual competition hasn’t started yet. If you’re wondering why, Ivy League schools always start later because they’re nerds.
Not a whole lot to report down on the AHL front besides Oliver Kylington still being the best defender down there. Rasmus Andersson also got his first pro point, which is neat for him.
Keegan Kanzig has been demoted to the ECHL, which I guess is good because he wasn’t getting playing time in the AHL. This is the second time he’s been booted from the AHL team, having been reassigned to the WHL last year after playing one game with the Heat. He didn’t even get that game this year. GIven the defensive depth in the organization, he is probably not a prospect at the end of his ELC.

Goalies

Much of the Heat’s success can be attributed to Jon Gillies, who has a .944 SV% through three games. He’s also facing 30 shots a game, so he is getting tested by his opposition. Unfortunately for them, Gillies is too good.
I still don’t expect to see him in Calgary this season, however (barring any sort of injury). He is simply playing out of his mind in the AHL, and it’s best to avoid the three goalie thing.
On the rung below, Mason McDonald has the exact same record as Gillies, but with much more run support. The Thunder have scored at least three goals every game, which is negated by the fact that McDonald has let in at least three goals every game.
Tyler Parsons is week-to-week with a lower body injury. His 2016 is not going well.
Nick Schneider continues to look great with Medicine Hat. I’m curious to see whether he keeps this up all year, because it adds a lot of drama to goaltending prospect depth.

Once again, we’ll see you next week. If you have any suggestions for things to add to this article, I’m all ears.

Flames Weekly Prospect Update: Some more good news

Forwards

Defenders

Goalies

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