The Calgary Flames pre-season is off to a hot start (no pun intended) with some exciting games, including a split-squad home-and-home against the rival Edmonton Oilers. The Flames won both games in a rather dominant fashion after defeating the Seattle Kraken 6-1 in the first game of the pre-season, before dropping an overtime decision to Vancouver on Wednesday night.
With the pre-season officially underway and teams making cuts after games are played, there are plenty of Flames prospects to watch out for. Whether it’s the more experienced players like Matt Coronato, who is again having a dominant pre-season like he did last year, or newer players like Andrew Basha, who was drafted in the second round of the 2024 draft and has stuck around through the first round of cuts, there are plenty of players to keep an eye on.
William Strömgren is one player the coaching staff and management will watch closely this pre-season. In an interview during the first game of the prospect tournament in Penticton, Flames head coach Ryan Huska joined the broadcast at intermission and praised Strömgren for his comfortability and performance.
Strömgren, 21, was a second-round draft pick by the Flames in the 2021 NHL Draft. Coming into camp with experience and improvements made in the AHL with the Calgary Wranglers last season, the big Swedish forward showed flashes of major potential early.
Not only was Strömgren using his frame to win puck battles along the boards against his peers, but he was also creating goals for his teammates, including this assist to Sam Morton off the boards.
Later in the tournament, he scored his first goal with the Flaming C on his chest. Yes, it was just a prospect game, but getting that first one out of the way is always a relief.
With the preseason underway, everyone wondered how Strömgren would adapt to playing against more NHL players. While he hasn’t been nearly as dominant as he was against players his own age, he hasn’t necessarily been poor, either. There’s a reason Huska came out and mentioned Strömgren by name as a player they would be watching closely this pre-season, and that’s because they believe he has a shot at making the roster at some point this season. Considering his performances in the prospect tournament, I wouldn’t blame them if they felt he had a shot with the right kind of production in the pre-season. But, unfortunately to this point, Strömgren hasn’t touched the scoresheet.
Of course, there are other ways to contribute to the team like drawing a tripping penalty on this iffy hit that resulted in a fight:
But as fun as that is and as much skill as Strömgren has shown, it’s hard to imagine him starting in the NHL.
None of this means that he can’t turn things around in the final four pre-season games (if he makes it that far and isn’t assigned to the Wranglers before the final game), but Strömgren would benefit from a start in the AHL, getting in a rhythm, and then being called up, much like Connor Zary was last season.
The fact that Huska used his name (and only his name) in the broadcast when asked about players to watch means something, and there’s plenty of potential that everyone watching can see. It’s just a matter of getting more pre-season experience against NHL-calibre players, getting used to the pace, and working from there. But there shouldn’t be any doubt that the top-flight debut of the Swede is closing in.
