FlamesNation prospect update: a December stats round-up
By Ryan Pike
1 year agoDecember is a unique month in hockey. College teams play lean schedules due to the holidays. Pro teams play a heavy schedule, ignoring the holidays. Junior teams lose their best players to the World Juniors. For the Calgary Flames’ system, a lot of their prospects had notable, pretty strong, outputs over the past month.
Here’s a statistical rundown of prospect performances in December!
Jack Beck – RW, Ottawa 67’s, OHL
Calgary’s sixth round pick (168th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 9th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 10 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 36 | 34.43 |
| December | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Beck remains sidelined after suffering an upper body injury in late October.
Parker Bell – LW/C, Tri-City Americans, WHL
Calgary’s fifth round pick (155th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 32 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 31 | 23 | 17 | 111 | 32.50 |
| December | 11 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 41 | 47.28 |
Bell had himself a really strong December, scoring at well over a point-per-game pace. If you want to nitpick, his production is skewed towards special teams more than five-on-five. But hey, he’s in his Draft+1 season and he seems to be taking the step that the Flames’ scouts hoped he would take.
Jake Boltmann – D, University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, NCAA/Big 10
Calgary’s third round pick (80th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 19 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 30 | 4.31 |
| December | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 18.20 |
Is Boltmann an offensive powerhouse? Nope! He’s settled into a role for Notre Dame where he plays a shutdown role, usually on the second or third pairing.
Lucas Ciona – LW, Seattle Thunderbirds, WHL
Calgary’s sixth round pick (173rd overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 32 | 16 | 29 | 45 | 34 | 34 | 25 | 102 | 34.82 |
| December | 12 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 46 | 37.15 |
Ciona had another really good month in a string of ’em. He’s really productive this season and if you eliminate his special teams scoring, he’s still a point-per-game player on one of the Western League’s top outfits.
Matt Coronato – C/RW, Harvard University Crimson, NCAA/ECAC
Calgary’s first round pick (13th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 2nd-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 12 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 50 | 30.61 |
| December | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 30.61 |
Coronato is (a) good and (b) consistent. He’s playing top minutes on a good college team, and is first over the boards in basically every game situation.
Walker Duehr- RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Free agent signing; 19th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 29 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 50 | 21.99 |
| December | 11 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 25.36 |
We don’t talk a ton about Duehr around here, but that’s more a product of the Flames having more exciting guys in their system than anything Duehr isn’t doing. Duehr’s a really effective complimentary winger, he just doesn’t offer
Lucas Feuk – LW, Rapid City Rush, ECHL
Calgary’s fourth round pick (116th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 19 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 25 | 8.46 |
| December | 10 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 13.78 |
Feuk is finding a bit of traction in the ECHL, but he’s also playing low in their rotation and has been an occasional healthy scratch.
Dennis Gilbert – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Free agent signing
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4.98 |
| December | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 11.39 |
Gilbert spent a good chunk of December in the NHL. He’s a reliable NHL depth body, and when he’s in the AHL he’s been a pretty useful player for the Wranglers. He’s dressed ahead of Connor Mackey at the NHL level, so he’s functionally the organization’s seventh defender at this point.
Cole Huckins – RW, Sherbrooke Phoenix, QMJHL
Calgary’s third round pick (77th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 34 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 19 | 21 | 13 | 109 | 19.86 |
| December | 10 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 31 | 23.29 |
Huckins remains a fixture in the middle six for Sherbrooke and is finding a bit more offensive consistency as the season goes along.
Ben Jones – C, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Free agent signing; 20th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 28 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 80 | 32.74 |
| December | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 29 | 21.74 |
Jones’ production has slowed down a bit over the past month, as other Wranglers forwards have taken over most of the scoring. He’s still pretty useful, though.
Cole Jordan – D, Moose Jaw Warriors, WHL
Calgary’s fifth round pick (141st overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 17 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 10.20 |
| December | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Jordan’s season is over due to injury.
