Several Calgary Flames prospects are positioned for long junior playoff runs

Friends, the period immediately before the trade deadlines in the Canadian Hockey League’s three constituent leagues can be chaos. But the Western, Ontario and Quebec Major Junior Hockey Leagues have cemented their club rosters for the playoff homestretch, and several Calgary Flames prospects are on teams poised to make potential runs at league and Memorial Cup crowns.

Here’s a rundown of the Flames’ kids in Canadian junior hockey and how their teams fared before the deadline.

The Mooseheads are 25-7-4-1 for 55 points, which puts them second in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference – behind only the Quebec Remparts. Whynot has three goals and 18 points so far this season.

The Mooseheads added overage winger Alexandre Doucet from Val-d’Or in December. They sent overager Stephane Huard Jr. (who they had acquired from Sherbrooke in September) to Shawinigan at the end of December.

The Phoenix are 25-10-2-2 for 54 points, which ties them for first in the QMJHL’s Western Conference with Victoriaville. Huckins has 13 goals and 33 points so far this season.

The Phoenix added Vegas prospect Jakub Brabenec from Charlottetown and Seattle prospect Jacob Melanson from Acadie-Bathurst. Their big add was St. Louis prospect Marc-Andre Gaudet, a strong offensive blueliner, from Chicoutimi in mid-December.

The 67’s are 28-6-1-1 for 58 points, which puts them first in the OHL’s Eastern Conference. Beck just returned from injury, and has four goals and 18 points this season.

The 67’s added high-scoring overager Logan Morrison from Hamilton, and Anaheim prospect Pavel Mintyukov from Saginaw. (With Beck returning from injury, they essentially added three high-end players before the deadline.)

The Americans are 17-16-2-1 for 37 points. They’re in a three-way tie for fifth in the Western Conference, and they’re a point out of fourth place. (They’re comfortably in a playoff spot, but their seeding will vary wildly depending on a win or two.) Bell has 16 goals and 43 points this season.

The Americans mostly made depth moves at the deadline; their big add was Chicago prospect Jaylen Luypen over the summer.

Oddly, the Thunderbirds have an identical record to the 67’s: 28-6-1-1 for 58 points. They’re first in the WHL’s Western Conference. Ciona has 18 goals and 50 points this season.

The T-Birds were busy at the deadline. They added Chicago prospect Colton Dach from Kelowna. They added Chicago prospect Noah Allen from Prince Albert. They had previously added Nashville prospect Luke Prokop from Edmonton and Winnipeg prospect Brad Lambert’s WHL rights from Saskatoon, a gamble that paid off when the Jets assigned him to Seattle this week. The Thunderbirds now have nine NHL-draft prospects on their roster, plus Canada’s World Junior gold medal-winning goalie Thomas Milic.

There are no sure things when it comes to the chaos of junior hockey, especially in the playoffs, but Ottawa and Seattle are well-positioned for long playoff runs.