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Flames prospect round-up: Andrew Basha continues to dominate since being assigned to the WHL
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Photo credit: Jenn Pierce/Calgary Hitmen
Ryley Delaney
Jan 27, 2026, 17:30 ESTUpdated: Jan 27, 2026, 20:13 EST
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Andrew Basha’s return has been huge for the Medicine Hat Tigers.
This is the Jan. 20-26 edition of the Flames prospect round-up, where we look at how Calgary Flames prospects have done every week. Specifically, we’ll look at players playing overseas, in junior hockey, or at the college level, as the American Hockey League prospects will have an article of their own in the Wranglers Recaps.
We’ll take a look at the games which were played last week, what’s next for all the players, and look at the standings.

College

The Flames have 11 prospects playing in college in four different conferences. Two of those prospects, Arizona State’s Cullen Potter and Michigan’s Henry Mews, are out with season-ending injuries.
Here’s how the college players did, what games are coming up this week, and what the standings look like.

NCHC 

With Cullen Potter’s season-ending injury, there are only four prospects in action in the NCHC conference for the rest of the season. Three of those prospects play for North Dakota, who defeated Potter’s Arizona State in two games this past week, winning 7-4 and 5-3.
Despite the 12 goals between the two games, Flames prospects combined for just two points, as Abram Wiebe had an assist in the 7-4 win and Cole Reschny had an assist in the other win, while Cade Littler was held pointless. This season, Reschny has four goals and 25 points in 22 games, Littler has four goals and 11 points in 24 games, and Wiebe (a defenceman) has three goals and 15 points in 26 games.
Eric Jamieson’s Denver played St. Cloud twice this past weekend, falling 4-2 in the first game but getting their revenge with a 6-0 victory. Jamieson picked up an assist in their win, giving him six goals and 14 points in 27 games.
This week, North Dakota is off, but returns the following weekend with two games against Minnesota Duluth on February 6 and February 7. Denver is in action, as they host Minnesota Duluth for two games on the typical schedule of Friday and Saturday.
Looking at the standings, North Dakota has 38 points in 16 in-conference games, posting a 12-4-0 record. Second in the conference is Denver, who have a 10-6-0 record and 30 points in 16 games. Although it doesn’t matter now that Potter is out, Arizona State is sixth in the conference. The top eight teams in the nine-team conference make the end-of-season tournament.

Hockey East

In Hockey East action, Trevor Hoskin’s Merrimack played two games against Northeastern, winning Thursday’s game by a score of 4-1, followed by a 3-1 win on Friday. Hoskin only picked up an assist in Thursday’s win, dropping him to below point-per-game this season. Overall, he has six goals and 22 points in 23 games.
Jaden Lipinski’s Maine was in action this week, playing two games against UMass Lowell. They won both games, winning 2-0 on Friday and 6-5 in overtime on Saturday. Unfortunately, Lipinski has been out of action since January 10, as he remains on three goals and eight points in 21 games this season.
Merrimack played a home-and-home against New Hampshire this weekend, hosting them for the first game on Friday, before heading to Durham on Saturday. It’s unclear when Lipinski will return to the lineup, but Maine hosts Providence on Saturday in Hockey East action. 
All 11 teams in Hockey East make the end-of-season tournament, with the five-best teams earning a bye. Maine sits sixth with 21 points in 15 games, while Merrimack has 19 points in 15 games.

ECAC Hockey

In ECAC Hockey action, Quinnipiac played in the Connecticut Ice tournament, defeating Sacred Heart 5-1, but falling 4-2 to UConn. To the surprise of no one, Flames prospect Ethan Wyttenbach had a strong week, scoring a goal and picking up an assist in the win, and picking up an assist in the loss. The fifth-rounder has 14 goals and 36 points in 26 games this season, just incredible.
Harvard’s Aidan Lane was also in action, as they defeated Colgate 3-1, but fell 4-1 to Cornell. The Flames’ sixth-rounder in 2025 was held pointless in both games, giving him five goals and seven points in 20 games this season.
Quinnipiac hits the road this weekend, taking on St. Lawrence on Friday and Clarkson on Saturday, both games have a 5:00 PM MT start time. Lane and Harvard take on RPI on Friday and Boston College on Monday.
After 12 games this season, Quinnipiac are at the top of ECAC Hockey’s standings with 28 points thanks to a 10-2-0 record. Harvard is second in the conference, with 27 points in 14 games and a 9-5-0 record. All 12 teams make the end-of-season tournament, with teams 1-4 earning a bye.

