The Calgary Wranglers are off to an awesome start to the 2024-25 American Hockey League season.

As part of that several of their players have performed really well in their roles. Here are three players that we think the Calgary Flames should consider calling up to the NHL, should the need arise for their services.

The Flames currently have two goaltenders are on their roster that are performing well. Heck, the Flames lead the entire NHL in five-on-five save percentage, so there’s not much else you can ask of Dan Vladar or Dustin Wolf in this situation.

But if someone is needed from the farm, the Flames arguably have the top number-three netminder in the circuit in the form of Devin Cooley. In addition to being one of the better interviews in pro hockey, Cooley’s a heck of a goaltender. He’s currently among the AHL’s leaders in – deep breath – minutes (1st), wins (T1st), goals against average (3rd), save percentage (2nd) and shutouts (1st). He’s one of the big reasons that the Wranglers are near the top of the AHL’s standings, and he’s already had a taste of the NHL.

If one of their NHL netminders becomes unavailable, the Flames have superb depth in net.

The Wranglers have a bunch of blueliners on their roster. Probably the most consistent performer in all three zones is Solovyov. He’s big. He’s defensively responsible. He can move the puck up ice effectively. He has a pretty good sense of when to take risks and when to hang back – and he’s able to cover the defensive side of things so his partner can get more involved offensively.

The Flames’ AHL squad’s defensive group is pretty young. They have a lot of guys that need more time and development before you can throw them into the NHL. But Solovyov has already played in the NHL, already seems to understand the style of game he’d need to play, and a potential call-up could be helpful to determine how he’s progressing towards future full-time duty.

The only challenge for a Solovyov call-up is that the Flames already have eight defenders on their roster, so two players would need to be moved (or unavailable) for him to become an option.

A first-round pick back in 2019, Pelletier was seemingly on the fast track to an NHL full-time job before he suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery. Since then, he’s been positionally sound but perhaps a little gun-shy when it comes to contact and battles – and that’s perfectly reasonable given what he’s been through.

Pelletier was sent down to the AHL at the end of training camp with the hope that he could get his swagger back. So far, so good. He’s still not quite battling the way he did before his injury, but he’s managed to consistently use his speed and smarts to create offensive opportunities and hit the scoresheet. As of this writing, he’s a point-per-game player and is among the top 10 in points in the AHL.

As a past first-round selection, Pelletier is someone the team is invested in the success of. Should the opportunity arise, getting a barometer for how he’s progressing back to his NHL form would be really valuable information for the club to have moving forward. While Pelletier’s progress may have been momentarily stalled by his injury, there’s still the potential for him to be an important player for the team going forward.