Friends, for the first time since April, the Calgary Flames are back in action! Yes, it’s a prospect tournament, but for the first time we’ll see a bunch of the organization’s new faces competing against another hockey club!

The 2024 Young Stars Classic tournament kicks off for the Flames in Penticton as they face the Winnipeg Jets! The Flames and Jets have brought a lot of high-drafted talent to this event this year, so this could be one of the more entertaining games of the tournament.

The game begins at 5 p.m. MT and you can catch the action on the Calgary Flames site (live video stream) and Sportsnet 960 The Fan (radio).

Update: Lines for tonight via Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg (thanks Pat!):

Samuel Honzek – Jaden Lipinski – Andrew Basha
William Strömgren – Sam Morton – Matvei Gridin
Lucas Ciona – Luke Misa – Jacob Battaglia
Parker Bell – David Silye – Hunter Laing

Artem Grushnikov – Hunter Brzustewicz
Joni Jurmo – Zayne Parekh
Etienne Morin – Henry Mews

Via Steinberg: Connor Murphy starts, backed up by Waltteri Ignatjew. The projected scratches are Matt Radomsky, Eric Jamieson, Axel Hurtig, Trevor Janicke and Luke McNamara.

It’s the first Penticton experience for a lot of faces in this lineup. The top two lines seem pretty fun – there’s an all-WHL line and a fun Strömgren/Morton/Gridin trio – and a bunch of interesting defensive pairings. We’ll see how things work out on the ice, but on paper, they make a ton of sense.

Players to Watch: We’re going to default to ninth overall pick Zayne Parekh, who was the top blueliner in all of Canadian major junior hockey. But don’t overlook Strömgren, who was really good in the AHL after Christmas and might be pushing for NHL duty this year, and Jaden Lipinski, who was quietly one of the best centres in the WHL last season.

Here are projected lines via the Winnipeg News’ Mike McIntyre and Jets TV’s Jamie Thomas:

Kevin He – Brad Lambert – Colby Barlow
Jacob Julien – Brayden Yager – Nikita Chibrikov
Kieron Walton – Danny Zhilkin – Daniel Torgersson
Markus Loponen – Henri Nikkanen – Connor Levis
(Carson Golder, Mark Liwiski, Ben King and Luke Mistelbacher were rotating on the fifth line.)

Dylan Anhorn – Elias Salomonsson
Dmitry Kuzmin – Dawson Barteaux
Graham Sward – Hunter Mayo
(Ben Zloty as an extra.)

Winnipeg’s goalies are Thomas Milic and Domenic DiVincentiis. Milic is slated to start against the Flames, per Thomas.

Good news and bad news for the Jets, folks. Bad news first: Chaz Lucius is with the club but won’t be playing as he’s recovering from an injury. The good news is that the Jets have a lot of fun prospects, including Brayden Yager, acquired from the Rutger McRoarty trade with Pittsburgh. Their blueline group is a bit thin, but their forward group seems pretty fun.

Player to Watch: We’re gonna default to Yager, as we’re curious what kind of element he adds to the Jets’ young forward group.