Rory Kerins – C, Calgary Wranglers, AHL/Rapid City Rush, ECHL
Calgary’s sixth round pick (174th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 6th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| AHL season to date | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 15.94 |
| December | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19.93 |
| ECHL season to date | 24 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 22 | 15 | 14 | 82 | 23.92 |
| December | 11 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 39 | 16.70 |
Due to the sheer amount of bodies that the Wranglers are carrying, Kerins is the main “tweener” forward bouncing between the AHL and ECHL. He’s been quite productive for the Rush (and the Wranglers), and he’s working on his consistency away from the puck.
Adam Klapka – RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Free agent signing
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 19 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 25 | 16.78 |
| December | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 19.93 |
Klapka has dealt with some bumps in the road this season, notably minor injuries and some consistency issues. He seems to be figuring it out, though.
Demetrios Koumontzis – RW/C, Arizona State University Sun Devils, NCAA/Independent
Calgary’s fourth round pick (108th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 20 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 28 | 12.29 |
| December | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 13.65 |
Koumontzis is playing out his red-shirt senior year. He’s a bottom six utility forward for the Sun Devils.
Yan Kuznetsov – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Calgary’s second round pick (50th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 11th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 25 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 27 | 11.16 |
| December | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 9.96 |
Kuznetsov has been solid, if a tad inconsistent, this season. The hope was that his offensive game would blossom a bit this season, but it hasn’t quite unfolded that way as of yet.
Cade Littler – C, Wenatchee Wild, BCHL
Calgary’s seventh round pick (219th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 30 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 26 | 20 | 16 | – | n/a |
| December | 10 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 7 | – | n/a |
Littler is one of the few NHL-drafted players in the BCHL. He’s performing really well, relative to the rest of his league, but you would expect him to do that. Well done!
Ilya Nikolaev – C, Rapid City Rush, ECHL
Calgary’s third round pick (88th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft; 18th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 27 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 13 | 14 | 8 | 67 | 19.56 |
| December | 11 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 38 | 25.05 |
After a quiet start to the season, likely due to adjustments to the North American pro game, Nikolaev has settled in really nicely and has become a reliable scorer for the Rush.
Josh Nodler – C, University of Massachusetts (Amherst) Minutemen, NCAA/HE
Calgary’s fifth round pick (150th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 18 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 6.38 |
| December | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 5.74 |
On one hand, Nodler is a really solid two-way centre who’s getting top six minutes on a pretty good college team. His offensive presence is, uh, modest, which likely hurts his chances of getting a pro deal.
Jakob Pelletier – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Calgary’s first round pick (26th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft; 3rd-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 29 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 27 | 15 | 11 | 78 | 43.97 |
| December | 11 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 25 | 39.85 |
Pelletier continues to chug along at over a point-per-game pace. His scoring is skewed towards special teams, but 27 of his 32 points have been primary points. A lot of the Wranglers’ offence flows through him in all game situations.
Emilio Pettersen – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Calgary’s sixth round pick (167th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft; 14th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 24 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 46 | 38.19 |
| December | 10 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 51.81 |
Quietly, Pettersen had a fantastic month. He’s not getting a ton of special teams time, but despite that he’s really producing lately. He’s been a pretty inconsistent offensive player in the past, but perhaps he’s finally turned the corner.
Matthew Phillips – RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Calgary’s sixth round pick (166th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft; 7th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 23 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 29 | 18 | 18 | 63 | 60.64 |
| December | 5 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 71.73 |
Phillips spent most of December in the NHL, though he only dressed twice. When he slid back into the AHL lineup, he continued to generate many, many points. He’s among the most productive players in the entire AHL.
Jeremie Poirier – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Calgary’s third round pick (72nd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 8th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 29 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 6 | 77 | 28.86 |
| December | 11 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 32 | 21.74 |
On one hand: Poirier is chugging along nicely offensively. On the other hand: his defensive game remains a work in progress.
