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Could a shortened pre-season actually benefit the Flames rookies?
Photo credit: David Moll/Calgary Wranglers
Sep 8, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 7, 2026, 20:54 EDT
The 2026-27 NHL season is the first year of the new collective bargaining agreement, and the pre-season schedule has been cut down from the traditional six to eight games to only four, with veteran NHL players who have appeared in over 100 NHL games can only dress for two of these.
The Calgary Flames are entering this season with quite a young roster and several rookies still trying to establish their role on the team. With players like Matvei Gridin, Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz and Connor Zary potentially getting a great opportunity this pre-season to prove that they are ready to take on larger roles in the regular season.
This short pre-season could serve as a huge benefit for the Flames’ rookies, and here’s why.
Veterans won’t be taking up as many pre-season spots
Because veteran NHL players can only play twice, the Flames have to distribute their roster in those four games differently, in a way you probably won’t see again once the regular season begins.
This potentially creates opportunities for the rookies to play higher in the lineup and get a chance to play on special teams that may not have happened otherwise. This also allows Ryan Huska to mix up the lineups and put young players with veteran line-mates to see how they work together.
Rookies getting more playing time gives them a better chance to be seen and evaluated in situations that they may not have gotten otherwise. Instead of the rookies only getting small, infrequent amounts of ice time, this new pre-season structure could give them the opportunity to prove themselves in a higher-stakes situation.
Calgary has rookies worth getting these opportunities
The Flames have a roster of rookies and young players worth getting the opportunity to prove their skill, including Gridin, Brzustewicz and Parekh, among so many others.
Gridin could take this opportunity to see if he can turn last season’s NHL experience into a bigger role on the team. In his 2025-26 season with the Flames, he had 6 goals and 14 assists. This season, one of his goals should be to establish himself as a top-six forward and potentially getting a spot on the power play. His skill is already apparent and these goals could easily be achieved with an impressive showcase during the pre-season.
Brzustewicz could find where he fits on the Flames’ defensive lines. He is likely going to find more playing time if he is sent down to the AHL as a first or second liner on the Calgary Wranglers, but if he uses this time before regular season to prove himself, he may be able to solidify a stable NHL spot this season.
Parekh is already a promising player with a partially established role on the team, but this pre-season showcase could solidify where he fits and if he potentially deserves a bigger role.
It is expected that he will be paired with Zach Whitecloud this season, so Huska can also use this time to play these two together to see if they are a good fit or not.
Fewer games also means fewer chances
Although this short pre-season is looking to be incredibly beneficial for the team, the one downside is that fewer games means fewer chances for these athletes to truly get their feet wet. Four games might give rookies more opportunities to play, but it is also not a lot of time to truly prove yourself and who you are as a player.
For example, if a player has an off night, there are only a handful of chances to get back to their normal play and show the rest of the team and coaching staff their true abilities. Similarly, if someone gets injured there is less time for them to heal before the regular season.
In other words…
This shortened pre-season should give the Flames’ rookies a better quality of opportunity, but a smaller quantity of chances.
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