So who’s headed to the playoffs?: a Calgary Flames prospect update
By Ryan Pike
4 months agoFolks, time keeps marching on. In the hockey world, we’re nearing the month of March, when a lot of European leagues and collegiate conferences hold their playoff tournaments. And as the Calgary Flames chug along in their season, several of their prospects are vying to play in their respective post-season events.
In the American Hockey League, the top seven teams in the Pacific Division qualify for the playoffs. The Calgary Wranglers sit in fourth position. They’re 10 points ahead of the first non-playoff team and hold two games in hand. They’re closer to first place in their division than to missing the playoffs.
So how are the other prospects looking playoff-wise?
Let’s dive into this week’s prospect update.
Parker Bell – LW/C, Tri-City Americans, WHL
20; 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 | 49 | 27 | 25 | 52 | 40 | 29 | 25 | 192 | 26.28 |
| 2022-23 | 55 | 25 | 39 | 64 | 51 | 36 | 28 | 187 | 28.82 |
Bell had a hat trick in one game (a loss) and an empty-netter in the other (a win). He remains a reliable offensive presence for the Americans and one of their key veterans.
Tri-City sits six points behind Spokane for the final playoff spot in the WHL’s Western Conference.
Jake Boltmann – D, University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, NCAA/Big 10
22; 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 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 1.95 |
| 2022-23 (NCAA) | 37 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 42 | 3.69 |
Notre Dame lost both of their games this weekend to finish their regular season. They ended up in fifth in their conference. They’re off this weekend and then head into their conference tournament next weekend. They’re ranked 21st in the “pairwise” system – which ranks teams based on the quality of the teams they beat – and they’ll need to win their conference tournament to quality for the 16-team NCAA national tournament.
Hunter Brzustewicz – D, Kitchener Rangers, OHL
19; Vancouver’s third round pick (75th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Vancouver
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 57 | 11 | 69 | 80 | 40 | 57 | 29 | 123 | 37.17 |
| 2022-23 (OHL) | 68 | 6 | 51 | 57 | 32 | 31 | 21 | 110 | 22.20 |
Brzustewicz had two assists in two games this week.
Kitchener is currently fourth in the Ontario Hockey League’s Western Conference and have clinched a playoff spot already.
Lucas Ciona – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
21; Calgary’s sixth round pick (173rd overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 11th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 41 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 51 | 2.92 |
| 2022-23 (WHL) | 63 | 28 | 47 | 75 | 53 | 54 | 37 | 194 | 29.48 |
Ciona was a scratch twice this week.
Matt Coronato – RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
21; 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 | 38 | 15 | 26 | 41 | 27 | 27 | 17 | 132 | 43.00 |
| 2022-23 (NCAA) | 34 | 20 | 16 | 36 | 31 | 19 | 16 | 141 | 24.31 |
Coronato continues to be an offensive difference-maker for the Wranglers, posting four points in two games.
Samuel Honzek – LW/C, Vancouver Giants, WHL/Slovakia, WJC
19; Calgary’s first round pick (16th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 4th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| WHL season to date | 24 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 18 | 12 | 9 | 62 | 25.80 |
| WJC season to date | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | n/a |
| 2022-23 (WHL) | 43 | 23 | 33 | 56 | 40 | 36 | 26 | 134 | 32.25 |
Honzek had an assist in a pair of weekend games.
The Giants are sixth in the WHL’s Western Conference, 12 points up on Tri-City. They’ve gone 8-2-0 over their last 10 games and are attempting to chase down Wenatchee to get in the top half of the playoff bracket and gain home ice advantage in the opening round.
Axel Hurtig – D, Rögle BK, J20 Nationell/SHL / Kristianstads IK, HockeyEttan
18; Calgary’s seventh round pick (208th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| J20 season to date | 22 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 45 | 15.16 |
| SHL season to date | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| HockeyEttan season to date | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | n/a |
| 2022-23 (J20) | 34 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 47 | 3.82 |
Hurtig’s junior team is automatically qualified for the J20 playoffs by virtue of finishing in the top 10 in the first half of the season – the second half is used to determine seeding; they’re currently eighth.
