As expected, the Calgary Flames made a pair of roster moves following their final game before the Olympic break. Per the club, they’ve assigned forward Matvei Gridin and defenceman Hunter Brzustewicz to the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers.

The moves were announced minutes after the Flames beat the Edmonton Oilers by a 4-3 score. Gridin had a goal and an assist, while Brzustewicz was a healthy scratch for the game.

The 19-year-old Gridin heads back to the Wranglers after really impressing on his second recall. After one goal in four games in his first stint, he went down to the Wranglers and posted 28 points through 32 AHL games, earning a spot in the upcoming AHL All-Star Classic. He was brought back up to the NHL on Jan. 17 and amassed five points through nine games on this recall.

Following Wednesday’s win over Edmonton, head coach Ryan Huska provided his assessment of Gridin’s performance.

“I thought he played well again,” said Huska. “He’s been consistent with his game since he’s been up this time. He’s added something offensive that I don’t think we really have a lot of. Even his goal, when you look at it, he picked that up off his foot. He’s basically full stride. And then to shoot the puck the way he did in that situation, it’s a talented player. So that’s why we really believe in this young man. And we know he’s going to be a really good player. It’s just continuing to work with him and help him grow along the way.”

The 21-year-old Brzustewicz has been on the Flames roster since being called up back on Dec. 8 after posting 12 points in 23 AHL games to start the season. He’s played 18 games primarily on the third pairing and posted two points. He’s been a healthy spectator for four of the past six games, and the return of Zayne Parekh from his conditioning stint basically means that if Brzustewicz is gonna get a run of games over the next little bit, it’ll probably be with the Wranglers.

Gridin and Brzustewicz are the only players on the Flames’ roster eligible to head to the AHL for the break, and they’ll give the Wranglers so much-needed reinforcements. Gridin will likely slot back into the group’s top six on the wings, while Brzustewicz could easily find himself on their top defensive pairing, probably alongside previous partner Nick Cicek.

While these guys are headed down for the time being, we would not be shocked to see them both back on the NHL roster in the near future.