One Game Wonders: Morgan Klimchuk

In the history of the Flames franchise, 606 players have tugged a red sweater over their heads and suited up for a regular season game. Of those, 22 played just a single game for either the Calgary or Atlanta Flames. We call them One Game Wonders.

Let’s talk about another One Game Wonder, Morgan Klimchuk.

I was a big fan of Klimchuk as a prospect. A Calgary kid, he played in the WHL for the Regina Pats and Brandon Wheat Kings and was a damn fine 200-foot player. He was selected by the Flames, his hometown team, in the first round of the 2013 NHL Draft with the pick the Flames got in the Jarome Iginla trade.

Going pro in 2015-16, Klimchuk spent much of his first season in Stockton on the bottom six and building his game away from the puck. He had three goals and nine points as an AHL rookie. The next season he figured the league out and had 19 goals and 43 points. In his third season, he had 19 goals and 40 points – earning his first NHL call-up.

With Marek Hrivik banged up, the Flames called up Ryan Lomberg and Klimchuk in succession. After being a healthy scratch two days prior, Klimchuk made his NHL debut on Feb. 19, 2018 in a home game against the Boston Bruins. He played 7:54 on the fourth line with Matt Stajan and Garnet Hathaway in a 2-1 overtime loss. He even had a near-death experience when he was on the ice against Zdeno Chara.

But with the trade deadline looming the Flames got healthy and sent Klimchuk back to Stockton. He had a slow start to the 2018-19 season – and by that point it had become clear that both Andrew Mangiapane and Dillon Dube (both drafted after Klimchuk) had forced their way ahead of him in the pecking order. So the Flames traded Klimchuk to Toronto, and then he was traded again to Ottawa later the same season.

Klimchuk, now 25, is a pending Group 6 free agent at the end of October. He’s a reliable AHL body but at his age it’s unclear what his NHL career trajectory is like. He just hasn’t been able to consistently replicate the offensive side of his WHL two-way game at the pro level.