It’s safe to say Jacob Battaglia had an eventful Thursday.
The Kingston Frontenacs winger, whom the Calgary Flames selected with the latter of their second-round picks in the 2024 NHL Draft, kicked off his third full Ontario Hockey League season with a bang yesterday.
Just two days after the Flames included him in their first round of training camp roster cuts, Battaglia potted a goal and added a pair of assists en route to being named the first star of Kingston’s season-opening 7-2 victory over the Peterborough Petes.
Better yet, Battaglia made all that noise (he added four shots and finished a plus-two) in his first game as a member of Kingston’s leadership group. Just hours before the puck dropped in Peterborough, the Frontenacs named Battaglia one of four alternate captains under Quinton Burns for the 2024-25 season.
Battaglia will wear an ‘A’ next to the big ‘K’ on his jersey during home games, meaning he’ll make his true debut as an alternate captain on Friday when the Frontenacs take on the Oshawa Generals at Slush Puppie Place in downtown Kingston. Having just turned 18 in March, Battaglia is the youngest of the Frontenacs’ five captains.
He might not have the pure offensive talent of Andrew Basha, his fellow 2024 second-round pick, but Battaglia is a gifted finisher with a knack for finding the most dangerous spots on the ice. While his goal in Thursday’s game wasn’t exactly one for the highlight reel, it helped prove he didn’t lose his nose for the net over the summer.
The 6’1″, 196-pound Battaglia collected 65 points, including a team-leading 31 goals, in 67 games with the Frontenacs during the 2023-24 regular season. He posted three or more points on six different occasions in his draft year, including a career-best three goals and four points against the very same Petes on January 11.
The OHL also named Battaglia its top performer of the night in recognition of his excellent performance against Peterborough. The Frontenacs now own the best record in the OHL’s Eastern Conference: 1-0-0.
Back in the summer, Battaglia slotted in at No. 11 on FlamesNation‘s list of the Flames’ top 20 prospects, earning votes from nine of our 10 panellists — including three as high as No. 9 overall. The Flames made him their fourth pick in the 2024 NHL Draft when they took him at No. 62 overall, using the second-round choice they received from the Dallas Stars in the Chris Tanev trade.
The Flames have already signed Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin, their two first-round selections from this year’s draft, but they have yet to agree to terms on new deals with any of the other eight players they drafted in June. They have until June 1, 2026 to sign Basha and Battaglia to their own entry-level deals; otherwise, they’ll be free to re-enter the draft.
After kicking off their 2024-25 slate of games on the road, the Frontenacs are scheduled to play their next six games at home between September 27 and October 12. Over that span, they’ll take on the Oshawa Generals, Niagara IceDogs, North Bay Battalion, Ottawa 67’s (including fellow Flames prospect Henry Mews), Sudbury Wolves, and Brantford Bulldogs.