Another day, another bit of off-season business handled for the Calgary Flames. A day after re-upping with Glenn Gawdin, the club has announced a new deal for goaltender Tyler Parsons. It’s a one year, two-way deal worth $735,000 at the NHL level.

A second round selection in 2016, the 23-year-old Parsons can probably best be defined by the phrase “great expectation.” The Michigan product as one of the top goaltending prospects in the United States during his teens – first with the Detroit-area Little Caesars program, then in a three season stint with the OHL’s powerhouse London Knights. He led the Knights to a Memorial Cup in 2016 alongside Matthew Tkachuk, and captured World Junior gold with Team USA the following season.

As a pro, though, Parsons hasn’t turned the corner yet. Heck, because of some recurring injury issues and off-ice challenges he hasn’t been able to play a fully uninterrupted season – London carried three goalies for much of 2016-17 due to workload considerations for Parsons, and ECHL Kansas City did the same thing after he returned from an injury to start the 2019-20 campaign. That said, because he hasn’t played a full season you can’t discount his potential as a prospect, even if he has missed some key reps early in his career. Goalies mature at a different pace than other positions and if Parsons can get a bunch of games in and really fine-tune himself at the pro level, who knows what he could be?

Through his three entry-level seasons, Parsons had played 27 AHL games and 53 ECHL games. Presuming he’s fully recovered from his ankle issue when the pro calendar begins – whenever it does – Parsons will be vying with Louis Domingue and Artyom Zagidulin for AHL starts.