FlamesNation prospect update: a November stats round-up
By Ryan Pike
1 year agoThe month of November is done and dusted, and now we can look back at some really strong performances by quite a few Calgary Flames prospects. Five different Calgary Wranglers players scored at a point-per-game pace or higher.
Here’s a statistical rundown of prospect performances in November!
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 |
| November | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Beck suffered an upper body injury late in October, and missed all of November as a result. He had horrible injury luck last season, so hopefully he gets back soon and can play at his full capabilities. (The 67’s continue to chug along well, ranked 4th in the latest CHL rankings.)
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 | 21 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 16 | 17 | 12 | 70 | 24.76 |
| November | 11 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 48 | 22.51 |
Bell’s been really consistent for Tri-City this season, playing primarily in their top six and chipping in offensively quite often. As you can see, his shooting percentage hit a bit of a wall in November, so we’ll see if that can rebound in December.
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 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 1.71 |
| November | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.00 |
The good news: Boltmann is a top pairing blueliner for a pretty good college team, leaned on to shut down the opposition (and largely succeeding in that role). The Irish are ranked 20th by USA Today’s national poll, which is pretty good. The bad news is that Boltmann has one point this season and hasn’t really moved the needle offensively since being drafted.
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 | 20 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 19 | 21 | 15 | 56 | 33.43 |
| November | 11 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 29 | 22.51 |
Ciona’s slowed down a bit offensively, but the Thunderbirds keep marching through their schedule and he’s been a big part of their success. Key stat for Ciona: he has 21 five-on-five points in 20 games.
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 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 37 | 30.61 |
| November | 7 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 27 | 29.52 |
Harvard is ranked 9th in the national college rankings from USA Today, and Coronato is their first line centre. He’s one of the more productive players in his conference offensively, and he’s adjusted to playing centre really quickly.
Over at Postmedia, Wes Gilbertson caught up with Coronato about his conversion to centre this season:
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 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 31 | 19.93 |
| November | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 19.93 |
Duehr has been really consistent for the Wranglers, playing in the middle six and providing energy, physicality, and occasionally really nice goals. (He toe-dragged around Abbotsford defender Guillaume Brisebois on Sunday in a really smart, slick play.)
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 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 2.55 |
| November | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Feuk is on an AHL contract and loaned down to Rapid City. He’s been on occasional scratch and plays well down the rotation.
Dennis Gilbert – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Free agent signing
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.00 |
| November | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
Gilbert only played three AHL games in November because he spent seven games in the NHL. He earned strong reviews from both Wranglers head coach Mitch Love and Flames head coach Darryl Sutter.
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 | 24 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 78 | 18.44 |
| November | 12 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 53 | 19.41 |
Huckins has been a regular in Sherbrooke’s top six. He’s bounced around a bit, but he’s been a reliable offensive contributor and he’s scored goals in bunches from time to time. The Phoenix are 7th in the CHL’s latest rankings.
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 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 51 | 39.85 |
| November | 11 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 50.72 |
On one hand, Jones had just three even strength points in both this season and the past month. So he’s getting a lot of his production on the power play. On the other hand, he’s a big part of a pretty good, productive AHL power play.
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 |
| November | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4.13 |
Jordan’s out with an injury right now – he’s listed as week-to-week. He’s been quite good for the Warriors this season, often playing on their top pairing.
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 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 13.28 |
| November | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 13.28 |
| ECHL season to date | 13 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 43 | 30.02 |
| November | 9 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 38 | 30.61 |
Kerins has been really good for Rapid City and he was decent in some fill-in duty for the Wranglers. He’s the victim right now of the Wranglers having a ton of centres, but he’s been putting some nice work in with the Rush.
Adam Klapka – RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
Free agent signing
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 14.49 |
| November | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6.64 |
Klapka missed some time due to injury this month. But when he’s been in, he hasn’t really had a huge impact (at least offensively).
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 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 20 | 11.70 |
| November | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10.92 |
Koumontzis missed a couple games due to injury. When he’s played, he’s been playing all over Arizona State’s bottom two forward lines. He’s been quietly effective, but he’s not having the offensive impact you would hope a fifth-year senior would have.
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 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 11.72 |
| November | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 16.61 |
Kuznetsov’s bread and butter has been his smart, structured defensive game, but the knock on him has been his offensive output. So it’s nice to see him getting on the board a bunch in November, including a three point game.
