After an outstanding first road trip, the Calgary Wranglers are returning home for their longest homestand of the season. They went 4-0 against the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Henderson Silver Knights and the Bakersfield Condors with Rory Kerins and Walker Duehr picking up hat tricks along the way.

Now they get to continue their five-game winning streak at home and hopefully extend it even further.

Jakob Pelletier – Rory Kerins – Dryden Hunt

Lucas Ciona – Clark Bishop – Walker Duehr

William Stromgren – Sam Morton – Martin Frk

Parker Bell – David Silye – Ilya Nikolaev

Jeremie Poirier – Artem Grushnikov

Yan Kuznetsov – Hunter Brzustewicz

Jonathan Aspirot – Jarred Tinordi

Devin Cooley

Waltteri Ignatjew

Injured – Alex Gallant, Ilya Solovyov (suspected, not confirmed)

Joe Innala – Nikita Prishchepov – Matthew Phillips

Oskar Olausson – T.J. Tynan – Jason Polin

Chad Hillebrand – Ondrej Pavel – Tye Felhaber

Chase Bradley – Mark Senden – Keaton Mastrodonato

Wyatt Aamodt – Jacob MacDonald

Keaton Middleton – Jack Achan

Calle Rosen – Connor Mayer

Kevin Mandolese

Trent Miner

Rory Kerins – 6GP, 7G, 1A

Walker Duehr – 6GP, 5G, 3A

Jakob Pelletier – 6GP, 8A

Jacob MacDonald – 4GP, 2G, 3A

Nikita Prishchepov – 4GP, 3A

T.J. Tynan – 4GP, 3A

The Wranglers have been on a heater to start the 2024-25 and are proving doubters wrong in a slightly different way than the Flames are. The AHL affiliate lost some key players to NHL assignments such as Matt Coronato, Adam Klapka and Dustin Wolf, but despite that, they are still finding ways to win. Thus, keeping the strong reputation this team has had since its inaugural season.

As mentioned earlier, Walker Duehr and Rory Kerins did have hat trick games on the road and are both tied for top scoring on the team. They have quieted down in production the last two games without showing up on the scoresheet. However, that has allowed their third and fourth lines to find some production and help lead their team to some wins.

There are some parts of the Wranglers lineup that could still elevate their game and catch up with the rest of the team, however. William Stromgren, Jeremie Poirier and Hunter Brzustewicz are all talented players on this roster that have been a little quieter than expected in the first few weeks of the season.

Stromgren lit up the end of the season and into the post-season last year but seems to be taking some time to settle in so far. However, it is not a huge cause for concern as his line with Sam Morton and Martin Frk have had some competitive shifts and have been putting up points here and there. William Stromgren had a stunning shootout goal during their last home series but has not been finding the back of the net as frequently as anticipated. For his line, it only feels like a matter of time.

As for the blue line, Hunter Bruzustewicz made it to the scoresheet on game one of the season but has not contributed in that way since. Poirier has been very strong in shootouts but the points in regulation have not been there just yet. These two are both offensive defencemen that do put up points when they’re at their best so they’re players to watch for some strides along this homestand.

On the Eagles side, there are a few things of note. The Matthew Phillips on the top line for Colorado is the same Matthew Phillips that lit it up with Jakob Pelletier with the Stockton Heat and into the first year of the Wranglers. He has moved around a bit in the last season being picked up by the Washington Capitals and then winning the Calder Cup with the Hershey Bears. This season he landed with the Colorado Avalanche organization. So far this season, he has played in three games registering a goal and an assist. It will be interesting to see how he plays matched up against his former linemate and close friend Jakob Pelletier for these two games.

This series kicks off the lengthy homestand for the Wranglers in the next few weeks leading up to Remembrance Day. It all starts on Friday at 7:00 p.m. MT and then continues into Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. MT puck drop. To catch the action live, tickets are available and radio streaming will be on Sportsnet 960 The Fan. Video streaming is also available on Flo Hockey for a monthly or annual cost. Various FlamesNation contributors, such as myself, will have game updates on X (formerly Twitter).