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<p>After the Calgary Flames took Zayne Parekh with the No. 9 overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, a lot of fans wanted them to use their second first-round pick on local kid Andrew Basha.</p>
<p>The Flames ended up going in a different direction with the No. 28 pick, taking winger Matvei Gridin — our <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/flamesnations-2024-calgary-flames-prospect-rankings-6-matvei-gridin">No. 6-ranked prospect</a> — from the USHL&#8217;s Muskegon Lumberjacks. After that, most folks assumed that Basha would be selected shortly thereafter by some other team.</p>
<p>Instead, fans got to have their cake and eat it too. Basha ended up remaining on the board until the Flames&#8217; next pick, No. 41 overall, and they wasted very little time selecting the Medicine Hat Tigers standout to begin their impressive second day of work in Las Vegas.</p>
<p>As <em>FlamesNation </em>managing editor Ryan Pike would say, Basha is local — his dad owns the Garrison Pub in Marda Loop — but he&#8217;s not particularly big. Even so, he&#8217;s a big part of a Flames prospect system that looks a lot better now than it did before this year&#8217;s draft. Here&#8217;s a closer look at the Flames&#8217; first of two 2024 second-round selections.</p>
<h1>Andrew Basha</h1>
<p><em>Left wing, shoots left<br />
Born November 8, 2005 (age 18) in Calgary, Alberta<br />
</em><em>5’11&#8243;, 184 pounds<br />
Drafted in the second round (41st overall) by Calgary in the 2024 NHL Draft</em></p>
<p>Basha is no stranger to playing with stars. Although he managed 85 points in 63 games with Medicine Hat this past season, that was only enough to finish third on a Tigers team that also included top 2024 pick Cayden Lindstrom and projected 2026 No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna, among others.</p>
<p>Lindstrom, who went to the Columbus Blue Jackets with the No. 4 overall pick back in June, missed a large portion of the 2023-24 season with a significant back injury. It was during Lindstrom&#8217;s absence that Basha truly made his mark, collecting 15 goals and 45 points, and racking up 105 shots, in 33 games between Lindstrom&#8217;s departure on December 16 and his return on March 29.</p>
<p>Basha wasn&#8217;t merely able to maintain his level of production without Lindstrom on his line. It took an ever-so-slight tick upwards, and he also started firing the puck a <em>lot </em>more, including a season-high 10 shots on goal — two of them successful — in a 4-2 win over the Swift Current Broncos on March 16.</p>
<p>Although the November-born Basha was one of the older prospects eligible for the 2024 NHL Draft, it&#8217;s worth considering that he was also extremely productive the year before — and that was with McKenna only playing in 16 games. Basha managed 20 goals and 56 points as a 16/17-year-old with the 2022-23 Tigers and added three goals and four points in four 2023 playoff contests.</p>
<p>For another take on Basha, we reached out to McKeen&#8217;s Hockey assistant director of scouting Derek Neumeier for his thoughts on the Calgary-born winger:</p>
<blockquote><p>You won&#8217;t find many prospects who work as hard as Basha does. He loves to stomp his foot down on the gas pedal, he doesn&#8217;t back down from challenges, and he isn&#8217;t afraid to go into dirty areas or take a hit to make a play. While he&#8217;s not the most purely skilled guy, he routinely makes a positive difference for his team because he&#8217;s around the puck all the time and knows how to make quick decisions with it. There&#8217;s still some debate about whether Basha projects better as a top-six winger or bottom-six winger, but the Flames should have a future roster player on their hands either way.</p></blockquote>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="2024 NHL Draft Highlight Reel – Andrew Basha" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8xj-fhkZRIg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<h2 class="mb-5 text-2xl font-bold"><strong class="text-lg font-bold">Expectations for 2024-25</strong></h2>
<p>As a 2005-born player, Basha is eligible to turn pro on a full-time basis with the AHL&#8217;s Calgary Wranglers as soon as the 2025-26 season. Before that, however, he&#8217;ll have to sign an entry-level deal with the Flames, which could happen at some point this coming season. (Étienne Morin, the Flames&#8217; 2023 second-round pick, got his own ELC at the club&#8217;s 2024 development camp.)</p>
<p>For now, Basha is slated to embark upon his fourth full major junior season with a Tigers team that could contend for a WHL championship next spring. With McKenna, Basha, and likely Lindstrom all returning, the Tigers should be able to improve on their fourth-place standing in the Eastern Conference — and if they do, Basha will play a big part in it.</p>
<p>Considering the strength of the Tigers&#8217; roster and the loftiness of their ambitions, Basha might be able to surpass the 100-point mark next year for the first time in his WHL career. If he does that, there&#8217;s an outside chance Basha could play himself into consideration to make Team Canada&#8217;s World Junior team in his final year of eligibility.</p>
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After the Calgary Flames took Zayne Parekh with the No. 9 overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, a lot of fans wanted them to use their second first-round pick on local kid Andrew Basha.

