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Flames prospect roundup: Axel Hurtig’s Hitmen win Games 1 and 2 in overtime
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Photo credit: Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff
Ryley Delaney
Mar 31, 2026, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 31, 2026, 15:14 EDT
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All but one playoff has begun for the Calgary Flame prospects.
This is the Mar. 24-30 edition of the Calgary Flames prospect round-up, where we look at how 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 last week’s games, which include the Western Hockey League playoffs and the NCAA National Tournament. Let’s dig in!

College

This past week saw the NCAA play in the National Tournament Regionals. There were eight Flame prospects who played in the tournament for six different teams.

NCAA National Tournament

North Dakota took on Merrimack, with three Flame prospects involved in this game. Ultimately, it was North Dakota coming out on top with a 3-0 victory, with Cade Litter, Cole Reschny, and Abram Wiebe all being held pointless. 
In the other regional semifinal in the bracket, Ethan Wyttenbach’s Quinnipiac defeated Providence 5-2, with the Flames 2025 fifth rounder picking up an empty-net goal. That set up a matchup between North Dakota and Quinnipiac, in which North Dakota won 5-0. Being held pointless, Wyttenbach finished his freshman season with 25 goals and 59 points in 40 games, currently first in NCAA scoring.
As for the game itself, Reschny scored the fifth goal of the game, while Wiebe picked up two assists in the first period. Heading into the Frozen Four, Wiebe has five goals and 29 points, Reschny has six goals and 35 points in 35 games, and Littler has five goals and 13 points in 35 games.
Two other Flame prospects played in the other west bracket, as Eric Jamieson’s Denver took on Jonathan Castagna’s Cornell. It was the end of Castagna’s collegiate career, as Denver shut Cornell out 5-0. Jamieson picked up an assist, while Castagna finished his season with 15 goals and 34 points in 34 games. He recently signed his entry-level contract with the Flames.
Denver took on the reigning NCAA Tournament Champions, Western Michigan, in the regional finals. Just like North Dakota, Denver punched their ticket to the Frozen Four thanks to a 6-2 victory. Jamieson was held pointless and has seven goals and 17 points in 41 games this season.
The other Flame prospect in the tournament was Penn State’s Luke Misa. Unfortunately, they bowed out to Minnesota Duluth in the regional semifinals, falling 3-1. Misa, the Flames’ fifth-rounder in 2024, finished his freshman season with eight goals and 19 points in 37 games.
Minnesota Duluth took on Henry Mews’ Michigan in the regional finals, with Michigan just barely clinging on to a 4-3 victory. Mews recently started skating and should be back for next season. As for the other bracket, Wisconsin defeated Michigan State, outlasting them, UConn, and Dartmouth.
As for the next games in college, the Frozen Four begin on Apr. 9. Reschny, Littler, and Wiebe’s North Dakota will take on Wisconsin, while Jamieson’s Denver faced Michigan. The final is on Apr. 11.

Junior

The Western Hockey League playoffs have begun, with three Flame prospects participating in it. Moreover, the United States Hockey League is quickly wrapping up, with just a handful more games before their playoffs begin.

WHL

Andrew Basha and the second-seeded Medicine Hat Tigers have a first round date with the Regina Pats. In Game 1, they defeated the Saskatchewan-based team 6-2, with Basha picking up two assists. The Pats responded in the second game, defeating the Tigers 4-2, with Basha picking up an assist.
The Saskatoon Blades and Hunter Laing are taking on Max Curran and the Edmonton Oil Kings, albeit Curran is out for the season. It started off well for the Blades, as they won Game 1 by a score of 3-2, with Laing scoring a penalty shot. The Oil Kings responded in Game 2, winning 4-3 in overtime.
Lastly, Axel Hurtig and his Calgary Hitmen have a first round date with the Brandon Wheat Kings. They nearly played two games in Game 1, as the opening goal didn’t come until five minutes into the sixth overtime period. I wish I had watched this game. The second game also ended in overtime, but had far more scoring as the Hitmen defeated the Wheat Kings 6-5. Hurtig picked up a goal and an assist in this one.
This week, the Tigers play two Games in Regina on Tuesday and Wednesday, before returning home for Game 5 on Saturday. All three games have a 7:00 p.m. MT start time, with Game 6 coming on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. MT if needed.
The Blades are hosting the next two games, with Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday with a 7:00 p.m. MT start. Game 5 will be in Edmonton with a 6:00 p.m. MT start time on Friday, and if needed, Game 6 is on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. MT in Saskatoon.
As for the Hitmen, they hit the road for the next three games (due to travel), with Game 3 coming on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., Game 4 on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., and if needed, Game 5 on Friday at 7:00 p.m.. If needed, Game 6 and Game 7 will be back in Calgary, with Game 6 coming on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. MT.

USHL

Mace’o Phillips and the Green Bay Gamblers were back in the win column this week, defeating the Tri-City Storm in a pair of games by the score of 5-2. The defenceman picked up an assist in the most recent game, bringing his season total to a goal and 11 points in 42 games, with 183 penalty minutes.
There are just two more games left for the Gamblers, taking on the Madison Capitols for a pair of games, one on Friday and the other on Saturday. The Gamblers are in the playoffs, but if they wish to earn a bye, they’d need to surpass the Dubuque Fighting Saints (78 points, three games left) and Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (79 points, two games left). They essentially need to go 2-0, with the RoughRiders going no better than 1-1 and the Fighting Saints going no better than 1-1-1.

Overseas

There are four players overseas who were active this past week, two in Sweden and two in Russia. Unfortunately, Yegor Yegorov’s team is out of the post-season, so he won’t appear in these articles until next season.

Sweden

Starting in Sweden, Theo Stockselius’ Djurgårdens IF U20 had a quarterfinals matchup against Brynäs IF U20, sweeping them in the best of five. Game 1 was a 3-0 victory for Stockselius’ team, with the Flames’ second-rounder picking up an assist. He picked up a second assist in their 4-1 win in Game 2, then picked up three assists in the series deciding Game 3, which also had a score of 4-1. Through five playoff games, Stockselius has four goals and 10 points
Jakob Leander’s HV71 U2) played Grums U20 this past week, defeating them 7-4 to move to 5-0-0 in the relegation phase. So far in the relegation stage, Leander has three assists after finishing the regular season with two goals and 12 points in 36 games.
HV71 U20’s next opponents are set in stone, facing Västerås IK U20 on Tuesday and Karlskoga U20 on Thursday. They currently sit first in the relegation’s south conference. Djurgårdens IF U20 will play one of two teams, either Mora IK U20 or Leksands IF U20. Those two teams play on Tuesday, with the next round’s game times not being announced yet. 

Russia

Kirill Zarubin’s Mikhailov Academy took on SKA Academy in the Western Conference’s play-in. Game 1 was a 4-1 victory, with Zarubin stopping 16 of 17 shots. In Game 2, a 5-2 victory for Mikhailov Academy, Zarubin stopped 22 of 24 shots. In the season, Zarubin finished with a .930 save percentage and 2.17 goals against average, and had a .927 save percentage and 1.52 goals against average in the two play-in games.
Red Army and Yan Matveiko earned a bye thanks to where they finished, meaning they didn’t play last week. The playoffs begin on Thursday and are a best-of-five. Mikhailov Academy takes on JHC Spartak, with the first three games on Thursday, Friday, and Monday. Red Army is taking on SKA-1946, with Game 1 on Thursday, Game 2 on Friday, and Game 3 on Monday.
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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