August 31-in-31: Calgary Flames

Joel Henderson

5 years ago

Hello!

Whether you’re a big Flames fan or a dedicated Fantasy owner, there is a lot to know about the depth of Flames prospects. Since Calgary has not had many draft selections in the first three rounds the last while, it means there might be more opportunity for a later drafted prospect to snag an NHL job one day. Here you can find a depth prospect chart, risers and fallers, and more.

If you want a preview for this August 31-in-31, you can check out the July write up on the Flames, signings, and development camp news HERE. Otherwise…. LETS GOOOOOOO

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Players Graduating Levels

To Stockton (AHL) we go!

The Flames were fairly busy this offseason and Stockton could see quite an influx of youth talent into the fold after they chose to let some vets walk. Since the Heat won’t have the services of Spencer Foo (KHL), Curtis Lazar, Kerby Rychel, and Tyler Graovac in the top-six, it means that Buddy Robinson, the returning Alan Quine, alongside second-year efforts from Matthew Phillips and Glenn Gawdin will be guiding the ship.

Earlier in the spring, Calgary signed Luke Philp from a Canadian University. He’s had 45 points in 24 games; dominating the league. This would seem quite strange except Flames already have Derek Ryan on their roster who worked his way up from the CWUAA before. Luke should be a jack of all trades and find offense on multiple different lines. He could be a staple on the third line, or be first line and first PP. It’s tough to know at this point.

Stockton is getting two big-bodied forwards in Adam Ruzicka from the OHL and Martin Pospisil from the USHL. They each showed quality development and use their body to drive the net and maintain possession. With the Heat having quite a few undersized forwards, it might boost them up the lineup earlier than they deserve. You can expect them to have their struggles as they learn how to be a good pro.

They are also finally getting the services of Eetu Tuulola from Finland. Don’t be surprised if Eetu becomes the glue that drives many of the lines as he fills a much needed RW slot. If you are in deeper fantasy leagues, Tuulola’s adjustment to the AHL could be important to see if he’s a true sleeper prospect especially in ROTO formats.

Stockton also is getting the services of defenseman Alexander Yelesin and goaltender Artyom Zagidulin. Both of these players have to surpass depth in order to really have fantasy value. Watch Stockton’s crease. The Flames future in net is still up in the air and if Zagidulin can show consistency, he might push through the prospect noise very quickly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJr0LvAcTgw&t=106s

To the NHL??

Andrew Mangiapane is here to stay.

Oliver Kylington might land that seventh defenseman role.

Juuso Valimaki is ready for full-time.

Dillon Dube was dominant in the AHL last year… but much like Rasmus Andersson last season, depth might push him down to begin the year. I’d expect him to spend the majority of his time in the NHL though.

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Risers

Demetrios Koumontzis (4th Rd, 108 OA in 2018)

He helped propel Arizona State to their first NCAA tournament ever; chipping in 20 points in 35 games as a rookie. He brings north/south speed and a relentless forecheck alongside a fantastic desire to be a top playmaker. Flames GM Treliving commented after development camp that DK was one of the most improved players from last year. He went from relative obscurity to garnering an invite to the U20 US Summer camp.

He did have some of his production fade as the year went on, so he will be looking for more consistency at 5v5. He will most likely have a couple more seasons in the NCAA before turning pro so fantasy owners can continue to wait on this speedy forward.

Dillon Dube (2nd Rd, 56th OA in 2016)

When the cupboards aren’t quite stocked as you would like, you need your prospects to really take that extra step within; to fill the gaps at the NHL level moving forward. I’m not sure Calgary could have asked more of Dillon Dube. He has shown leadership, high-level creativity, hard work, and dedication at the AHL level. Over a point per game in his first stint leaves him as a question mark for where to pencil him for the 2019-20 year. The depth of Calgary might push him to the AHL to begin the year but he really should be earning a bottom-six role.

Mathias Emilio Pettersson (6th Rd, 167th OA in 2018)

What an explosion. He is most likely the fastest rising prospect in the Flames system. He has quick acceleration and crazy evasiveness with the puck on his stick. He has always been known for his high level of creativity but seemed to put it all together as a rookie in the NCAA. Calgary took a swing on the playmaking forward and it seems to have paid off. He’s propelled himself into the top-10 of Calgary’s prospects after being selected in the sixth round only a year ago. A player to watch.

Fallers

Jon Gillies (3rd Rd, 75th OV in 2012)

In the summer of 2018, Gillies signed a two-year deal with Calgary, with the second year of the contract turning into a one-way deal. With Mike Smith’s contract set to end, it could have lined up where a tandem of Gillies and Rittich were set to open the roster in 2019-20. Gillies played the majority of games in Stockton on a high-offensive, low-defensive roster in Stockton. The issue for Gillies is that quite often he was defending against 2on1 or 3on2 rushes against defender as Stockton pushed the fold offensively by taking chances.

The lateral movement improved by gaining power side to side and by quieting his movements after making the first save. His glove hand struggled but overall, his season showed more improvement than the numbers would show. Either way, this is a highly thought of goaltending prospect who did not do enough to gain the confidence within. As fellow prospect Tyler Parsons will be looking for more minutes as well as new incoming Artyom Zagidulin, it leaves Gillies in purgatory.

Linus Lindstrom (4th Rd, 96th OA in 2016)

It has been a few years now where people have been hoping that Lindstrom would find another gear at the pro level in Sweden. He simply hasn’t and the numbers have stagnated. The highly thought of fourth round pick is very far from the radar of potential NHL minutes down the road. Once again, fans will hope that this is the year his offensive potential blooms.

Tyler Parsons (2nd Rd, 54th OA in 2016)

Turning pro is certainly not a cake walk. Parsons is finding this out first hand. He’s dealt with nagging injuries over the last two years and is simply trying to find a healthy groove. The games he did see in the second half of the year were much improved over the first half but he is still in tough for starts in 2019-20. The future is bright for the netminder but he did slide down a peg. With Calgary signing Talbot and bringing over Zagidulin, Parsons will have to remain healthy and earn everything given to him. No easy opportunities.

Depth Chart

Jakob Pelletier

Demetrios Koumontzis

Dmitry Zavgorodniy

Filip Sveningsson

Lucas Feuk

Justin Kirkland

Dillon Dube

Matthew Phillips

Mathias Emilio Pettersen

Glenn Gawdin

Adam Ruzicka

Martin Pospisil

Luke Philp

Milos Roman

Josh Nodler

Linus Lindstrom

Eetu Tuulola

LHD

Juuso Valimaki

Oliver Kylington

Rinat Valiev

Andrew Neilen

RHD

Alexander Yelesin

Tyler Parsons

Artyom Zagidulin

Jon Gillies

Dustin Wolf

Nick Schnieder

Calgary Flames Top 20 Prospects

As discussed briefly above, Since Calgary has drafted players mostly from the fourth round and on these days, it makes ranking them in a top-20 highly debated and easily subject to change. Let’s include some tiers so that will hopefully bring a little more clarity. (For this exercise, Andersson and Mangiapane are considered graduated)

HM/Wild Card: Luke Philp

Thanks for reading! Keep an eye on the Flames prospects because this list will be changing fairly rapidly as the season moves along.

Cheers

Joel Henderson – Covering the Calgary Flames and the WHL. @dathockeydoe on twitter