With one pre-season game left on the docket, the Calgary Flames are getting their roster closer to its final form. On Thursday morning, the club announced the assignments of six players to the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers: defencemen Jonathan Aspirot and Hunter Brzustewicz, and forwards Clark Bishop, Martin Frk, Justin Kirkland and Sam Morton.

Aspirot, Bishop, Frk and Kirkland had all recently cleared waivers. Heck, Aspirot and Bishop had been previously assigned to Wranglers camp, but were brought back up on Wednesday to fill out the roster for the club’s final pre-season game in Winnipeg – one of the benefits of having your farm team in the same city as your NHL club.

This was the first Flames camp for both Brzustewicz and Morton; Brzustewicz was acquired from Vancouver in the Elias Lindholm trade in January, while Morton was a college free agent signing. Both showed extremely well in training camp, especially Brzustewicz.

A third-round selection by the Canucks in 2023, Brzustewicz had an awesome 2023-24 season offensively with the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers, producing 79 assists and 92 points – only Flames prospect Zayne Parekh had more points among OHL blueliners.

The knock on Brzustewicz in the scouting community was that his commitment to defensive hockey wasn’t quite as good as his offensive acumen, and he might need work. Well, he’s hardly a finished product, but he looked much closer to well-rounded than many anticipated he would be in his first camp with the Flames. He dressed for three pre-season games and had three assists. He turned a lot of heads with his surprisingly poised play in all three zones… and he’s only 19 years old.

Morton was a college signing after four seasons with Minnesota State – Mankato. He joined the Wranglers on a late-season try-out agreement and made it impossible for head coach Trent Cull to remove him from the lineup. He’s continued his effective two-way play this year, looking rock-solid in both Penticton and main camp despite his lack of pro experience. Sure, he’s 25, but typically it takes collegiate players a bit of time to adjust. We’ll see if Morton can continue this momentum into his first full pro season with the Wranglers.

Following these moves, the Flames’ camp roster is down to 30 players: three goaltenders, nine defencemen and 18 forwards. They have to be down to a 23-man roster by 3 p.m. MT on Monday.