What spots are available for Flames prospects to take?

The march towards the returning hockey season always begins with prospects. They rarely factor into the truly meaningful parts of the season, and the bulk of them won’t have a place in the NHL – but it always starts with them.

The Penticton Young Stars Classic is underway, and while there typically isn’t much to gather from these games – aside from getting closer glimpses at the players and adjusting to the slow return of hockey, both of which are valuable in their own way – it is a look at some of the newer faces we may see in Calgary as the year proceeds. With that in mind, let’s refresh our memories as to what spots are actually available on the Flames – because while there’s room for some players, it can be select.

Barring a last minute signing (as Kris Versteeg was 11 months ago), the Flames have two spots open up front for the taking, and it appears increasingly likely those spots will be filled from within.

They probably won’t be in the top six. Micheal Ferland is finally going to start his season getting a proper chance, not buried on the fourth line but playing alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, who he finished last season with. It doesn’t seem likely a prospect will be able to usurp him right out of the gate. That, and the lack of any apparent reason to split up Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund, and Michael Frolik leaves no room available in the top six.

Third line centre also appears to be unavailable, as Sam Bennett should be staying in his natural position down the middle.

One would assume Kris Versteeg fills in a top nine slot as well.

All this leaves one spot open on the third line, as well as an entire fourth line, plus two spots as a healthy scratch. It’s pretty dang likely three of those six spots are occupied by Troy Brouwer, Matt Stajan, and Curtis Lazar: a right winger and two centres, calling into some question whether there’s a place for another centre in the lineup right away (i.e. Mark Jankowski).

However, that’s the beauty of having so many centres, plus those healthy scratch spots: it’s easier to convert a centre into a winger, and there’s always the ability to park an extra in the press box on a game-by-game basis. If anything, that could help make the transition to the NHL easier for someone like Jankowski who, at almost 23 years of age and a professional season under his belt, should be solidly pushing for a spot by now.

There are a couple of other players to keep in mind who may not count as prospects, but could end up filling those forward slots, regardless. Freddie Hamilton performed well in a 13th forward capacity the previous season; there’s no reason to think he can’t do it again. Marek Hrivik was the Flames’ lone July 1 signing, and he’s certainly an intriguing one. And there’s always the Luke Gazdic possibility, though after Brandon Bollig spent his entire 2016-17 season in the AHL, I wouldn’t count on it.

Depending on how some of those older, bubble players perform at camp, those three spots could dwindle to one – or none, if that mystical free agent is ever signed (listen, Jaromir Jagr rumours are fun).

I would bet on one or two forward prospects making the team out of camp, with at least one of them ideally getting a regular shot on the third line.

Right-handed defencemen only need apply in case of injury, it would seem.

The Flames’ defence is stacked – and may be set to be the best in the entire NHL (considering that Nashville has lost Ryan Ellis for at least half the season, they’re the front runners now). Dougie Hamilton, Travis Hamonic, and Michael Stone will likely patrol the right side, giving someone like Rasmus Andersson little to no room to actually make a push (not that there’s anything wrong with that – he turns 21 at the end of October and has only played one professional season. Lots of time there).

Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie will take the left, leaving one question mark for the regular lineup, plus another for the extra. It would seem to reason that the extra would be a lefty, as the right is all filled up, while the bottom pairing left defender may not be ready to be an everyday kind of player just yet.

Brett Kulak, Tyler Wotherspoon, and Matt Bartkowski would appear to be the three candidates for this spot, though I do wonder what the Flames’ plans for Juuso Valimaki will be. It seems unlikely he plays the full season in the NHL, but getting in a couple of games in October could be in the cards if he can keep his performance up. (The Montreal Canadiens had Mikhail Sergachev play four games for them this past season, so it’s not out of the question to do that with a young defender before sending him back to junior.) Either way, Valimaki would see what it’s like to play at the NHL level while missing a couple of WHL games, and then someone else would be called up from Stockton – or he would simply play his entire season for Tri-City, with a World Juniors break in between.

It looks like two left-handed defenders should get the chance to make the Flames, as well as virtually any forward.

Centres would seem to be at the greatest disadvantage to making the NHL lineup, as it’s the Flames’ deepest position, but it’s also the most malleable one. Pure winger spots are available – the Flames’ lack of right depth is well-noted (and a reason Spencer Foo chose Calgary), and after Lance Bouma’s buyout the fourth line left wing spot seems less obvious – but when the apparent top forward prospect is a centre, well, if he earns it, you make room for him, one way or another.