Last week, friends, we talked about signing szn when it came to prospects. And hey, the Calgary Flames signed Joni Jurmo shortly afterwards. That’s kind of fun.
This week, let’s talk playoffs!
The NCAA conference tournaments are complete. The NCAA begins their national championship tournament on Thursday. In Canada, major junior playoffs begin this coming weekend.
In terms of the AHL, the Calgary Wranglers are virtually guaranteed a playoff spot. After Tuesday’s loss to Coachella Valley, their magic number to clinch a playoff spot was seven points – earned by them or not earned by Henderson – with nine games left. It’s not a lock, but it’s pretty close. If the Wranglers go .500, they’re in easily.
The fascinating thing, to me, will be to examine how the Wranglers handle their last nine games. They have dates with Coachella Valley (1), San Jose (2), Bakersfield (2) and Abbotsford (4) left on the docket. Aside from the Barracuda, those are seven games against playoff opponents. Can the Wranglers round themselves into playoff form in time for the third week in April? And can they do that while adding some extra bodies from around the Flames system like Parker Bell and Jurmo whose club seasons have ended?
Like I said: it’s going to be fascinating, because the Wranglers have a few different things to juggle all at once.
Let’s dive into this week’s prospect update!

Parker Bell – LW/C, Tri-City Americans, WHL

20; Calgary’s fifth round pick (155th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
59
33
31
64
50
35
31
231
26.86
2022-23
55
25
39
64
51
36
28
187
28.82
Tri-City missed the playoffs and their season is over. All indications are that Bell will soon be joining the Wranglers for the remainder of the season.

Jake Boltmann – D, University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, NCAA/Big 10

22; Calgary’s third round pick (80th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
30
0
2
2
2
2
2
36
1.82
2022-23 (NCAA)
37
1
4
5
3
5
3
42
3.69
Boltmann’s NCAA season and college career are complete.

Hunter Brzustewicz – D, Kitchener Rangers, OHL

19; Vancouver’s third round pick (75th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Vancouver
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
67
13
79
92
46
65
34
140
36.37
2022-23 (OHL)
68
6
51
57
32
31
21
110
22.20
Kitchener has finished their regular season and Brzustewicz had one of the most productive seasons by a blueliner in the OHL and in Kitchener history.
They’re matched up with the Erie Otters in the first round of the playoffs.

Lucas Ciona – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

21; Calgary’s sixth round pick (173rd overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 11th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
53
4
2
6
5
6
5
62
4.51
2022-23 (WHL)
63
28
47
75
53
54
37
194
29.48
Ciona played in three of the Wranglers’ four games. He had an assist, but otherwise was quiet.

Matt Coronato – RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

21; Calgary’s first round pick (13th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 2nd-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
40
15
27
42
28
27
17
137
41.84
2022-23 (NCAA)
34
20
16
36
31
19
16
141
24.31
Coronato is in the NHL. He’s eligible to return for the AHL’s playoffs.

Riley Damiani – C, Texas Stars/Calgary Wranglers, AHL

23; Dallas’ fifth round pick (137th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Dallas
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
62
11
13
24
19
16
13
93
15.43
2022-23 (AHL)
59
13
18
31
24
18
14
87
20.94
Damiani scored his first as a Wrangler against Coachella Valley on Tuesday night. He’s playing primarily in their bottom six.

Artem Grushnikov – D, Texas Stars/Calgary Wranglers, AHL

20; Dallas’ second round pick (48th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Dallas
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
56
1
5
6
5
6
5
61
4.27
2022-23 (OHL)
65
8
9
17
10
14
9
116
6.93
Grushnikov registered his first point as a Wrangler, an assist, against Coachella Valey.

Samuel Honzek – LW/C, Vancouver Giants, WHL/Slovakia, WJC

19; Calgary’s first round pick (16th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 4th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
WHL season to date
33
10
21
31
22
16
11
86
23.26
WJC season to date
5
3
1
4
3
2
1
10
n/a
2022-23 (WHL)
43
23
33
56
40
36
26
134
32.25
Honzek completed a rather pedestrian regular season offensively with an assist this week. This year’s been a bit of a wash for him, between his abdominal injury and then a jaw injury after the World Juniors that saw him wear a shield for awhile. He can erase the bad taste of this regular season with a good playoffs, though.
The Giants are matched up with Everett in the first round.