Martin Pospisil – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Calgary’s fourth round pick (105th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft; 12th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 48 | 19.93 |
| December | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 46.49 |
When Pospisil is healthy, he’s quite good. He’s been in and out of the lineup because of some injury challenges, but when he’s played he’s been strong.
Topi Rönni – C, Tappara Tampere, Liiga/U20 SM-sarja/CHL/Finland, WJC
Calgary’s second round pick (59th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; 13th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Liiga season to date | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7.41 |
| December | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.27 |
| CHL season to date | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | n/a |
| December | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| U20 season to date | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 41.00 |
| December | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Ronni played a bunch of hockey in a bunch of different situations. The Liiga! The Champions League! The World Juniors! He’s a solid depth player in Finnish pro, which is fairly notable considering he’s so young. (Usually in European pro teenagers have pretty minor roles on their club teams.)
Cole Schwindt – C/RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Acquired in a trade with Florida; 10th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 27 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 61 | 29.52 |
| December | 10 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 29 | 27.90 |
Schwindt has been really solid for the Wranglers this season. He’s been a utility body for their top six for the most part, bouncing around and filling in gaps in their key lines. The big knock on his game is it lacks a bit of dynamism, but he doesn’t really have any holes in his game.
Ilya Solovyov – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Calgary’s seventh round pick (205th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 17th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 27 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 23 | 7.38 |
| December | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 7.97 |
Solovyov is a solid third pairing AHL defender. He is producing like a solid third pairing AHL defender.
William Strömgren – LW, Rögle BK/Brynäs IF, SHL/J20 Nationell/CHL/Sweden, WJC
Calgary’s second round pick (45th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 16th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| SHL season to date | 26 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 9.40 |
| December | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12.22 |
| J20 season to date | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 47.48 |
| December | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| CHL season to date | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| December | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Bad news: Strömgren only played four SHL games in December. Good news: the reason for that is because he made Sweden’s World Junior team. He was a bottom-six winger for Brynäs and he’s a bottom six forward for Team Sweden.
Cameron Whynot – D, Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL
Calgary’s third round pick (89th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 31 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 37 | 12.02 |
| December | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 12.94 |
Whynot’s offensive game is consistent. His defensive game is a work in progress.
Connor Zary – C, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Calgary’s first round pick (24th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 4th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 29 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 18 | 14 | 9 | 81 | 42.60 |
| December | 11 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 26 | 47.10 |
We may discuss Matthew Phillips and Jakob Pelletier more among Wranglers forwards, but Zary has been really, really good for ’em. He’s contributing offensively, and he’s playing a really smart two-way game in the second-best league in the world as a 20-year-old.
Daniil Chechelev – G, Rapid City Rush, ECHL
Calgary’s fourth round pick (96th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft
| GP | TOI | SV% | |
| Season to date | 24 | 1326 | .907 |
| December | 12 | 600 | .893 |
It’s been a bit of an up and down season for the Rush and, in turn, Chechelev. He’s one of the ECHL’s busiest goaltenders and his numbers are solid, but it’s hard to say how good he is considering Rapid City’s defensive game is pretty all over the place.
Arsenii Sergeev – G, University of Connecticut Huskies, NCAA/Hockey East
Calgary’s seventh round pick (205th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 15th-ranked prospect
| GP | TOI | SV% | |
| Season to date | 11 | 621 | .923 |
| December | 3 | 139 | .925 |
Sergeev didn’t play a ton in December, with the NCAA playing a fairly light schedule due to the holiday break. He’s performed well, but remains in a battle with teammate Logan Terness for the starting job.
Dustin Wolf – G, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Calgary’s seventh round pick (214th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft; 1st-ranked prospect
| GP | TOI | SV% | |
| Season to date | 23 | 1347 | .929 |
| December | 9 | 537 | .949 |
Wolf, the reigning AHL goalie of the year, is in the midst of a really good season. He had a very strong December, winning eight of nine starts.
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