logo
FlamesNation has no direct affiliation to the Calgary Flames, Calgary Sports and Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
Wranglers series preview: Winter Wranglerfest weekend to tee up Christmas break
alt
Photo credit: David Moll/Calgary Wranglers
Paige Siewert
Dec 19, 2025, 12:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 19, 2025, 05:59 EST
Comments
The Calgary Wranglers play two home games this weekend against the San Diego Gulls before they break for Christmas. They’ve only faced San Diego once this season, back on Nov. 22 that resulted in a 3-2 win for Calgary. With an identical record in their last 10 games (4-3-2-1 record), this looks like it’ll be an interesting series, especially with Sunday being the second annual Winter Wranglerfest themed game. 

Last game’s lines

Calgary
William Stromgren – Rory Kerins – Martin Frk 
Justin Kirkland (Inactive) – Sam Morton – Matvei Gridin
Carter King – Clark Bishop – Parker Bell
Alex Gallant – David Silye – Andrew Basha
Artem Grushnikov – Daniil Miromanov
Etienne Morin – Nick Cicek
Turner Ottenbreit – Simon Mack
Connor Murphy (Inactive)
Owen Say
San Diego 
Sam Colangelo – Ryan Carpenter – Judd Caulfield
Sasha Pastujov – Jan Mysak – Justin Bailey
Nico Myatovic – Tim Washe – Matthew Phillips
Yegor Sidorov – Cal Burke – Nathan Gaucher
Stian Solberg – Roland McKeown 
Tyson Hinds – Nikolas Luneau
Nikolas Brouillard – Noah Warren
Calle Clang
Tomas Suchanek

Leaders

Calgary
Martin Frk – 11G, 14A
Matvei Gridin – 26GP, 9G, 15A
Rory Kerins – 25GP, 10G, 13A
San Diego
Matthew Phillips – 24GP, 4G, 16A
Tim Washe – 24GP, 11G, 8A
Sasha Pastujov – 24GP, 7G, 12A

Notes and expectations

There were quite a few changes going into the last few games before the holiday break. Dryden Hunt exceeded his waiver exemption period and was put on waivers on Thursday for the purpose of AHL assignment. If he clears on Friday, he will be available and in the lineup for the Wranglers this weekend. 
The Flames also recalled Justin Kirkland back to the NHL. Kirkland has done everything to earn this chance again with five goals and seven points in 14 games with the AHL squad over the last month. Hunter Brzustewicz, who has been up with the Flames for the last four games, doesn’t appear to be returning to the Wranglers for quite some time. The team revealed on Thursday that Jake Bean will be out indefinitely, leaving a spot for Brzustewicz to continue to take.
That isn’t even the end of the roster notes for this series. Alex Gallant was listed on this week’s suspension list that was announced by the AHL. He has been suspended for two games related to his actions against the Abbotsford Canucks on Sunday’s game. His aggressor call in the second period would be the correlated event that led to this suspension. 
Between the ECHL, the Wranglers have also sent Connor Murphy back down and called up Arsenii Sergeev, who was added to the roster back on Dec. 13. Ivan Prosvetov was most recently listed as week-to-week with a lower body injury, so it is likely he’s not ready to return yet. Also recently on the injury update was Aydar Suniev, who was out week-to-week with an upper body injury.
This series will be a fun one with a Friday night hockey game, then Sunday’s Winter Wranglerfest game, which is arguably one of the best Wranglers games of the year. This game has a reverse toss structure about it, where when the Wranglers score their first goal of the game, giveaways will be dropped from the press box and players will throw out merch from the ice to the fans. 
Friday’s game gets started at 7:00 p.m. MT and Sunday’s game will be at 2:00 p.m. MT. Tickets are still available for both games and you can stream them for a fee on Flo Hockey. FlamesNation contributors Ryan Pike and I will have updates on X (formerly Twitter).

This article is brought to you by Crystal Waters

Crystal Waters is your Crystal Clear Choice for Home Comfort Solutions, including all plumbing, heating, and cooling equipment repairs, maintenance, and installation. Founded in 2001, and completing over 30,000 projects, our qualified professionals are the guardians of your home’s mechanical heart.
Call Crystal Waters Plumbing and Heating today at 403-219-4100 for a complete mechanical system audit, and learn how we can partner with you to ensure your home is optimized for safety, health, and comfort. Or check them out at www.crystalclearcalgary.com

News

Breaking News