Ben Jones – C, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
24; Free agent signing; 12th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 50 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 25 | 22 | 17 | 137 | 24.71 |
| 2022-23 (AHL) | 71 | 17 | 37 | 54 | 41 | 28 | 21 | 202 | 30.31 |
Jones was held off the scoresheet this weekend.
Joni Jurmo – D, Ilves Tampere/KooKoo Kuovola, Liiga/CHL
21; Vancouver’s third round pick (82nd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Vancouver
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Liiga season to date | 44 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 63 | 4.21 |
| CHL season to date | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | n/a |
| 2022-23 (Liiga) | 52 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 118 | 9.27 |
KooKoo is just outside the Liiga playoff picture – they’re tied for the final spot in points, but are just outside on tiebreakers – with five games remaining in the regular season.
Rory Kerins – C, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
21; Calgary’s sixth round pick (174th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 14th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 41 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 22 | 17 | 13 | 98 | 26.24 |
| 2022-23 (ECHL) | 38 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 31 | 25 | 21 | 117 | 22.36 |
Kerins had a pair of helpers over two games.
Adam Klapka – RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
23; Free agent signing; 18th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 44 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 107 | 23.55 |
| 2022-23 (AHL) | 60 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 18 | 16 | 11 | 103 | 16.61 |
Klapka didn’t hit the scoresheet this weekend.
Demetrios Koumonztis – D/RW, Idaho Steelheads, ECHL
23; 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 | 31 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 53 | 7.13 |
| 2022-23 (NCAA) | 37 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 67 | 13.28 |
Idaho is second in the ECHL’s Western Conference. The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs in each conference.
(Koumontzis is technically still Flames property, but they’ve scrambled to the ECHL to grab depth players for the Wranglers multiple times and he’s never appeared… which should tell you something about his organizational future or lack thereof.)
Yan Kuznetsov – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
21; Calgary’s second round pick (50th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 17th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 46 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 71 | 9.53 |
| 2022-23 (AHL) | 63 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 11 | 19 | 11 | 65 | 12.02 |
Kuznetsov was kept off the scoresheet this week.
Jaden Lipinski – C, Vancouver Giants, WHL
19; Calgary’s fourth round pick (112th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 16th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 56 | 16 | 33 | 49 | 32 | 22 | 13 | 144 | 21.67 |
| 2022-23 (WHL) | 66 | 19 | 32 | 51 | 36 | 35 | 23 | 152 | 19.14 |
Lipinski keeps doing his thing. He had two assists in two games.
Cade Littler – C, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, USHL / Penticton Vees, BCHL
19; Calgary’s seventh round pick (219th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| USHL season to date | 13 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 30 | 19.43 |
| BCHL season to date | 25 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 17 | 9 | 6 | – | 5.51 |
| 2022-23 (BCHL) | 51 | 29 | 39 | 68 | 47 | 36 | 27 | – | 8.75 |
Penticton is in first place in the BCHL’s Interior Conference and has already clinched a playoff spot. (Littler had zero points this week.)
Brady Lyle – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
24; Free agent signing
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 46 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 100 | 13.00 |
| 2022-23 (AHL) | 51 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 16 | 13 | 6 | 124 | 24.22 |
Lyle is injured and didn’t play this week.
Etienne Morin – D, Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL
18; Calgary’s second round pick (48th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; tied for 5th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 47 | 9 | 32 | 41 | 26 | 17 | 11 | 157 | 20.32 |
| 2022-23 (QMJHL) | 67 | 21 | 51 | 72 | 47 | 34 | 21 | 213 | 25.03 |
Morin had an assist this week!
Moncton is third place in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference and have already clinched a playoff spot.
Ilya Nikolaev – C/LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
22; Calgary’s third round pick (88th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 26 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 29 | 9.20 |
| 2022-23 (ECHL) | 40 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 21 | 22 | 15 | 97 | 18.94 |
Nikolaev had zero points this week.
Jakob Pelletier – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
22; Calgary’s first round pick (26th overall); 3rd-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 29.89 |
| 2022-23 (AHL) | 35 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 32 | 18 | 14 | 92 | 42.13 |
Pelletier is in the NHL.
Emilio Pettersen – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
23; Calgary’s sixth round pick (167th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft; 20th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 50 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 22 | 19 | 13 | 77 | 23.11 |
| 2022-23 (AHL) | 61 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 35 | 35 | 29 | 118 | 28.75 |
Pettersen didn’t hit the scoresheet this week.
