The AHL’s Calgary Wranglers offer die-hard Calgary Flames supporters the chance to see the future of the team on a regular basis, but the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen will provide similar opportunities to fans at various points next season.

Although the Flames aren’t quite as reliant on the WHL for their prospects now as they have been in the past, they still have a fair few draft picks slated to play in that particular league during the 2024-25 campaign. In fact, one of them will be playing his home games at the Saddledome as a member of the Hitmen.

Big Swedish defenceman Axel Hurtig, who the Flames selected in the seventh round of the 2023 NHL Draft, will spend the upcoming season with the Hitmen after previously playing in the Rögle BK system. The Hitmen nabbed Hurtig in the first round of the 2023 CHL Import Draft; the Flames still have three more years to sign Hurtig before they lose their exclusive rights to negotiate with him.

As one of only a handful of NHL-drafted players currently with the Hitmen, Hurtig will likely play a large role with the club next season. He could spend time on a pairing with top Ottawa Senators prospect Carter Yakemchuk, although he’ll also have to compete with projected 2025 first-round pick Reese Hamilton on the left side. Either way, Hurtig will become the first Flames prospect to play for the Hitmen since Keegan Kanzig and Pavel Karnaukhov back in 2015-16.

But which fellow Flames prospects will Hurtig and the Hitmen be playing against in the 2024-25 season? The big one is 2024 second-round pick Andrew Basha, who is scheduled to visit the Saddledome alongside his Medicine Hat Tigers teammates on Oct. 30, Dec. 29, Jan. 17, and Mar. 23.

The Hitmen and Tigers are Central Division rivals who will face off a total of eight times next year. In addition to Basha, the Tigers boast projected 2026 No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna, who posted 97 points in 61 games as a 15/16-year-old last season. Between McKenna, Basha, and potentially Cayden Lindstrom, there will be plenty of reasons to head to the Saddledome to watch the Hitmen take on Medicine Hat on those four dates listed above.

Furthermore, the Hitmen will welcome the Vancouver Giants to the Saddledome early next season for the only matchup of the year between the two teams. It remains to be seen whether one or both of Jaden Lipinski and Sam Honzek will be with the Giants when they visit Calgary on Oct. 6, as both are also eligible to play in the AHL in the 2024-25 season; however, only Honzek currently has a pro contract. The Flames drafted both Lipinski and Honzek in 2023 and hold them in high regard.

Shortly after the Giants come to town, Hunter Laing and the Prince George Cougars will visit Calgary on Oct. 14 for their only game of the season against the Hitmen. Jarome Iginla himself advocated for the Flames to use a 2024 sixth-round pick on Laing, who briefly played with McKenna and Tij Iginla at the prestigious RINK Academy in Kelowna before joining the Cougars. The son of former Flames farmhand Quintin Laing is a 6’6″ centre with strong defensive instincts, although his offensive game has room to improve.

Finally, it’s worth noting that although Eric Jamieson and the Everett Silvertips will not be visiting Calgary this season, the Hitmen will take to the ice at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett on Nov. 9 for what could be a battle of the Flames’ final selections in the last two drafts. The 6’3″ Jamieson enjoyed a strong season with the Silvertips in 2023-24 and could end up battling for positioning in the Flames’ pro ranks with Hurtig down the line; the two were born just over a month apart in 2005.

Of all the players mentioned here, the Flames have only signed Honzek to an entry-level contract. They have until next June to sign Lipinski; until 2026 to sign Basha, Laing, and Jamieson; and, as mentioned, all the way until 2027 to sign Hurtig. Click here for further reading on this topic.

The Hitmen will play their 2024-25 season opener against the Edmonton Oil Kings on Sept. 28 before returning home to take on the Lethbridge Hurricanes in their home opener at 2:00 p.m. the following afternoon.