Last week, the Calgary Flames called up forward Rory Kerins, who’s in the midst of a superb season with the Calgary Wranglers and led the American Hockey League in goals at the time of his call-up. Kerins has three assists through his first three NHL games and has performed really well in place of injured forward Connor Zary.

But had the Flames not lost a centre to injury – and thus probably preferred to call up someone that could play centre – the Flames may have called up another Wrangler than Kerins. And while William Strömgren has yet to get his first opportunity at the NHL level, with the way he’s been performing this season you get the impression it’s not too far away.

With 38 games remaining in the Flames’ regular season schedule, among forwards we’re thinking that Strömgren may be the next man up.

A product of Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia six hours north of Stockholm, Strömgren was a second-round pick by the Flames in 2021. At the time the Flames had a reserve list that featured a lot of smaller, offensive-minded players, and so the idea of a toolsy, two-way Swedish winger with a 6’3″, 190-pound frame sounded appealing.

For the casual prospect viewer, though, seeing Strömgren spent the next two seasons playing Swedish junior or filling a depth role in different levels of Swedish pro hockey while players selected after him at the NHL Draft put up big numbers caused some consternation and navel-gazing about the Flames’ priorities – Logan Stankoven, Matthew Knies and J.J. Moser most prominent among the alternatives.

While Strömgren didn’t set the world on fire in his two post-draft seasons (2021-22 and 2022-23), he ended up playing a ton of minutes with Rögle BK’s junior team in 2021-22 and then spending a lot of time learning pro hockey with Brynäs IF’s SHL team in 2022-23. Because of how pro hockey works in Sweden – lineups are usually pretty hierarchical based on age – he spent his season as a checker and penalty-killer, but he had a consistent, clear role and performed it well.

He signed his entry-level deal with the Flames after the 2023 Swedish playoffs and even played a couple games with the Wranglers at the end of their regular season. He moved to North America in the fall of 2023, and he’s progressed really nicely.

Strömgren began his AHL run on the Wranglers’ bottom six, and he’s quietly moved his way up the rotation as he’s adjusted to the North American style of play. He became a middle-six staple last season and was a key piece of their success down the stretch as the Wranglers made a push for the playoffs. He scored a clutch goal as the team advanced past Tucson in the Calder Cup playoffs.

He began 2024-25 on the second line with Sam Morton and Walker Duehr. When Jakob Pelletier and Duehr were summoned to the NHL, Strömgren was promoted to the top line with Kerins and Dryden Hunt. He and Hunt remain on the top line as the Wranglers try to figure out the best centre for that line – Morton and Clark Bishop have both had their turns early on.

The big question after last season’s strong finish was whether Strömgren could maintain that level of play. He’s arguably found a level above last season’s, and managed to maintain it. He may not have an elite level of offensive talent, but he’s shown the ability to drive play, and contribute in virtually every game situation at the AHL level. His play this season has likely caused even the Strömgren skeptics to clue into what Flames scouts saw in him during his draft year.

He’s big. He’s toolsy. He’s Swedish. And it’s going to be difficult to justify keeping him at the AHL level for much longer without giving him a chance to play some NHL games.