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 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 13 | 12 | 9 | – | n/a |
| November | 8 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 2 | – | n/a |
Littler remains consistent and productive in the BCHL. He’s signed his papers and is now officially committed to Minnesota State University Mankato for the 2023-24 season.
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 | 16 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 29 | 15.79 |
| November | 12 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 27 | 21.05 |
Nikolaev was kind of “meh” statistically in October, but it seems like he’s adjusted to the ECHL game because his numbers really took off in November.
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 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 6.56 |
| November | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3.28 |
Josh Nodler is to UMass as Jake Boltmann is to Notre Dame. Both are key players on pretty good college teams – UMass is ranked 15th by USA Today – but neither is really a needle-mover in an offensive sense.
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 | 18 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 53 | 46.49 |
| November | 12 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 16 | 8 | 7 | 40 | 59.78 |
What can you say about a month where a 21-year-old kid has 18 points in 21 games? It’s a pretty damn good month. After a pretty slow start in October – he had three points in six games – Pelletier found his stride and really kicked things into gear in November.
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 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 29 | 28.47 |
| November | 11 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 28.98 |
Pettersen’s sorta bounced in and out of the lineup for the Wranglers, especially early on, but he’s found a niche as a speedy winger, and he’s managed to get points in bunches, too.
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 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 52 | 53.14 |
| November | 12 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 37 | 59.78 |
Like Pelletier, Phillips had an 18-point November. Unlike Pelletier, Phillips had a strong October, too. Phillips heads into December as the AHL’s leader in goals and points. He’s good!
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 | 18 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 45 | 33.21 |
| November | 12 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 30 | 39.85 |
Is Poirier a complete 200-foot blueliner? Nope! He’s prone to occasional puck gaffes. But he has the puck a lot and, in the offensive zone, he doesn’t a lot of good, smart things with it. He was a point-per-game player in November, his second month of pro hockey.
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 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 8.54 |
| November | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4.98 |
Pospisil has been pretty quiet offensively, and has been in and out of the lineup.
Topi Rönni – C, Tappara Tampere, Liiga/U20 SM-sarja/CHL
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 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6.18 |
| November | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6.18 |
| CHL season to date | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | n/a |
| November | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | n/a |
| U20 season to date | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 41.00 |
| November | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Rönni is a regular in Finland’s top league as a teenager and is a strong contender for a big role for Finland’s World Junior entry. He’s finally healthy and hopefully can get some momentum going for his season.
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 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 32 | 30.48 |
| November | 11 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 36.23 |
Schwindt is another AHLer who had a strong offensive month in November. He’s another guy who gets most of his chances on the power-play, though.
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 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 7.03 |
| November | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9.96 |
Solovyov is a quietly effective two-way blueliner, but don’t expect a ton of offensive output from him.
William Strömgren – LW, Rögle BK/Brynäs IF, SHL/J20 Nationell/CHL
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 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8.89 |
| November | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6.98 |
| J20 season to date | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 47.48 |
| November | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| CHL season to date | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| November | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Playing almost exclusively on Brynäs’ fourth line, Strömgren has been playing about 10-12 minutes per game and isn’t usually on the ice for goals by either team. He’s a longshot, in our estimation, for a World Junior spot due to his lack of scoring punch. But perhaps he could sneak onto the team in a checking role.
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 | 22 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 28 | 11.64 |
| November | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 10.59 |
If nothing else, Whynot is consistent. He gets a point every two games, usually on the power play.
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 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 55 | 39.85 |
| November | 12 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 39 | 39.85 |
Zary is the fifth Wranglers player who averaged a point-per-game pace in November. He was quite good.
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 | 12 | 727 | .918 |
| November | 9 | 548 | .922 |
Chechelev is the ECHL’s busiest goaltender in terms of minutes and shots faced. He also leads the circuit in wins. He was super busy in November, but found ways to keep pucks out.
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 | 8 | 483 | .923 |
| November | 4 | 242 | .917 |
Sergeev is the second-best goalie on the NCAA’s 8th-best team (per USA Today). He’s in a tandem with sophomore Logan Terness in net, with Terness boasting slightly better numbers so far.
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 | 14 | 811 | .915 |
| November | 10 | 603 | .926 |
What can we say about the AHL’s league leader in wins? Well, he’s pretty good. He’s been the Wranglers’ go-to guy, and on most nights he looks like a guy who won the league’s top goaltender award in the spring.
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