Big Ten

Lastly, Luke Misa’s Penn State was in action this week, defeating Wisconsin twice. On Friday, they won 7-2, then picked up a 3-1 win on Saturday to extend their winning streak to seven games. Misa was held pointless, as the fifth-rounder in the 2024 draft has four goals and 11 points in 24 games.
This week, Penn State hosts Michigan State for two games. Friday’s game has a 4:00 PM MT start time and Saturday’s game has a 11:00 AM MT start time. Penn State currently has 31 points, tied for the top of the conference with Henry Mews’ Michigan. All seven teams in the conference make the end-of-season tournament.

Junior

The Flames have five players in junior hockey, three in the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference, one in the Ontario Hockey League, and one in the United States Hockey League.
Let’s take a look at how their weeks went, their next opponents, and how the standings shape up as of Tuesday.

WHL

Andrew Basha and the Medicine Hat Tigers played three games this past week, defeating Axel Hurtig and the Calgary Hitmen 4-3, losing 3-2 in a shootout to Hunter Laing and the Saskatoon Blades, and falling 5-1 to the Prince Albert Raiders. Basha had a point in all three games, scoring a goal and an assist in the win, and scoring a game in each of their losses. Since he was sent down from the American Hockey League, Basha has five goals and 16 points in 10 games.
Along with their 3-2 shootout victory over the Tigers, the Blades defeated the Victoria Royals 3-1, but fell 5-1 to the Edmonton Oil Kings on Sunday. Laing returned to the lineup, picking up a goal in the 3-2 shootout win to give him 18 goals and 36 points in 39 games this season.
As for the Hitmen, Hurtig’s team lost 4-3 to the Tigers, but responded with a 5-1 victory over the  Red Deer Rebels, followed by a 6-3 victory over the Regina Pats. Hurtig picked up an assist in the loss and the 5-1 win, along with a fight in their 6-3 victory over the Pats. This season, the seventh-rounder in the 2023 draft has three goals and 12 points in 40 games.
This week, the Tigers host the Blades on Tuesday, then the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Saturday. On top of that road game against the Tigers, the Blades hit the road to play the Hurricanes on Wednesday, before a home-and-home against the Raiders on Saturday and Sunday. The Hitmen play the Oil Kings on Wednesday, followed by a game against the Hurricanes on Friday.
With a 1-1-1 week, the Tigers are now second in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with 70 points, four fewer than the Raiders. Sitting in fourth are the Hitmen with 55 points, meaning they’d get home ice in the first round if the post-season were to start today. The Blades are in reach of the Hitmen though, as they have 52 points and are sixth in the conference. Eight of the 12 teams make it in a traditional 1-8 format.

OHL

Jacob Battaglia and the Flint Firebirds played two games against the Windsor Spitfires this past week. They won the away game 4-2, but dropped the home game 4-1, with Battaglia being held off the scoresheet in both games, including a -3 in the loss. It’s been a tough season for the Flames’ second-rounder in 2024, as he has 17 goals and 31 points in 44 games this season. Since joining the Firebirds, he has three goals and four points. For context, Battaglia scored 40 goals and 90 points in 68 games last season.
The Firebirds and Spitfires exchanged points, meaning they both have 66 points for a tie at the top of the OHL’s Western Conference. However, the Spitfires have a hire point percentage of .717 percent. Like the WHL, the top eight teams in each of the two conferences make the post-season. This week, the Firebirds host the Barrie Colts on Friday and the Sarina Sting on Saturday.

