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FN AHL Report Cards: Clark Bishop led the charge in a challenging season
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Photo credit: Angela Burger/Calgary Wranglers
Paige Siewert
May 20, 2026, 14:00 EDTUpdated: May 20, 2026, 01:08 EDT
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Clark Bishop played his second season as captain and fourth season as a Calgary Wrangler in 2025-26. Last season was met with a lot of adversity and multiple coaching changes on top of the regular uncertainty of call-ups and roster shuffling in the AHL. This season was met with challenges as well, but in a slightly different form. This team struggled the most we’ve seen since coming to Calgary, but it was more driven by losing core members of their defence and dealing with the growing pains of inconsistent or inexperienced goaltending. Clark Bishop carried a lot this year and was a part of many difficult conversations between his teammates, other leaders and the coaching staff.

Expectations

Clark Bishop had a great year in 2024-25, earning himself some of his first NHL games in three seasons. He had 19 goals and 19 assists in 66 AHL games for a total of 38 points. He also put up a goal with the Flames for his first NHL goal since the 2018-19 season. 
For the 2025-26 season, Bishop wasn’t exactly expected to be breaking down doors for an NHL spot but was expected to bring some consistency to the Wranglers lineup. He is a productive veteran on the team who can bring it in key moments in the game. This season for Clark Bishop felt like it was going to be business as usual in the AHL, doing key duties like assisting the young guys, being an off-ice and on-ice leader and rising to the occasion in important scenarios throughout the year.

Performance

Bishop remained effective this season and had his third best year in his AHL career, only falling behind his second best by one point. He put up 14 goals and 13 assists for a total of 27 points. He was the only Wrangler to play in all 72 games of the season and likely felt the pressure of a tough season the most. Bishop led the team in shorthanded goals with two and his plus/minus finished at minus-7. He reflected on the season in Wranglers exit interviews and was understandably not too happy with how the year went. He said:
“Personally, I think I finished the year pretty strong. You know it’s tough to come up with some positives with the year that we had but I feel like everyone’s gonna be pretty disappointed with the year as a team. I think it’s a learning year for a lot of the guys and the guys will come back stronger next year.”
Individually, Bishop also hit an impressive career milestone this season. On Apr. 10, he played in his 500th career AHL game. His time with the Wranglers has now taken up more than half of his AHL career with 259 games played as a Wrangler. For game 256, he was able to celebrate with his family, who came to town for the game. The game itself was already special but Bishop took it to the next level with two goals and an assist in their match-up against the Abbotsford Canucks.  

Outlook

This summer brings uncertainty for the Wranglers’ second captain in team history. He goes into the off-season without a contract and an unrestricted free agent status. His last contract was a one-year, two-way contract that guaranteed him a salary of $375,000 regardless of whether he played any NHL games or not. If the Flames can still keep a spot for him, evaluating him on a year-by-year basis feels like the way to go. Keep him in a healthy AHL salary range and give him the option to be called up. 
The Wranglers struggled last year but the timing doesn’t feel right to clear out the leadership. They graduated a handful of players and others still showed development potential as the season went on. Alternate captains Dryden Hunt and Alex Gallant are already locked down for next season, and it seems to make sense to keep the head of that leadership group as well.

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