Axel Hurtig – D, Rögle BK, J20 Nationell/SHL / Kristianstads IK, HockeyEttan

18; Calgary’s seventh round pick (208th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
J20 season to date
27
3
8
11
7
11
7
54
15.10
SHL season to date
7
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.00
HockeyEttan season to date
4
0
1
1
1
1
1
5
n/a
2022-23 (J20)
34
2
6
8
3
7
3
47
3.82
Hurtig’s season is complete, as Rögle was beaten in three games (of their best-of-three playoff series) with Frölunda. Hurtig had zero points and was minus-3 over three games.

Ben Jones – C, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

24; Free agent signing; 12th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
63
20
21
41
32
27
22
182
25.94
2022-23 (AHL)
71
17
37
54
41
28
21
202
30.31
Jones keeps doing his thing. He had a goal and an assist over four games.

Joni Jurmo – D, Ilves Tampere/KooKoo Kuovola, Liiga/CHL

21; Vancouver’s third round pick (82nd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Vancouver
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Liiga season to date
46
1
4
5
3
4
3
63
4.03
CHL season to date
6
0
1
1
1
1
1
8
n/a
2022-23 (Liiga)
52
5
8
13
8
11
6
118
9.27
Jurmo signed his entry-level deal with the Flames. He’s expected to join the Wranglers on an amateur try-out deal shortly.

Rory Kerins – C, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

21; Calgary’s sixth round pick (174th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 14th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
46
12
16
28
23
18
14
104
24.26
2022-23 (ECHL)
38
17
20
37
31
25
21
117
22.36
Kerins played zero of the Wranglers’ four games this past week.

Adam Klapka – RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

23; Free agent signing; 18th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
57
19
21
40
31
28
20
156
27.97
2022-23 (AHL)
60
13
12
25
18
16
11
103
16.61
Klapka keeps doing his thing. He had four points over four games this past week.

Demetrios Koumonztis – D/RW, Idaho Steelheads, ECHL

23; Calgary’s fourth round pick (108th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
43
8
10
18
10
13
9
77
9.61
2022-23 (NCAA)
37
7
11
18
12
10
7
67
13.28
Koumontzis slid out of the Steelheads’ forward rotation after going cold offensively for a few games.

Yan Kuznetsov – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

21; Calgary’s second round pick (50th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 17th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
56
5
7
12
9
11
8
82
8.54
2022-23 (AHL)
63
5
14
19
11
19
11
65
12.02
Kuznetsov played twice and was scratched twice.

Jaden Lipinski – C, Vancouver Giants, WHL

19; Calgary’s fourth round pick (112th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 16th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
67
24
42
66
47
33
23
181
24.39
2022-23 (WHL)
66
19
32
51
36
35
23
152
19.14
Lipinski finished off a really nice 19-year-old season. He was named a second team divisional all-star.

Cade Littler – C, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, USHL / Penticton Vees, BCHL

19; Calgary’s seventh round pick (219th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
USHL season to date
13
8
3
11
9
8
6
30
19.43
BCHL season to date
24
9
12
21
17
9
6
–
5.51
2022-23 (BCHL)
51
29
39
68
47
36
27
–
8.75
Littler is out for the rest of the regular season with an injury.

Brady Lyle – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

24; Free agent signing
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
46
6
9
15
9
7
3
100
13.00
2022-23 (AHL)
51
7
24
31
16
13
6
124
24.22
Lyle is injured. He last played on Feb. 19.

Etienne Morin – D, Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL

18; Calgary’s second round pick (48th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; tied for 5th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
58
12
37
49
32
21
13
191
19.67
2022-23 (QMJHL)
67
21
51
72
47
34
21
213
25.03
Morin finished off a fairly disappointing offensive season. But like Honzek, he can erase that with a good post-season. Moncton plays Chicoutimi in the first round.

