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A brief history of Calgary Wranglers season-opening goals
Photo credit: Angela Burger/Calgary Wranglers
Sep 14, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 13, 2026, 22:53 EDT
Last fall, every player who had ever scored a season-opening goal for the Calgary Wranglers was on the roster at the start of the year. By the summer of 2026, only one remained. In the first two years the Flames’ AHL affiliate came to Calgary, Jeremie Poirier had the title of the season’s first goal for the team. He went for the threepeat but Rory Kerins took that title in 2024-25. Last year, former alternate captain Martin Frk earned that milestone moment in the season opener.
Let’s take a look at how these goals came together as we start to anticipate who the next season opening scorer will be this Fall.
Year One (2022)
The Wranglers started their inaugural year against another new team to the league, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. This started a long-time rivalry between the teams. Jeremie Poirier will forever be cemented as the player to score the first goal in Wranglers team history. His goal came in the second period when the Wranglers were down 2-0 and he scored from the slot at 7:03. His goal was set up by former Wrangler Cole Schwindt and current Flame Martin Pospisil. The Wranglers ended up just narrowly losing this game 6-5 in regulation.
Year Two (2023)
Jeremie Poirier went for the repeat and was successful in that attempt. This year, the season started on the road and the Wranglers were playing the Manitoba Moose. This first goal also came in the second period with a similar shot to the year prior but with a little less juice on it. Poirier found the back of the net at 14:09 and Colton Poolman and Connor Zary picked up assists. The Wranglers were down 2-0 prior to Poirier’s goal and ended up coming back and winning this game 4-2.
🚨Jeremie Poirier scores the first goal of the season for the Wranglers (again) #Flames
Year Three (2024)
Poirier’s was dethroned in season three for the Wranglers and it was Rory Kerins who ended up being the first Wrangler to score in 2024-25. Another second period goal came at 8:35 and put the Wranglers within two in their 3-1 game at this point. Hunter Brzustewicz and Jakob Pelletier assisted on this goal and it was actually Brzustewicz’s first professional point. The Wranglers ended up losing this game 4-3 in regulation.
The first goal of the Wranglers season belongs to Rory Kerins. Hunter Brzusetwicz also picked up his first professional point on this play.
Year Four (2025)
Martin Frk broke the second period scoring curse the Wranglers faced in every season prior and got the scoring started at 17:44 into the first period of their season opener against the Colorado Eagles last year. The Wranglers were on the power play and Hunter Brzustewicz set him up with the lone assist. At this point in the game, the Wranglers were down 3-0 and they ended up losing this game on the road 7-3.
Frk lights the lamp 🔥
Year Five?
Kerins is the only one who can go for a repeat performance for the season’s opening goal, as he’s the only previous goal scorer still on the roster. As far as assists go, though, it’s interesting that all four years, the assists have gone to guys still in the organization and with the Flames, including Connor Zary, Martin Pospisil and Hunter Brzustewicz.
Three out of four years, their first goal has come in the second period and every single year, they have worked from behind in their opening game. By two or three goals at that, too. Two of these goals were also on the power play and Hunter Brzustewicz and Jeremie Poirier are the only two skaters to be credited for points on more than one season opening goal.
Statistically, you’d expect one of the top two lines to net that first goal of the year. My early predictions on the line combinations would put Dryden Hunt, Ben Jones, Rory Kerins, Sam Morton, Aydar Suniev or William Stromgren as the likely ones to light the lamp first for the Wranglers. But with how deep this roster goes and some roster finalizations to do in Flames and Wranglers camp, this could very well be challenged by another one of the players who cracks the AHL roster.
Who will set the tone and kick off a year of production for the Wranglers in their final season in the Scotiabank Saddledome? That will be revealed on Friday, Oct. 2 when the Wranglers host the Abbotsford Canucks at 7:00 p.m. MT.
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