September 32-in-32: Calgary Flames

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Welcome to the September 2024 edition of the DobberProspects 32-in-32 Series. This month, we are diving into the depth of each organization, looking at their recent graduates, risers, fallers, and top-20 prospects.

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The Calgary Flames are coming off a busy off-season where they not only made some moves, but they also loaded up at the NHL draft. GM Craig Conroy understands that in order to bring this organization back to its competitive days they are going to have to build from the ground up and they did that by making ten selections in the draft. This was the most picks the Flames have made in a single draft since 2004. The Flames have some very impressive talent close to the NHL highlighted by Dustin wolf and Matt Coranato. Calgary even made a few sneaky signings on July forst with Anthony Mantha and Ryan Lomberg who are both going to solidify depth and contribute to this Flames offense. Calgary finished fifth-worst in the Pacific last season and they did not exactly get much better this off-season so it would not be a shocker if they have another bottom ten finish this season. Another top five or 10 pick come next June would only benefit their prospect pool.

Graduating Players

The Calgary Flames are currently rebuilding on the fly so it is always nice to see when they can call up some young prospects to see how they can do at the next level. Last season the Flames saw Matt Coronato and Dustin Wolf get good looks which will definitely help them as they are looking to take the next step and become full-time NHL players this upcoming season. The Flames pipeline is growing and they will continue to graduate more players to the NHL.

Graduate to NHL

Matt Coronato, RW/LW: Fully expected to start the season with the Flames if all goes well in training camp which opens up in just a few weeks. Coronato spent 34 games with the Flames last season and he recorded three goals, six assists, nine points. Despite not having an amazing stint with the Flames, Coronato was above a point-per-game player in the AHL for the Wranglers so there is definitely some high upside here. Coronato, drafted 13th overall back in 2021 is a big piece of this Flames retool and it will be exciting to see how his game progresses over this next season. Another year in the AHL would not be bad for his development, but with where the Flames are at, there is room for him in the lineup.

Dustin Wolf, G: An absolute gem of a seventh rounder back in 2019, Wolf is set to be the goaltender of the future for the Flames. He had a dominant season last year in the AHL and even got in some games with the big club. Wolf is only going to get more time this season as the team traded Jacob Markstrom over the summer. Wolf should easily start
at least 35-40 games this season as he will split time with Dan Vladar. Get ready Flames fans, Dustin Wolf’s time is now.

Graduating from College/Juniors:

Hunter Brzustewicz, RD: Was a key piece in the Ellias Lindholm trade that took place last season. Brzustewicz played for the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL and he absolutely ripped it up over the last two seasons. This past season Brzustewicz ranked second among all OHL defenseman in scoring as he had 13 goals, 79 assists, 92 points in 67
games played. There are some concerns about his defensive game however, he can quarterback a power-play with ease. Look for Brzustewicz to get some big opportunities for the Wranglers this season

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https://youtu.be/_FD2Hkhk4xE?si=NTwRxq8ccc6P_mVA

Parker Bell, LW: A massive 6-foot-5 winger out of the WHL. This kid was viewed as a long-term project but after a very solid junior career with the Tri-City Americans, he seems ready to make the jump to professional hockey. He logged two games in the AHL last year with the Wranglers and is expected to have a bottom six role with the team this year.

Deni Goure, C: Spent the past five seasons with Owen Sound in the OHL where he put up some very impressive numbers which includes 96 points last year. Goure is a very solid playmaker that can also score himself.

Trevor Janicke, F: After five years at The University of Notre Dame, Janicke will turn pro and will join the Wranglers. Not a big point producer but a solid bottom six forward that plays hard.

Risers:

Adam Klapka, RW: The giant 6-foot-8, 235 pound right-winger is an absolute beast and his game has been trending upwards over the past two seasons. Klapka came over from Czechia two years ago where he joined the Wranglers in the AHL. His rookie year he had 13 goals, 12 assists, 25 points in 60 games which was very solid for his first season in North America. Klapka built off his rookie season as he led the Wranglers in scoring last year with 21 goals, 25 assists, 46 points in 65 games played. Klapka even got six games with the Flames and he was able to collect his first NHL goal. Look for
Klapka to continue his development with another strong season with the Wranglers.

William Stromgren, LW: The 21-year old Swedish forward had a very nice first professional season here in North America where he collected seven goals, 20 assists, 27 points in 68 games played with the Wranglers. This season will be a big test to Stromgren to see how he can build off a solid rookie campaign.

Fallers

Samuel Honzek, LW: Drafted 16th overall by the Flames last year at the 2023 NHL draft, the hopes are very high on this kid. Honzek plays for the Vancouver Giants of the WHL and this past season he was limited to only 33 games due to multiple injuries throughout the season. As a result of all these injuries, his points-per-game went down over the past year from 1.3 to 0.94 which is not too concerning but it is not great news either. Honzek is a part of the long-term plan here, so step number one is making sure that he is healthy and ready to get his development back on track.

Jeremie Poirier, LD: Things did not go as planned for Jeremie Poirier this past year as he was out with an injury for the majority of the season. Poirier was injured in a freak accident at the beginning of the season as he was severely cut with a skate and this left him out of the lineup for a long time. When he returned to play he looked fine but spending that much time away from the game definitely hurts a young players development. It will be interesting to see if Poirier can get back to where he was two seasons ago.

Organizational Depth Chart

(Combination of NHL readiness and upside).

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Left Defense Right Defense

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Goalies

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Top 20 Prospects
This section is intended to paint a picture of the Calgary Flames prospects whose
current trajectory projects them making the most positive fantasy impact at the time
that they reach the NHL. Arrival date and NHL certainty have been taken into
consideration; however, potential upside is the most important factor in determining
this list.
1. Zayne Parekh
2. Dustin Wolf
3. Matt Coronato
4. Samuel Honzek
5. Hunter Brzustewicz
6. Matvei Gridin
7. Andrew Basha
8. Jeremie Poirier
9. Henry Mews
10. Jacob Battaglia
11. Aydar Suniev
12. Luke Misa
13. William Stromgren
14. Adam Klapka
15. Etienne Morin
16. Ilya Solovyov
17. Arytom Grushnikov
18. Yan Kuznetsov
19. Jaden Lipinski
20. Kirill Zarubin

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Training camp opens up in just a few weeks. That raises the big question: Is it October yet?

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