Just days after their parent clubs started their season, the Calgary Wranglers are set to make their season debut against the Abbotsford Canucks on Friday. The Flames and Canucks affiliates got a bit of a preview against each other in pre-season but this is go time now.

The Wranglers lost their season series against the Canucks last year, but big roster changes may change the narratives when they’re still figuring out their identity for the upcoming season.

Forwards: Jakob Pelletier, William Stromgren, Clark Bishop, Lucas Ciona, Rory Kerins, Alex Gallant, Sam Morton, Jaden Lipinski, Ilya Nikolaev, David Silye, Walker Duehr, Dryden Hunt, Martin Frk, Parker Bell

Defencemen: Jarred Tinordi, Ilya Solovyov, Jeremie Poirier, Artem Grushnikov, Joni Jurmo, Hunter Brzustewicz, Jonathan Aspirot, Yan Kuznetsov

Goaltenders: Devin Cooley, Waltteri Ignatjew

Forwards: Sammy Blais, Phil Di Giuseppe, Ty Glover, Dino Kambeitz, Linus Karlsson, Danila Klimovich, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Ty Mueller, Tristen Nielsen, Max Sasson, Nathan Smith, John Stevens, Carsen Twarynski, Cooper Walker, Chase Wouters

Defencemen: Layton Ahac, Guillaume Brisebois,, Christian Felton, Akito Hirose, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Cole McWard, Elias Pettersson, Christian Wolanin, Jett Woo

Goaltenders: Nikita Tolopilo, Ty Young

The newest bit of news to affect the Wranglers included the roster announcements and waiver assignments. The Flames organization lost Cole Schwindt to waivers on Monday as the Vegas Golden Knights scooped him up. Jakob Pelletier and Devin Cooley were also among the last assignments but both cleared and were assigned to the Wranglers. (Justin Kirkland, a former Flames farmhand from the Stockton days, re-signed with the Flames during the off-season and was called up to the NHL on Friday due to the injury to Kevin Rooney.)

With some former AHLers making the opening night roster, you won’t be seeing Matt Coronato, Adam Klapka and Sam Honzek with the Wranglers anytime soon. There were also some departures from over the off-season. Mark Pysyk, Ben Jones, Mitch McLain, Jordan Oesterle, and Oscar Dansk are all gone to other organizations and Brady Lyle signed with HC Dinamo Minsk in the KHL.

Another large change of the summer included the official announcement of Brett Sutter’s retirement. The Wranglers’ first captain in team history is hanging up the jersey and picking up the whistle and whiteboard to join the Wranglers as an assistant coach. That leaves a spot for captain that is favoured to go to his former linemate, Clark Bishop. That may be a reveal that waits for the home opening introductions.

It’s a clean slate between these two. With it being literally the first series of the year, it could include all the chaos and madness of players looking to earn roles in their lineup and start their ascent into a hopeful NHL opportunity.

The biggest change between these two squads this year will be between the pipes. Former Abbotsford netminder Arturs Silovs and Dustin Wolf have both earned roster positions in the NHL this year. Now, the next goaltenders in line are going to be the ones building their own reputation. To open the Wranglers season, I would expect to see Devin Cooley getting the start on night one.

Note that the streaming options have changed this year. Paid streams are no longer on AHL.tv as they have merged over to Flo Hockey. This subscription includes a larger coverage across additional leagues like the ECHL, USHL, AJHL, and many other minor and junior leagues. Sportsnet 960 The Fan will also have the radio call for a complimentary way to follow along with the games.

Game one and two of 72 are set to be hosted in Calgary at the Scotiabank Saddledome with a 7:00 p.m. MT start on Friday and a 1:00 p.m. MT start on Sunday afternoon.