Shinkaruk, Poirier, Wotherspoon clear waivers; assigned to Stockton

After being placed on waivers for the purposes of sending them down to the Stockton Heat, Flames prospects Hunter Shinkaruk, Emile Poirier, and Tyler Wotherspoon have all cleared waivers.

The move doesn’t come as much of a surprise, seeing as how a lot of players were placed on waivers yesterday (and a lot more are on waivers today). With all 31 teams assembling their rosters, there are a ton of cuts league-wide – and it’s not exactly expected to see teams add borderline, at best, players to their NHL rosters. (Any claimed player has to be added to the team’s NHL roster.)

The only claim from yesterday’s waivers was Jordan Nolan, who was waived by L.A. and is now headed to Buffalo.

This was the first time on waivers for Shinkaruk and Poirier, both 22, and both in the final year of their entry-level contracts. Both forwards have proven they can score at the AHL level, but haven’t been able to translate that to the NHL just yet. Depending on how things go, they could find themselves in the NHL on recall, and still have potential if Shinkaruk can stay healthy and Poirier can return to his rookie pro form (presumably an easier task following his time in rehab and established support network, at least within the organization).

Wotherspoon, 24, had to clear waivers the previous season in order to be sent down. He is on his third contract with the Flames, a one-year deal, and should get big minutes in Stockton. He, too, could potentially be a call-up, depending on both how his and the Flames’ season go.

Of the remaining potential cuts for the Flames, Matt Bartkowski, Freddie Hamilton, Garnet Hathaway, Brett Kulak, and Curtis Lazar require waivers.