The Flames ended up going in a different direction with the No. 28 pick, taking winger Matvei Gridin — our <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/flamesnations-2024-calgary-flames-prospect-rankings-6-matvei-gridin">No. 6-ranked prospect</a> — from the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks. After that, most folks assumed that Basha would be selected shortly thereafter by some other team.

Instead, fans got to have their cake and eat it too. Basha ended up remaining on the board until the Flames' next pick, No. 41 overall, and they wasted very little time selecting the Medicine Hat Tigers standout to begin their impressive second day of work in Las Vegas.

As <em>FlamesNation </em>managing editor Ryan Pike would say, Basha is local — his dad owns the Garrison Pub in Marda Loop — but he's not particularly big. Even so, he's a big part of a Flames prospect system that looks a lot better now than it did before this year's draft. Here's a closer look at the Flames' first of two 2024 second-round selections.
<h1>Andrew Basha</h1>
<em>Left wing, shoots left
Born November 8, 2005 (age 18) in Calgary, Alberta
</em><em>5’11", 184 pounds
Drafted in the second round (41st overall) by Calgary in the 2024 NHL Draft</em>

Basha is no stranger to playing with stars. Although he managed 85 points in 63 games with Medicine Hat this past season, that was only enough to finish third on a Tigers team that also included top 2024 pick Cayden Lindstrom and projected 2026 No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna, among others.

Lindstrom, who went to the Columbus Blue Jackets with the No. 4 overall pick back in June, missed a large portion of the 2023-24 season with a significant back injury. It was during Lindstrom's absence that Basha truly made his mark, collecting 15 goals and 45 points, and racking up 105 shots, in 33 games between Lindstrom's departure on December 16 and his return on March 29.

Basha wasn't merely able to maintain his level of production without Lindstrom on his line. It took an ever-so-slight tick upwards, and he also started firing the puck a <em>lot </em>more, including a season-high 10 shots on goal — two of them successful — in a 4-2 win over the Swift Current Broncos on March 16.

Although the November-born Basha was one of the older prospects eligible for the 2024 NHL Draft, it's worth considering that he was also extremely productive the year before — and that was with McKenna only playing in 16 games. Basha managed 20 goals and 56 points as a 16/17-year-old with the 2022-23 Tigers and added three goals and four points in four 2023 playoff contests.

For another take on Basha, we reached out to McKeen's Hockey assistant director of scouting Derek Neumeier for his thoughts on the Calgary-born winger:
<blockquote>You won't find many prospects who work as hard as Basha does. He loves to stomp his foot down on the gas pedal, he doesn't back down from challenges, and he isn't afraid to go into dirty areas or take a hit to make a play. While he's not the most purely skilled guy, he routinely makes a positive difference for his team because he's around the puck all the time and knows how to make quick decisions with it. There's still some debate about whether Basha projects better as a top-six winger or bottom-six winger, but the Flames should have a future roster player on their hands either way.</blockquote>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xj-fhkZRIg
<h2 class="mb-5 text-2xl font-bold"><strong class="text-lg font-bold">Expectations for 2024-25</strong></h2>
As a 2005-born player, Basha is eligible to turn pro on a full-time basis with the AHL's Calgary Wranglers as soon as the 2025-26 season. Before that, however, he'll have to sign an entry-level deal with the Flames, which could happen at some point this coming season. (Étienne Morin, the Flames' 2023 second-round pick, got his own ELC at the club's 2024 development camp.)

For now, Basha is slated to embark upon his fourth full major junior season with a Tigers team that could contend for a WHL championship next spring. With McKenna, Basha, and likely Lindstrom all returning, the Tigers should be able to improve on their fourth-place standing in the Eastern Conference — and if they do, Basha will play a big part in it.

Considering the strength of the Tigers' roster and the loftiness of their ambitions, Basha might be able to surpass the 100-point mark next year for the first time in his WHL career. If he does that, there's an outside chance Basha could play himself into consideration to make Team Canada's World Junior team in his final year of eligibility.
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FlamesNation’s 2024 Calgary Flames prospect rankings – #5: Andrew Basha

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