Jeremie Poirier – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
21; Calgary’s third round pick (72nd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; tied for 5th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 4 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 69.74 |
| 2022-23 (AHL) | 69 | 9 | 32 | 41 | 20 | 21 | 13 | 172 | 23.68 |
Poirier is practising with the Wranglers again! Hooray! We don’t have a timeline from the team estimating his return, but it seems reasonable to expect some news in the next few weeks about his progress.
Topi Rönni – C, Tappara Tampere, Liiga/SM-sarja U20/CHL
19; Calgary’s second round pick (59th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; 10th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date (Liiga) | 22 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 3.37 |
| Season to date (U20) | 17 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 41 | 27.98 |
| Season to date (CHL) | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | n/a |
| 2022-23 (Liiga) | 22 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 8.42 |
Rönni’s primarily playing with Tappara’s U20 team lately. They’re second in SM-sarja U20 and will make their post-season.
Cole Schwindt – C/RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
22; Florida’s third round pick (81st overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Florida; 9th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 44 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 19 | 18 | 13 | 80 | 22.64 |
| 2022-23 (AHL) | 70 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 118 | 18.22 |
Schwindt had three goals in two games this week, and is rolling along with a four game goal-scoring streak dating back to his assignment from the NHL. That’s some fine work.
Ilya Solovyov – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
23; Calgary’s seventh round pick (205th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 8th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 38 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 76 | 10.49 |
| 2022-23 (AHL) | 68 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 9 | 16 | 8 | 82 | 10.55 |
Solovyov is injured.
William Strömgren – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
20; Calgary’s second round pick (45th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 19th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 46 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 48 | 10.40 |
| 2022-23 (SHL) | 45 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 31 | 8.69 |
Strömgren was held off the scoresheet this week.
Aydar Suniev – LW/C, University of Massachusetts Minutemen, NCAA/Hockey East
19; Calgary’s third round pick (80th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 13th-ranked prospect
| GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P | 5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
| Season to date | 28 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 74 | 24.17 |
| 2022-23 (BCHL) | 50 | 45 | 45 | 90 | 73 | 47 | 40 | – | 11.81 |
Suniev had an assist this week!
UMass is fifth in Hockey East and would go right into the quarterfinal playoff round. They’re ranked 13th in the country via the pairwise ratings, and so they stand a decent chance of being an at-large team in the NCAA national tournament.
Daniil Chechelev – G, HC Vityaz, KHL / Ryazan-VDV, VHL
22; Calgary’s fourth round pick (96th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft
| GP | TOI | SV% | |
| KHL season to date | 1 | 58 | .880 |
| VHL season to date | 5 | 271 | .908 |
| 2022-23 (ECHL) | 39 | 2135 | .892 |
Chechelev’s season is done. He dressed twice as backup in the KHL this week, but Vityaz missed the playoffs.
Arsenii Sergeev – G, University of Connecticut Huskies, NCAA/Hockey East
20; Calgary’s seventh round pick (205th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 15th-ranked prospect
| GP | TOI | SV% | |
| Season to date | 12 | 637 | .911 |
| 2022-23 (NCAA) | 19 | 1104 | .912 |
Sergeev is still splitting starts with senior teammate Ethan Haider.
UConn is tied for eighth in Hockey East and would play in the opening round. They’re 23rd in the pairwise ratings, and so they would need to win their conference playoffs to reach the NCAA’s national tournament.
Dustin Wolf – G, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
22; Calgary’s seventh round pick (214th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft; 1st-ranked prospect
| GP | TOI | SV% | |
| Season to date | 32 | 1849 | .927 |
| 2022-23 (AHL) | 55 | 3239 | .932 |
Wolf started twice, winning once and losing once.
Yegor Yegorov – G, MHK Dynamo Moskva, MHL
18; Calgary’s sixth round pick (176th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft
| GP | TOI | SV% | |
| Season to date | 25 | 1319 | .917 |
| 2022-23 (MHL) | 15 | 786 | .915 |
Yegorov will be backing up Maxim Yeryomenko in the VHL playoffs. MHK Dynamo Moskva has qualified for the first round, avoiding the play-in round.
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