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One more call-up motivated Rory Kerins’ work back from a potential season-ending injury
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Photo credit: Jenn Pierce/Calgary Wranglers
Paige Siewert
Apr 8, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 8, 2026, 01:22 EDT
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Calgary Wranglers forward Rory Kerins’ injury back in February was almost enough to end his season. In a home game against the San Jose Barracuda, Kerins fell into the boards feet first, got up on his own and stayed long enough to skate around during the media timeout before going down the tunnel. He missed just over a month of game action and was finally able to return for the Wranglers on March 29 against the Colorado Eagles.
In a second consecutive year where Kerins continued to improve and be a high performer for the Wranglers, the only thing that really prevented him from more NHL time in the last month or so was his own body. Now, he is eyeing that last call-up for the Calgary Flames before the end of the season. That chance of playing a few more games in the NHL this year is one of the largest motivators Kerins had to get back as quickly as possible and a lot of hard work went into that effort.
Kerins spoke to the media after practice on Tuesday and talked about the possibility that he would not be able to return this year. He said:
“It was definitely in the cards, in the thoughts for sure. You get the type of injury I had and you don’t know how it’s going to react. It was definitely in my mind that I wasn’t going to play again but I worked hard to get back.”
Head coach Brett Sutter also noticed how much time and effort Kerins put in to lace up the skates for some game action before the 2025-26 season came to an end. Sutter said:
“He worked really hard to come back. On ice, off ice, being a part of meetings even though he wasn’t going to be in the lineup. He’s a great kid. He’s a really good leader on this team and we missed him. He’s an instant energy in the room and a big impact in every game he’s played.”
Kerins has been back for three games now and scored the first Wranglers goal of the game in all three. Beyond that, he’s also put up eight points in that stretch, with seven coming in their series against the Laval Rocket last weekend. Rory had his first professional four point game on Friday’s 5-2 win over the Rocket and another three in their shootout loss on Saturday afternoon. Last weekend’s performance especially earned him AHL’s player of the week. Kerins himself even didn’t expect things to click as fast as they did from injury. He said:
“I was surprised with how I felt the first game coming back. That kind of just gave me some confidence that my injury is healed. That I can play freely and I don’t like talking about myself but I worked pretty hard to come back and to give me a chance to play some games again here.” 
The elephant in the room is that there is only one Flames call-up left before the end of the season and while he’s had a couple of games this season, Kerins is itching for any more time he can get in the NHL before the off-season. He said:
“That’s why I worked so hard to come back and play games. Obviously, I love playing hockey. I just wanted to play some games before the end of the year but it’s a big motivating factor.”
Kerins also acknowledged there were some opportunities that his injury prevented him from being able to take. Especially in the last few weeks and around the trade deadline. He said:
“It’s a bit out of my control in terms of getting injured. It was a bit of a flukey play. Obviously, it was frustrating. Knowing that there was potentially an opportunity and not being available for that is hard. That’s hockey. That’s the business around here. I just try to keep a positive outlook and give myself a chance to play some games at the end of the year with the Wranglers.”
From the 2023-24 season to the 2024-25 season, Rory Kerins nearly doubled his production, going from a 32 point season to a 61 point season. This year, he’s proven that wasn’t a fluke and while he approaches the point production he had last year, he also recognizes there are other parts of his game that have taken a step forward. He said:
“All year I’ve been pretty consistent. I think I went through a stretch there where I wasn’t producing but just my overall game has come a long way. I think faceoffs this year have been an improvement. Just being relied on in situations in the d-zone and just leading the way on the ice. I think that’s probably a big thing.”
Kerins tied the team’s point streak record at 11 games back in early January, which is also held by Wranglers alumni, Matthew Phillips and Jakob Pelletier. The 23 year old center has only really had two quiet stretches this season. One spanning five games in late November/early December and another five scoreless games in early to mid-January after that streak was snapped. In the 53 games he’s played in the AHL this season, he has 21 goals and 53 assists to date. 
Beyond the on-ice play, what has really stuck out with Kerins this year, especially, is his leadership attributes. He is very vocal with his teammates, leads warmups and is one of the biggest hype men in the locker room. Even if the rest of his season is just with the Wranglers, that is not something that is going to affect his positive attitude and work ethic. Kerins said:
“We’ve obviously had a tough season but we all love each other in there like I’ve come to the rink every day with a smile on my face to see my friends and play hockey. It hasn’t been one of those things where we’re losing and we don’t want to be here. I think during the year, we’ve had really good stretches of playing, we just couldn’t get a bounce and it seemed like everything didn’t go our way.”
Rory Kerins’ story continues to be a positive one in the development side of things with the Flames organization. He’s come a long way since his days in the ECHL and has more than proved that the last call-up should have his name on it.

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