Prospects who could help bolster the Flames roster this season

Aug 9 2022, 9:55 pm

The Calgary Flames have largely rounded out their roster for the 2022-23 season, with only a few holes to fill.Ā 

The question remains whether those will be filled internally, or whether general manager Brad Treliving opts instead to take a peek at the free agent market, ripe with more than a handful of potential candidates, to fulfill a need or two.Ā 

Externally, there are plenty of names.Ā 

Internally, there are a few familiar faces, too.Ā 

Here’s a look at which prospects could push for a few vacant spots, ranked in order of likeliness to crack Calgary’s roster on opening day:Ā 

1. Jakob Pelletier, LW

2021-22 season: Stockton (AHL): 66 GP, 27-35-62
Acquired: Selected in the first round (No. 26) of the 2019 NHL Draft

Jakob Pelletier, 21, had a standout first season of professional hockey with the Stockton Heat, Calgary’s minor-league affiliate, finishing second in team scoring and third league-wide among freshman skaters with 62 points (27 goals, 35 assists) in 66 games played.Ā 

Pelletier, who in back-to-back seasons to close out his junior career captained both the Moncton Wildcats and Val-d’Or Foreuers in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, has both the pluckiness and offensive upside to slot into a middle-six role on the Flames — a position that could be vacant depending on how coach Darryl Sutter opts to deploy his new-look forward core this fall.

2. Adam Ruzicka, C

2021-22 season: Calgary (NHL): 28 GP, 5-5-10; Stockton (AHL): 16 GP, 11-9-20
Acquired: Selected in the fourth round (No. 109) of the 2017 NHL Draft

Adam Ruzicka is the most experienced forward among Calgary’s prospect core, logging 31 games of NHL experience over the past two seasons. The middle-man has shown a touch of offensive flair in a depth role with the Flames, netting 11 points (five goals, six assists) in those 31 skates.

The 23-year-old has the benefit and the curse of being a centre in an organization with some obstacles. He won’t unseat the likes of Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund, clearly, but Ruzicka will be in competition among the likes of the returning Sean Monahan — who is recovering from hip surgery and is coming off back-to-back down years — and Kevin Rooney — who signed a two-year, one-way contract with the Flames at the onset of free agency.

3. Matthew Phillips, RW

2021-22 season: Stockton (AHL): 65 GP, 31-37-68
Acquired: Selected in the sixth round (No. 166) of the 2016 NHL Draft

Matthew Phillips led Stockton in scoring last season, far surpassing any personal bests set through his four-year professional career with Calgary’s American Hockey League affiliate. It helped push the totals of the 5’8″, 165-pound winger to near point-per-game status with 161 points (67 goals, 94 assists) in 199 outings.

Phillips, 24, has logged just one NHL skate to date, a late-season twirl at the tail end of the 2020-21 season with the Flames well out of the playoff hunt. Helping the cause of the former Victoria Royals (WHL) stand out is the fact there’s still an organizational need on the wing.

4. Cole Schwindt, C

2021-22 season: Charlotte (AHL): 72 GP, 19-21-40; Florida (NHL): 3 GP, 0-0-0
Acquired: Via trade with the Florida Panthers in 2022

Cole Schwindt, far from an afterthought in the blockbuster that sent Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar, could run into a similar problem to that of Ruzicka. He’s primarily a pivot.Ā 

The 21-year-old, originally drafted in the third round (No. 81) in the 2019 draft by the Panthers, also had a strong start to his professional year in Florida’s system, netting 40 points (19 goals, 40 assists) over a 72-game minor-league effort that also included three games in the NHL in 2021-22. He’ll not only have to unseat one of Monahan or Rooney, or potentially Trevor Lewis, as well as Ruzicka.Ā 

5. Connor Mackey, D

2021-22 season: Stockton (AHL): 53 GP, 5-31-36; Calgary (NHL): 3 GP, 0-1-1
Acquired: Signed as a free agent in 2020

Connor Mackey jumped up the Flames depth chart late in the 2021-22 season, earning an elevation to the NHL roster for a three-game audition in April before sticking around for Calgary’s run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.Ā 

The 25-year-old Mackey, who will be 26 by the time the season rolls around, is on a one-way contract in 2022-23 but faces a few obstacles — namely eight other blueliners. Rasmus Andersson, Noah Hanifin, Oliver Kylington, Christopher Tanev, MacKenzie Weegar, and Nikita Zadorov are locked into Calgary’s top-six, and Nicolas Meloche and Dennis Gilbert are also on one-way deals.Ā 

6. Juuso Valimaki, D

2021-22 season: Stockton (AHL): 35-2-16-18; Calgary (NHL): 9 GP, 0-2-2
Acquired: Selected in the first round (No. 16) of the 2017 NHL Draft

Juuso Valimaki, like Mackey, faces a bit of an uphill climb to Calgary’s roster. He’s got to find a way to leapfrog the aforementioned group in order to see NHL action this season. Couple his climb with the fact that the 23-year-old is best suited logging significant minutes with the Calgary Wranglers as opposed to a frequent scratch with the Flames.Ā 

Aaron VickersAaron Vickers

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