Folks, the Calgary Wranglers are a really good American Hockey League team. Playing in the second-best league in the world, the Calgary Flames’ top minor league affiliate is currently in first place in the AHL’s Pacific Division.
And as they get healthier, competition for lineup spots is only going to get more intense.
Prior to Friday’s Wranglers game, the club laid out some injuries they’re currently dealing with:
Riedell skated in warm-up on Friday but didn’t play. Yan Kuznetsov was returned to the AHL on Sunday. According to head coach Trent Cull, in an appearance on Sportsnet 960’s Flames Talk, Pelletier and Rooney are working on contact and are “about a week” away from the team being able to test out. Oh, and Kylington’s going on their upcoming road trip.
The Wranglers have already been scratching Ilya Nikolaev, as it seems like Lucas Ciona, Mark Rassell and William Strömgren have carved out roles for themselves lately and there just aren’t enough lineup spots for everybody. Potentially adding back Riedell, Kuznetsov and, soon, Pelletier and Rooney… and suddenly there are even more players potentially getting pushed to the sidelines.
Cull and his staff are going to have some tough decisions to make fairly soon in terms of who dresses and who watches. And for a really good AHL club, that level of internal competition can only be a good thing.
Let’s dive into this week’s prospect snapshot!

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
32
19
16
31
28
20
18
128
27.09
2022-23
55
25
39
64
51
36
28
187
28.82
The Americans lost all three games during their trek through Alberta. Bell, for his part, continued plugging along offensively. He remains a reliable top six fixture for them.

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
18
0
0
0
0
0
0
20
0.00
2022-23 (NCAA)
37
1
4
5
3
5
3
42
3.69
Boltmann didn’t dress for either of Notre Dame’s weekend games. It’s unclear if it was due to injury, illness or performance. He hasn’t registered a point, so any explanation would make sense.

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
31
2
1
3
2
3
2
38
3.86
2022-23 (WHL)
63
28
47
75
53
54
37
194
29.48
Ciona got a goal this week! He’s toiling on the Wranglers’ bottom six, but he’s throwing his body around and, given his role, he’s pretty noticeable and reliable. He hasn’t scored a ton this year, so it’s nice that he got one.

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
27
12
17
29
21
20
14
94
42.80
2022-23 (NCAA)
34
20
16
36
31
19
16
141
24.31
Coronato was quiet offensively, by his standards, this past week, registering just a single assist. He was buzzing around the offensive zone, but just couldn’t get rewarded as often as he has recently.

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
9
4
7
11
8
3
3
34
30.27
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
Good news: Honzek had two assists over three games. Bad news: he had two secondary power play assists. He hasn’t generated a ton of goals or points at five-on-five yet this season. But he’s played just nine games, so it’s probably wise to be patient.

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
14
3
4
7
5
7
5
27
18.53
SHL season to date
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.00
HockeyEttan season to date
2
0
1
1
1
1
1
—
n/a
2022-23 (J20)
34
2
6
8
3
7
3
47
3.82
It’s a bit of a quiet spot in Rögle’s schedule early in the second half of their season, so Hurtig played a junior game and was loaned to Kristianstads to play a pro game, too.
Our pal Aazam Ali Nanji over at Sportsnet 960 spoke with Hitmen GM Garry Davidson last week, and Hurtig’s contractual commitments will keep him in Sweden for the rest of the season. (We’ll see if he can come over for 2024-25, which the Hitmen are hoping for.)

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
35
11
12
23
18
20
15
83
26.19
2022-23 (AHL)
71
17
37
54
41
28
21
202
30.31
Jones played two games and registered four shots and zero points.

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
27
9
12
21
16
13
10
62
31.00
2022-23 (ECHL)
38
17
20
37
31
25
21
117
22.36
Kerins registered an assist over two appearances for the Wranglers.

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
33
10
11
21
18
16
13
88
25.36
2022-23 (AHL)
60
13
12
25
18
16
11
103
16.61
This was a “quiet” week for Klapka, with a secondary assist and eight shots on goal over two games. Even when he’s not scoring a ton, he’s at least trying to create.

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
20
2
3
5
4
4
3
36
5.74
2022-23 (NCAA)
37
7
11
18
12
10
7
67
13.28
Playing in the bottom six of a fairly good ECHL team, Koumontzis scored his second goal of the season.

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
31
2
5
7
5
7
5
38
9.00
2022-23 (AHL)
63
5
14
19
11
19
11
65
12.02
Kuznetsov was in the NHL this past week, getting returned to the AHL on Sunday.