USHL

Mace’o Phillips and the Green Bay Gamblers played two games against the Muskegon Lumberjacks this past week, losing a game 3-2 and winning the other one 3-1. The Flames defence prospect picked up an assist in their win, giving him a goal and seven points in 25 games this season.
The Gamblers sit second in the USHL’s Eastern Conference with 56 points in 40 games. That’s good news for the Gamblers, as the top two teams earn a bye, with six of the eight teams in each conference making the playoffs. On Saturday, the Gamblers face off against the Dubuque Fighting Saints.

Overseas

And finally, we have overseas. The Flames have five prospects playing in two different leagues, three in Russia’s junior league and two in Sweden’s U20 league.
Let’s take a look at how the prospects did, their upcoming games, and how the standings shape up.

Sweden

Theo Stockselius was in action with Djurgårdens IF U20 this week, as they defeated AIK U20 by a score of 4-3 in overtime. The Swedish prospect was held off the scoresheet, giving him three goals and 14 points in 10 games this season, after missing a large chunk of it due to injury. He also played a game with their SHL game, where he was held pointless in six minutes of action.
Jakob Leander and HV71 U20 were in action this week, falling 4-3 to Örebro HK U20 and 5-4 in overtime to Färjestad BK U20. The Flames defence prospect was held pointless in both games, giving him two goals and eight points on the season.
It’s unclear how long Stockselius will remain with Djurgårdens IF, but their U20 team takes on Skellefteå AIK U20 on Saturday and Luleå HF U20 on Sunday. HV71 U20 take on Linköping HC U20 on Friday.
The 27-game limit has been reached, meaning that the standings split up now. Djurgårdens IF U20 finished in the winners’ stage (also known as the top 10), while HV71 U20 finished in the losers’ stage (also known as the continuation stage). 
Djurgårdens IF U20 will play in the playoffs, but they’ll be jockeying for position, while HV71 U20 is currently fighting to avoid relegation, needing to make up six points to make the playoffs. Four teams miss the playoffs, with the bottom two teams playing a relegation season with the two teams from the second tier.

Russia

This past week, Kirill Zarubin and Mikhailov Academy played just one game, a 6-1 victory over AKM-Yunior. Due to their light schedule, Zarubin played the second half of the game, stopping all 15 shots he faced. This season, the 20-year-old has a .930 save percentage and 2.06 goals against average in 31 games.
Fellow Russian netminder Yegor Yegorov was incredibly busy with JHC Spartak-MAX this week. They fell 3-1 and 1-0 to Amurskie Tigry, then 2-1 in a shootout to Sakhalinskie Akuly, before avenging their loss with a 4-2 victory the following day. Yegorov appeared in three of those games, posting a .938 save percentage in the 1-0 loss, a .969 save percentage in the 2-1 shootout loss, and a .933 save percentage in the 4-2 win. This season, the 20-year-old netminder has a .927 save percentage and 2.59 goals against average in 24 games played.
Yan Matveiko’s Red Army played two games against Dinamo-Shinnik, winning one game 6-5 in overtime, before dropping the other game 5-1. The Flames prospect picked up an assist in the win and was a -1 for the week, as the 19-year-old now has 13 goals and 30 points in 34 games, and is a +20.
This week, Mikhailov Academy plays SKA-1946 for two games, one on Thursday and the other on Friday. They also play JHC Dynamo SPB on Monday and Tuesday. Yegorov’s JHC Spartak-MAX plays HC Kapitan on Thursday, Almaz on Sunday, and Loko on Tuesday. Matveiko’s Red Army plays JHC Atlant on Wednesday, Tolpar on Friday, and Loko on both Sunday and Monday.
I spent a good 30 minutes attempting to figure out what was going on in Sweden’s standings, but Russia is far easier, albeit still complicated. The top five teams from the Gold Division earn a bye, while teams six through eight play the top three teams from the Silver Division. Right now, Red Army is third in the Gold Division, Mikhailov Academy is sixth in the Gold Division, and JHC Spartak-MAX is fourth in the Silver Division, eight points back of a playoff spot with five games in hand.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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