FlamesNation prospect update: nearing the end of the line
By Ryan Pike
2 years agoThe hockey season is winding down, friends. The American Hockey League schedule is complete for Stockton. European hockey is largely done. And the Calgary Flames only have a trio of players still playing meaningful games.
It’s time for our weekly check-in on the non-NHL kids.
In case you missed it:
- Last week’s update
- Basically everybody’s done for the season, except for Jakob Pelletier, Connor Zary and Dustin Wolf.
- The Stockton crew will remain in Calgary until around May 16.
- Glenn Gawdin and Artyom Zagidulin are with Calgary’s taxi squad.
Walker Duehr- RW, Minnesota State University Mavericks, NCAA / Stockton Heat, AHL
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| NCAA up to date | 28 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 20.91 |
| Change from last week | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
| AHL up to date | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Change from last week | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
Duehr’s first few pro games were a tad underwhelming, but remember that the jump from college to minor pro can be pretty big. We’ll see what kind of adjustments Duehr can make over the summer to get ready for full-time pro hockey in the fall.
Ryan Francis- C, Cape Breton Eagles/Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| Up to date | 32 | 16 | 34 | 50 | 32 | 34 | 22 | 36.39 |
| Change from last week | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
The bad news is Saint John finished second in the QMJHL’s round robin playoff featuring the New Brunswick teams, winning three and losing three. But Francis was a force in their games, leading the Sea Dogs with 10 points. The Sea Dogs won’t advance, but Francis went out like Willie Nelson: on a high.
Rory Kerins- C, Stockton Heat, AHL / Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| Up to date | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Change from last week | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
Among all the players, Kerins arguably had the weirdest pandemic. He followed up a season where he played 64 OHL games with a season where he played… four. That said, when we chatted with Flames assistant general manager Brad Pascall, he noted that was sort of the plan. Had Kerins stayed in Ontario, he wouldn’t have been able to do much skating, practicing or much of anything. So Kerins agreed to come to join the Heat; he didn’t get to play much, but he got a lot of time in with their coaching staff and hopefully laid a foundation for a big 2021-22 season.
Justin Kirkland- LW, Stockton Heat, AHL
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| Up to date | 16 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 17.44 |
| Change from last week | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
Kirkland missed Stockton’s last game, and most of their last several games, with an injury.
Yan Kuznetsov- D, University of Connecticut Huskies, NCAA / Stockton Heat, AHL
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| NCAA up to date | 16 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12.08 |
| Change from last week | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
| AHL up to date | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Change from last week | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
Like Duehr, Kuznetsov made his pro debut this season with Stockton. Kuznetsov also didn’t hit the scoresheet, but he played a bigger role and was more noticeable on the ice.
Carl-Johan Lerby- D, Stockton Heat, AHL
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| Up to date | 22 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 12.68 |
| Change from last week | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
Lerby was a scratch for Stockton’s final game. He essentially became Stockton’s seventh defender once Kuznetsov arrived – and was a scratch occasionally before that, too. We’ll see what happens with him this off-season, but reportedly his old team in Malmo wants him back.
Jakob Pelletier- LW, Val-d’Or Foreurs, QMJHL / Team Canada, WJC
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| Up to date | 28 | 13 | 30 | 43 | 26 | 29 | 20 | 35.75 |
| Change from last week | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
Pelletier was idle this week as the rest of the Quebec side of the playoffs shook out. Val-d’Or, the best team in the league, will play Rimouski, the lowest surviving seed from the first round. Pelletier had five points in the Foreurs’ first round sweep.
Emilio Pettersen- LW, Stockton Heat, AHL
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| Up to date | 29 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 19.24 |
| Change from last week | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.69 |
Pettersen had a quiet last week, but his season will continue. He’s off to Latvia to represent his beloved Norway in the World Championship. He’s previously represented Norway in two Under-18 Division 1A Worlds and the Division 1A World Juniors, but this is his first chance to play when Norway is in the highest level and play against the best international teams.
Matthew Phillips- C/RW, Stockton Heat, AHL
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| Up to date | 30 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 13 | 17 | 11 | 27.90 |
| Change from last week | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.96 |
Phillips’ season is over and he’s likely a contender to get a quick look from the Flames. He was recalled last season but never had a chance to make his NHL debut, so hopefully the big club rectifies that.