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
41
12
26
38
27
14
10
105
22.95
2022-23 (WHL)
66
19
32
51
36
35
23
152
19.14
After a really productive few weeks, Lipinski was quiet offensively over the past week.

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
15
5
8
13
10
5
3
–
5.69
2022-23 (BCHL)
51
29
39
68
47
36
27
–
8.75
On one hand, Littler had two points over two games – both on the power play. He’s chugging along steadily right now… but you can’t help but look at his production last season and wonder if he has another gear to his BCHL offensive output.

Brady Lyle – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

24; Free agent signing
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
35
5
8
13
7
7
3
80
14.80
2022-23 (AHL)
51
7
24
31
16
13
6
124
24.22
Lyle had an assist and a few shots over the past week.

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
33
8
21
29
17
13
8
116
20.47
2022-23 (QMJHL)
67
21
51
72
47
34
21
213
25.03
Morin had an assist over two games this week. (Moncton’s third game was postponed due to weather problems.)

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
18
2
3
5
5
5
5
17
11.07
2022-23 (ECHL)
40
13
20
33
21
22
15
97
18.94
Nikolaev was scratched for both of the Wranglers’ games this past 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
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
2022-23 (AHL)
35
16
21
37
32
18
14
92
42.13
Pelletier is back practicing with the Wranglers.

Emilio Pettersen – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

23; Calgary’s sixth round pick (167th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft; 20th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
35
7
19
26
20
19
13
51
29.60
2022-23 (AHL)
61
19
25
44
35
35
29
118
28.75
After a really good few weeks of offensive output, Pettersen was held off the scoresheet over the Wranglers’ weekend worth of games.

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
4
1
6
7
2
4
2
9
69.74
2022-23 (AHL)
69
9
32
41
20
21
13
172
23.68
Poirier remains out “indefinitely” after suffering a serious laceration early in the season.

Topi Rönni – C, Tappara Tampere, Liiga/SM-sarja U20/CHL

19; Calgary’s second round pick (59th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; 10th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date (Liiga)
19
1
1
2
1
1
1
13
3.90
Season to date (U20)
9
5
10
15
12
7
7
19
27.33
Season to date (CHL)
6
0
1
1
0
0
1
1
n/a
2022-23 (Liiga)
22
2
3
5
3
5
3
14
8.42
Rönni had five points over two games in Finland’s top junior league.

Cole Schwindt – C/RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

22; Acquired in a trade with Florida; 9th-ranked prospect
GP
G
A
P
P1
5v5
P
5v5 P1
SH
NHLe
Season to date
35
8
10
18
13
14
9
63
20.50
2022-23 (AHL)
70
14
18
32
20
16
10
118
18.22
Schwindt has settled into a nice little pattern lately. He’s good for a point every game or two, and he’s playing a lot of minutes in all game situations and is arguably the Wranglers’ top right-handed face-off option.

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
27
2
4
6
4
6
4
51
8.86
2022-23 (AHL)
68
4
14
18
9
16
8
82
10.55
Solovyov had no points over the past week.

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
32
1
3
4
4
3
3
29
4.98
2022-23 (SHL)
45
3
5
8
6
6
5
31
8.69
Strömgren had no points over the past 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
20
8
9
17
13
10
7
51
27.39
2022-23 (BCHL)
50
45
45
90
73
47
40
–
11.81
Suniev played twice this past week. In one of the two games, he had three assists! He’s in the middle of a quietly impressive freshman season in college.

Daniil Chechelev – G, Ryazan-VDV, VHL

22; Calgary’s fourth round pick (96th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft
GP
TOI
SV%
Season to date
1
58
.888
2022-23 (ECHL)
39
2135
.892
Chechelev dressed once as backup for Ryazan this week.

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
7
400
.912
2022-23 (NCAA)
19
1104
.912
Sergeev started over the weekend, getting his first game action since Nov. 10. He pitched a 27 save shutout against Maine. It was his first win since Oct. 27. We’ll see if it’s the start of a turnaround for his season.

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
23
1346
.929
2022-23 (AHL)
55
3239
.932
Wolf started twice, won once, lost once, and allowed just four goals in the process. He was called up to the NHL on Tuesday morning.

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
19
1055
.931
2022-23 (MHL)
15
786
.915
Yegorov started twice, won twice, and allowed just three goals in the process.
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