In case you missed it, Calgary Wranglers centre Rory Kerins was named the American Hockey League’s player of the week on Monday in recognition of his efforts between October 14 and 20.
Kerins, 22, currently leads the entire AHL with seven goals and eight points in six games with the Wranglers this season. The Caledon, Ontario product collected five of those goals in his three games with the Wranglers last week, potting two against the Henderson Silver Knights on October 18 after recording his first AHL hat trick two nights earlier against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
The Calgary Flames originally selected Kerins in the sixth round (No. 174 overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft. Kerins collected 16 goals and 32 points in 54 games with the Wranglers in the 2023-24 regular season but gradually lost his spot in the lineup as the year progressed and ultimately dressed for just one of the team’s six playoff contests.
Now, Kerins appears to have found his niche playing down the middle on the Wranglers’ top line with Jakob Pelletier and Dryden Hunt. The 5’11”, 190-pound forward has taken multiple shots on goal in each of his first six games this season and seems to have developed palpable chemistry with Pelletier, a former first-round pick.
Rory glory. @kerinssy23@AHLWranglers | @NHLFlames | @hockeytape
📝: https://t.co/5uYNeNLh0m pic.twitter.com/dH2KHdOP5r
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) October 21, 2024
Kerins is the first Wranglers player to win the AHL’s player of the week award, sponsored by the Howies Hockey Tape company, since Matthew Phillips in November 2022. He has yet to make his NHL debut and is in the final year of the entry-level contract he signed with the Flames back in April 2022.
The Wranglers currently lead the AHL Pacific Division with a 5-1-0 record through games, having scored 21 goals and allowed just 12 over that span. Kerins, Pelletier, and Walker Duehr are currently tied for the AHL scoring lead with eight points apiece, while goaltender Devin Cooley is 4-1-0 with a .947 save percentage.
Kerins and the Wranglers defeated the Bakersfield Condors 2-1 in a shootout on Tuesday and are slated to return to action on Friday to play host to the Colorado Eagles at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
