Rory Kerins has had about as good of a start to his NHL career as you can ask for, collecting four points in his first five games in the big league. Considering the Calgary Flames’ lack of offensive output this season, Kerins was a nice addition to the NHL roster, serving as a depth-scoring option.

However, Kerins was re-assigned to the American Hockey League and was not in the lineup last night against Washington, a game in which the Flames struggled to find the back of the net and ultimately lost 3-1.

Kerins has enjoyed a breakout season in the AHL this year, before he was recalled, his 21 goals in 34 games were good enough for the league lead. Given his success, many fans had been clamouring to see Kerins with the big club all season long, but it took a nearly catastrophic knee injury to Connor Zary for Kerins to crack the NHL lineup.

Following Zary’s injury, the Flames recalled Kerins from the AHL Wranglers on Jan. 10, he would debut with the team three days later in Chicago picking up two assists. The 22-year-old centreman continued to create offensively over the next 4 games, dishing out another two assists and showing chemistry alongside linemate Jakob Pelletier. However, Kerins was benched for the third period against Buffalo and scratched for the next two contests before being sent back down to the Wranglers on Monday.

When asked on Tuesday morning what Kerins has to do to get back into the NHL lineup head coach Ryan Huska responded (via Flames TV): “He needs to keep doing what he’s been doing… He played really well for us… the challenge (for him) is always going to be the pace of the NHL.” Although Kerins’ speed is not his greatest asset, I’d argue that he has adjusted better to the pace of the NHL than the likes of Kevin Rooney, who Kerins is tied with in points (4) despite playing 34 fewer games this season.

Whether or not the purpose of the assignment is to allow Kerins to play in the AHL All-Star game is irrelevant, Kerins’ demotion is evidence that Calgary employs a flawed approach to player development. In a league that’s continually getting younger and has been revolutionized to include a multitude of unproven teenagers, Calgary is still over-marinating prospects in the AHL. Case in point, Dustin Wolf was named the AHL’s Most Valuable Player for the 2022-23 season and still the Flames opted to keep him in in the AHL for most of 2023-24, and instead continued to allow Dan Vladar to be a gas can between the pipes as Jacob Markstrom’s backup.

This pattern has been present since pre-season, where Kerins was just one of five players under contract with the Flames that Huska (and team management) didn’t get into the lineup for any pre-season action. Additionally, Calgary’s bench boss opted to have the highly touted Matt Coronato begin this season with the Wranglers despite recording three goals and five points in four pre-season games and dominating the AHL the previous season. Huska also showed an unwillingness to name Dustin Wolf the starter over Dan Vladar this season despite Wolf posting vastly better numbers than his Czech counterpart.

The aforementioned examples are evidence that Huska and/or management seem to have a preference for veteran players. That being said, regardless of whether or not they are a contender this season, Calgary’s priority needs to be the development of young players because that’s just where this team is right now.

It’s been widely reported that the Flames have been looking to add a young centre, I have one in mind, and he’s sitting right under their nose.