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Flames Prospect Round-up: CHL and Europe-based Flames prospects begin season

Photo credit: courtesy WHL

By Cynthia Ryley Delaney

Sep 25, 2026, 15:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 25, 2026, 18:21 EDT

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After a long summer of terrible Toronto Blue Jays baseball, hockey is finally here.

While the Calgary Flames don’t kick-off their 2026-27 season until early October, several of their prospects have already begun their season. Players playing in Sweden, Russia, and the Canadian Hockey League have already dipped their toes in 2026-27 action, with college players set to join them in the coming weeks.

Each week, we’ll recap how non-professional Flame prospects did on a week-to-week basis, as well as what their upcoming schedule looks like. In January, we’ll look at how the standings are shaping up.

Without further adieu, let’s take a look at the first edition of the Flames Prospect Round-Up in 2026-27.

Junior hockey

This season, the Flames have six players playing in the Canadian Hockey League, but none in the United States Hockey League. Of the six prospects in the CHL, five of them play in the Western Hockey League, while there’s also one prospect playing in the Ontario Hockey League.

Western Hockey League

Joe Iginla and the Vancouver Giants kicked off their season with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Kelowna Rockets on Saturday. Down 2-1 late in the game, Iginla scored the game-tying goal on the power play, before the Giants eventually won it. It’s a good start for the second-generation hockey player.

Western Hockey League

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OH JOE, WHAT A SNIPE! 🎯 Joe Iginla goes topshelf on the powerplay and ties the game late in the third. @WHLGiants | @NHLFlames | #Flames | #WHLOpeningWeek

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4:50 AM · Sep 20, 2026

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The Everett Silvertips and Bode Laylin kicked off their campaign in search of their second consecutive Ed Chynoweth Cup on Saturday. Like the Giants, they went to overtime, but ultimately lost the game against the Portland Winterhawks. Laylin was held off the scoresheet, though he finished as a +1 with a shot on goal.

Chase Harrington, the other Flames prospect who plays for an American-based WHL team, is still with the Flames’ camp. However, his Spokane Chiefs defeated the Tri-City Americans 3-2 in a shootout to kick off their season.

Moving to the Berta based WHL teams, Mace’o Phillips made his WHL debut with the Medicine Hat Tigers, who won 5-2 over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Phillips even picked up his first career WHL point, assisting on an empty net goal. The left-shot defenceman did the same thing in his second game, a 5-1 victory over the Hurricanes, picking up the secondary assist on Luke Cozens’ hat trick goal.

Those two games were the only two WHL games involving Flames prospects that didn’t require free hockey, as Jakob Leander and the Calgary Hitmen went to a shootout and overtime in their first two games. Leander was held off the scoresheet in their 3-2 shootout victory over the Red Deer Rebels, but picked up his first WHL point (an assist) in the Hitmen’s 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings.

This week, the Giants take a ferry to play the Victoria Royals on Saturday, before returning home to host the Prince George Cougars on Sunday. The Silvertips return this weekend for a home-and-home against the Wenatchee Wild. They host Friday’s game, before heading due east for their away game.

Phillips and the Tigers will play a pair of road games this week, taking on the Rebels on Saturday and the Oil Kings on Sunday. The Hitmen host the Oil Kings on Friday, their lone game this coming week.

As for Harrington, his Chiefs will play against the Americans again on Saturday, with Harrington expected to play in the Flames’ pre-season game against the Seattle Kraken that day.

Ontario Hockey League

It was a great week for Flames prospects in the CHL, as Šimon Katolický scored his first career OHL goal in the Sarnia Stings’ 4-3 victory over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds on Saturday.

He’ll be back in action on Thursday, as the Sting travel to Peterborough to take on the Petes. That’ll kick start a weekend road trip in Eastern Ontario, as they’ll play the Kingston Frontenacs on Friday and the Ottawa 67’s on Sunday. Maybe I’ll end up going to the game in the Nation’s Capital.

Overseas

There are three Flames prospects playing overseas, two in Russia and one in Sweden.

Sweden

In Sweden, Flames’ second-rounder in 2025, Theo Stockselius, has played three games with Swedish Hockey League team Djurgårdens IF. They fell 3-0 to Björklöven on Sep. 18, 3-2 to Rögle BK on Sep. 21, but defeated Växjö Lakers by a score of 4-3 in overtime on Sep. 23. Stockselius picked up his first assist of the season in the 3-2 loss, but is still hunting for his first career SHL goal.

This week, they’ll take on Timrå IK on Friday and Färjestad BK on Wednesday.

Russia

Yan Matveiko has already played nine games this season with All-Russian Hockey League team Moscow Zvezda. In those nine games with what is essentially Russia’s American Hockey League, the Flames’ seventh-rounder in 2025 has three assists and 10 penalty minutes. In those nine games, Zvezda is 3-5-1, 20th in the 30-team league.

Flames’ second-rounder Alan Shaikhlislamov has played six games with Junior Hockey League (MHL)’s Ufa Tolpar, scoring five goals and nine points. With a 3-3-0 record, Tolpar is seventh in the Eastern Conference’s Gold Division.

Matveiko is back in action on Sep. 30, as Zvezda takes on SKA-VMF. Shaikhlislamov and Tolpar take on Chaika twice over the weekend, taking them on both Friday and Saturday. They’ll also play Irbis on Tuesday.

College

The bulk of non-professional Flames prospects play in the NCAA. None of their season has started quite yet.

In the NCHC, Cole Reschny and Carson Carles begin the North Dakota campaign on Oct. 9th against Bemidji State. Eric Jamieson’s Denver looks to win back-to-back National Championships, with his season kick-starting on Oct. 2 against Alaska Anchorage. Cade Littler, a former North Dakota player, begins his season with Arizona State on Oct. 2 against Lindenwood. Yegor Yegorov could make his North America debut with Miami (Ohio) on Oct. 2nd against Northern Michigan.

Out east, Ethan Wyttenbach looks to lead the NCAA in points yet again, with Quinnipiac beginning their season on Oct. 2 against New Hampshire. The latest start date of any NCAA regular season for Flames prospects belongs to Aidan Lane’s Harvard, who start their season all the way on Oct. 29th against Massachusetts.

Speaking of Massachusetts, they have three Flames prospects on their roster this season, Max Curran, Egor Barabanov, and netminder Tobias Trejbal. The Hockey East team begins their season on Oct. 2nd against Colorado College. Jaden Lipinski and Maine start their season on Oct. 2nd against Holy Cross, while Trevor Hoskin’s Merrimack, winners of the Hockey East championship in 2025-26, begin their season on Oct. 3rd against Wyttenbach and Qunnipiac.

Lastly, four Flames prospects are set to play for Big Ten teams this season. Michigan State features Jack Hexstall and Cullen Potter, and they’ll begin their season on Oct. 9 against Northern Michigan. Fellow Michigan-based prospect Henry Mews will see his Wolverines start their season on Oct. 2 against Bowling Green. Luke Misa’s Penn State kicks off their season against UConn on Oct. 9th.

Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for DFO Calgary, DFO Edmonton, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @CynthiaRDelaney.

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