On a lot of levels, hockey is something that binds generations together – whether as players, fans , and sometimes as both – so it’s pretty fun when you see sons following their fathers into the upper echelons of hockey.

In the history of the Calgary Flames franchise, there have been two sets of fathers and sons that have worn the Flaming C. During this training camp, a surprising face has emerged as a contender to complete the third set.

Back in June, the Flames selected Western Hockey League forward Joe Iginla, youngest son of Flames all-time leading scorer Jarome Iginla, in the third round of the NHL Draft. After the draft, it was probably natural to ponder if (or when) Joe could follow his father into the NHL.

But another second-generation Flame may beat him to the punch: professional try-out forward Alex Nylander.

Two sets of fathers and sons have played games for the Flames: Paul Reinhart and his son, Max, and Rob Ramage and his son, John.

Defenceman Paul Reinhart was a first-round selection by the Flames in the 1979 NHL Draft after impressing with the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers. He went pro immediately, joining the then Atlanta Flames for the 1979-80 season and finishing fifth in Calder Trophy voting with a 47 point rookie campaign. He ended up playing with the Flames for nine seasons, accumulating 517 appearances and 445 points in the regular season. His tenure ended with a trade to Vancouver prior to the 1988-89 campaign.

Paul had three sons that played high-level hockey: Maxwell, Sam and Griffin. Max, his eldest, impressed in the Western Hockey League with the Kootenay Ice and was a third-round selection by the Flames in the 2010 NHL Draft. He emerged as a good American Hockey League forward but failed to really get a toehold at the NHL level, playing in 23 games for the Flames across three seasons (2012-13 to 2014-15). He was traded to Nashville during the 2015 off-season.

Defenceman Rob Ramage was a fairly short-term Flame, but an important one. He joined the Flames in March 1988 as part of the trade that sent Brett Hull to St. Louis. A stay-at-home type, Ramage joined a pretty stacked Flames blueline, and he played a big part in the Flames winning the Stanley Cup the following season. He was traded to Toronto in the 1989 off-season in exchange for a draft choice that the Flames used to select Kent Manderville.

Rob’s son, John, was impressed in a similar role as his father with the U.S. National Development Team and the University of Wisconsin, and the Flames selected him in the fourth round of the 2010 NHL Draft – the same year they selected Max Reinhart. Ramage played four seasons at Wisconsin, including serving as captain in his junior and senior years, before going pro in 2013-14. He was a rock-solid AHLer, but failed to really progress past that point. He played a single NHL game with the Flames, a Game 82 call-up at the end of the 2014-15 season. He left the organization as a free agent the following off-season.

Michael Nylander joined the Flames at the 1994 trade deadline in a six player trade with the Hartford Whalers. He played another two full seasons and part of a third with the Flames before he was traded to Tampa Bay in January 1999. All-told, he played 239 games with the Flames, posting 180 points.

Michael had two sons that played high-end hockey: William and Alexander. William has become a fixture with the Toronto Maple Leafs, while Alex has bounced around a bit, with the Flames potentially being his sixth different NHL home after stops in Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Columbus and Toronto. Nylander is attending Flames camp on a professional try-out agreement.

In a nice nod, with Matvei Gridin wearing Alex’s father’s number (92), Alex has been assigned one digit up from him: 93.

After the first day of Flames training camp, head coach Ryan Huska discussed what Nylander brings to the table.

“He’s an offensive player,” said Huska, via Flames TV. “Like we know that he’s been around a lot. He’s helped teams win in the past, like last year. He’s a very good power play player. So I think when he plays the couple games that he’s allowed to play, those are things that we’ll look for out of him.”

The Flames begin their 2026-27 exhibition schedule on Sunday evening when they host the Seattle Kraken.

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