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FN AHL Report Cards: Justin Kirkland bounced between Flames and Wranglers in injury comeback year
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Photo credit: David Moll/Calgary Wranglers
Paige Siewert
Jun 25, 2026, 15:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 25, 2026, 10:29 EDT
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Justin Kirkland has been around the Calgary Flames organization for two rounds of stints between the AHL and NHL. He first joined the former AHL affiliate of the Flames, the Stockton Heat in the 2019-20 season and played three years with that team. After hopping around the Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes organizations, he made his way back to the Flames in 2024-25.
This year, he was looking for a proper comeback season and hopefully one where he could stay healthy. 

What were the expectations for Justin Kirkland in 2025-26?

Kirkland was trending in the right direction with the Flames in the 2024-25 season and earned a confidence back in the NHL that earned him a Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy nomination. In his 21 games with the Flames, he put up two goals and six assists. He was also a standout performer in the shootouts as a clutch shooter for the Flames. Unfortunately, his year was cut short by an ACL injury in December 2024. 
Justin Kirkland was expected to be mostly in the NHL for the upcoming season but with the nature of his injury, it would have been understandable if it took him some time to get back up to speed. A slight step back in his game would possibly make him an option in the Flames lineup if he was not on a good stretch of games. 

How did Justin Kirkland perform in 2025-26?

Justin Kirkland got more time in the NHL this season after recovering from his season ending surgery. He was able to start the year with the Flames and played in 20 games. His production took a hit and he was unable to be as effective as what we saw prior to his injury. In 20 appearances, he had one goal and one assist. 
The majority of the season for Kirkland was spent in the AHL with the Calgary Wranglers. Kirkland served as typically a second or third line centre and would sometimes be an extra centre on Clark Bishop’s line to take face-offs if the captain was waived out. In the 42 games he played with the Wranglers this year, he put up 11 goals and 11 assists. Kirkland was highly leveraged on the penalty kill and to take the first face-off in overtime. 
Justin Kirkland was on the veteran side of the centres on the team but still found ways to differentiate himself and learn things from his teammates. He said:
“You look at a guy like Clark Bishop, who’s been around a long time. I played against him for a long time and he’s always really hard to play against. We played against him in the playoffs when I was in Tucson a few years ago. I’d kind of known him off the ice a little but he was a prick to play against on the ice. So you look at the way the he approaches every single game. I think there’s a lot to learn especially, for the young guys from him and older guys for me too. You see the intensity.”
Kirkland continued about some of his other teammates:
“A guy like Sam Morton, who’s got an endless motor, works extremely hard, physical. I think we were lucky we had a lot of guys who could play centre and had pretty good depth in that position”
In Wranglers exit interviews back in April, Kirkland chatted a bit about his individual season and how it was getting a full year in after some of his injury troubles. He said:
“Yeah, it was great. That was a nice relief after last season. To be able to be healthy and play the whole year, that’s a big boost of confidence. The knee’s holding up well, so I was all good in that sense.”

What’s the future outlook for Justin Kirkland?

This might be it for Justin Kirkland for this time around in the Flames organization. Both the Flames and the Wranglers are moving towards a younger group and Kirkland may be part of the more veteran roles that they release this off-season. The depth in centre is growing on the developmental side and depending on who the Wranglers choose to bring back, Kirkland might not be used as centre as often as he is used to.
If the team is able to keep Kirkland around, it would likely be on a two way deal. He needed to clear waivers in February and if injuries popped up with the Flames, he would’ve been an available call-up. How the season ended up going with the Flames, it was more advantageous to give the young guys some looks with the big club. 
The emerging narrative around Kirkland is that he’s likely testing the free agency market as an unrestricted free agent. His second time around in the Flames organization may be coming to a close and the next few months will clear up some questions on where he lands next.
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