Luke Philp- C/RW, Stockton Heat, AHL
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| Up to date | 30 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 10 | 13 | 8 | 22.58 |
| Change from last week | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +0.59 |
Referred to by Pascall as the Heat’s most consistent player, Philp had a solid if unspectacular season. His offensive output was much more balanced than it was last season, where he scored many goals but didn’t generate quite as many assists.
Jeremie Poirier- D, Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| Up to date | 33 | 9 | 28 | 37 | 21 | 29 | 14 | 26.11 |
| Change from last week | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
Like Francis, Poirier’s season is over after Saint John didn’t win their round robin playoffs. But he finished second on the team with nine points.
Colton Poolman- D, Stockton Heat, AHL
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| Up to date | 21 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 11.39 |
| Change from last week | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.57 |
Poolman finished off his rookie pro season quietly. He was solid if unspectacular for Stockton overall.
Martin Pospisil- LW, Stockton Heat, AHL / HC Kosice, Tipsport Liga
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| AHL up to date | 14 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 31.31 |
| Change from last week | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
| Liga up to date | 22 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 9 | 13 | 8 | n/a |
| Change from last week | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
Pospisil missed the last chunk of the season with shoulder surgery, and an unrelated knee injury that did not require surgery.
Adam Ruzicka- C, Stockton Heat, AHL
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| Up to date | 28 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 14 | 17 | 12 | 29.89 |
| Change from last week | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.11 |
Ruzicka finished tied with Phillips for the Heat scoring lead. Like Phillips, he’s probably at the front of the line for NHL look-sees.
Eetu Tuulola- RW, Stockton Heat, AHL / Vasterviks IK, HockeyAllsvenskan / SaiPa, SM-Liiga
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| AHL up to date | 29 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9.62 |
| Change from last week | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1.08 |
| Allsvenskan up to date | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 8.88 |
| Change from last week | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
| Liiga up to date | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Change from last week | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
Tuulola scored the last Stockton goal of the season and did so in style: shorthanded.
Alexander Yelesin- D, Stockton Heat, AHL
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| Up to date | 28 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 9.96 |
| Change from last week | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1.10 |
Yelesin had a shorthanded secondary assist in Stockton’s last game. He didn’t play any NHL games this season, or even get on the taxi squad, so one has to wonder if he’s sticking around or if he might head back to Russia.
Connor Zary- LW, Stockton Heat, AHL / Kamloops Blazers, WHL / Team Canada, WJC
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| AHL up to date | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 31.00 |
| Change from last week | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
| WHL up to date | 15 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 14 | 17 | 9 | 39.62 |
| Change from last week | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2.83 |
Bad news, pals. Zary suffered an upper-body injury last week and has missed the last three Kamloops games. The WHL’s official report lists him as day-to-day, so hopefully he recovers quickly.
Dmitry Zavgorodniy- RW, Stockton Heat, AHL / SKA St. Petersburg, KHL
| GP | G | A | P | 5v5 P | P1 | 5v5 P1 | NHLe | |
| AHL up to date | 29 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5.50 |
| Change from last week | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.19 |
| KHL up to date | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 32.88 |
| Change from last week | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
Zavgorodniy was held off the scoresheet to close out his first pro season. He had a weird year: playing well but never playing in the KHL, and playing well but never scoring in the AHL.
Tyler Parsons- G, Stockton Heat, AHL
| GP | TOI | SV% | |
| Up to date | 1 | 60 | 0.800 |
| Change from last week | – | – | – |
Parsons missed two scheduled starts with food poisoning, which was a rough ending to a weird season for him. But at least he got to take advantage of how weird the timing was this season, because in a normal year there would be no May games for him to return to.
Dustin Wolf- G, Stockton Heat, AHL / Everett Silvertips, WHL / Team USA, WJC
| GP | TOI | SV% | |
| AHL up to date | 3 | 148 | 0.895 |
| Change from last week | – | – | – |
| WHL up to date | 19 | 1118 | 0.941 |
| Change from last week | 3 | 183 | -0.004 |
Wolf’s running out of runway to break the WHL shutout record, but he’s still one of the top goaltenders in all of junior hockey. He’s second in the WHL in goals against average, first in save percentage and tied for first in shutouts and wins. He’s pretty good and has three games left on his schedule.
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