Sam Morton – C, Minnesota State University Mankato Mavericks, NCAA / Calgary Wranglers, AHL

24; Free agent signing
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
NCAA season to date
37
24
10
34
32
20
19
151
24.00
AHL season to date
5
1
2
3
3
2
2
16
23.91
2022-23 (NCAA)
10
6
2
8
7
3
3
28
21.00
Morton had a couple points over four games this week. He’s settled into a nice spot in-between Ben Jones and Jakob Pelletier on the Wranglers’ top line.

Ilya Nikolaev – C/LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

22; Calgary’s third round pick (88th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
29
3
3
6
6
6
6
33
8.25
2022-23 (ECHL)
40
13
20
33
21
22
15
97
18.94
Nikolaev didn’t play any of the Wranglers’ games this week.

Jakob Pelletier – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

22; Calgary’s first round pick (26th overall); 3rd-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
9
3
4
7
5
3
3
16
31.00
2022-23 (AHL)
35
16
21
37
32
18
14
92
42.13
Pelletier found his mojo a bit offensively, with four points in four games. (Disclaimer: three of the points all came in the same game.)

Jeremie Poirier – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

21; Calgary’s third round pick (72nd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; tied for 5th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
16
1
11
12
4
5
2
32
29.89
2022-23 (AHL)
69
9
32
41
20
21
13
172
23.68
Poirier went a bit quiet offensively, with just a single power play assist over four games.

Cole Schwindt – C/RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

22; Florida’s third round pick (81st overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Florida; 9th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
57
14
19
33
25
21
14
114
23.07
2022-23 (AHL)
70
14
18
32
20
16
10
118
18.22
In 13 fewer games, Schwindt has surpassed last season’s point output. He passed 2022-23’s production with a three point week. And if you look at his underlyings: he’s less reliant on power play time for scoring and putting more pucks on net than a year ago. He’s still just 22.

Ilya Solovyov – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

23; Calgary’s seventh round pick (205th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 8th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
45
5
8
13
9
12
9
77
11.51
2022-23 (AHL)
68
4
14
18
9
16
8
82
10.55
The same week that Poirier went a bit quiet offensively, Solovyov – typically a shutdown type – had a two-goal game and three points overall. Hockey’s weird sometimes.

William Strömgren – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

20; Calgary’s second round pick (45th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 19th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
59
5
15
20
16
13
11
67
13.51
2022-23 (SHL)
45
3
5
8
6
6
5
31
8.69
Strömgren continued his quietly effective back-half of the season with a three point week.

Aydar Suniev – LW/C, University of Massachusetts Minutemen, NCAA/Hockey East

19; Calgary’s third round pick (80th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 13th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
35
12
13
25
19
16
12
100
23.02
2022-23 (BCHL)
50
45
45
90
73
47
40
–
11.81
Suniev and UMass were walloped by Boston College and eliminated from their conference tournament, but qualified for the NCAA national tournament as an at-large team. They’ll face Denver on Thursday in their region’s semi-final round.

Daniil Chechelev – G, HC Vityaz, KHL / Ryazan-VDV, VHL

22; Calgary’s fourth round pick (96th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft
GP
TOI
SV%
KHL season to date
1
58
.880
VHL season to date
5
271
.908
2022-23 (ECHL)
39
2135
.892
Chechelev’s season is finished.

Arsenii Sergeev – G, University of Connecticut Huskies, NCAA/Hockey East

20; Calgary’s seventh round pick (205th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 15th-ranked prospect
GP
TOI
SV%
Season to date
16
934
.913
2022-23 (NCAA)
19
1104
.912
Sergeev’s season is finished.

Dustin Wolf – G, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

22; Calgary’s seventh round pick (214th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft; 1st-ranked prospect
GP
TOI
SV%
Season to date
35
2025
.923
2022-23 (AHL)
55
3239
.932
With Dan Vladar getting shut down for the season, Wolf will be with the NHL club for the remainder of the regular season. He’s eligible to return for the AHL’s playoffs.

Yegor Yegorov – G, MHK Dynamo Moskva, MHL

18; Calgary’s sixth round pick (176th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft
GP
TOI
SV%
Season to date
25
1319
.917
2022-23 (MHL)
15
786
.915
Yegorov’s season is finished.

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