While a few players are expected to be big factors, several hopefuls have important opportunities at their feet
The Calgary Flames are sending a club with relatively little professional experience to the Young Stars tournament that begins on Friday.
Only one skater on the squad — Matt Coronato — has played a NHL clash, and that was a single affair, last season’s finale. Only two players slated to suit up in Penticton, B.C., were AHL regulars last season, defenseman Yan Kuznetsov and forward Adam Klapka.
By comparison, the Vancouver Canucks, who the Flames face Friday night (8:30 p.m. MT) in their opener, boast a roster which includes four players who skated in NHL games, a few others who were full-time AHLers and a trio who were professionals in Europe last season.
While the Flames will do their best to win every game, the Young Stars is more a showcase of up-and-comers than about claiming a four-team tournament that also includes Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets hopefuls.
With that in mind, here are 10 thoughts about the Flames squad heading into the event.
1. Coronato is undoubtedly expected to lead the way. The 2021 first-round draft choice is pencilled to with the Flames on a full-time basis this season, and the test for him is to be an offensive force and set the tone for the rest of the prospects. A strong showing can have him on track when main camp kicks off.
2. Samuel Honzek, this year’s first-round draft choice (16th overall) has the size and skill to be a force at the tournament. Whether Honzek can last through main camp and even play some regular season games remains to be seen, but this is an opportunity to stand out among his peers and earn some legitimate pre-season looks.
3. Parker Bell’s quest to earn a contract begins in earnest. Bell, a 2022 fifth-round pick, has NHL size at 6-foot-4, 205-lbs., and shown solid scoring touch at the WHL level with 25 goals and 64 points last season for the Tri-City Americans. Bell, who’ll turn 20 later this month, will likely return to the WHL for his overage season, and could use this tournament to springboard his way to a strong enough season that earns him an entry-level deal.
4. With Jeremie Poirier not expected to play due to off-season surgery, Etienne Morin — this year’s second-rounder — should receive even more ice time to display his offensive skills. The defenseman who netted 21 goals and 72 points last season for the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats, must prove he can defend, but this tournament is a chance to shine with the puck in the offensive zone.
5. Can the Flames find any other goaltenders to add to the mix? The netminders consist of a pair of NCAA graduates in Connor Murphy and Matt Radomsky who are both signed to AHL deals and 19-year-old Jari Kykkanen, an undrafted goalie slated to play for the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. The Flames would appear fairly flush in terms of goaltender prospects, but this is an opportunity to give a few more twine minders a look.
6. Can a free-agent defenseman step up? Of the eight defensemen pegged to play, five are in camp on professional tryout deals. Kuznetsov has a NHL contract, Morin is a draft choice and Jarrod Gourley owns an AHL pact. A few of those unsigned and undrafted players are likely headed to junior, but a strong performance from those youngsters — a list that includes Calgary Hitmen alternate captain Tyson Galloway — would boost their chances to play at the next level down the road.
7. William Stromgren, the 2021 second-round pick, is looking to be a full-time player in the AHL this season, his first campaign in North America. The 6-foot-3, 195-lb., left winger skated in 45 games last season for Brynas in Sweden’s top league as well as a pair of AHL clashes. Stromgren admittedly must learn the game in the smaller rink, so these games are an opportunity to adjust at a slower pace before main camp begins.
8. Forwards Rory Kerins and Ilya Nikolaev spent the majority of last season in the ECHL despite being signed to NHL deals. The quest for both is to be key players for the Wranglers, and a big step in that regard would be producing over these games. Kerins skated on a line with Coronato and Honzek in the lone practice in anticipation of the tournament.
9. Speaking of players hoping to be full-time AHLers, Lucas Ciona could return to the WHL as an over-ager, but he and the Flames would prefer the big winger who was captain of the champion Seattle Thunderbirds, earns a job in the pro ranks. Ciona, a 2021 sixth-round pick, has little to prove at the junior level.
10. There are intriguing free-agent forwards in the likes of Oliver Peer, Oliver Tulk and Nathan Pilling. Peer was a point-per-game skater for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires last season — coached by new Flames assistant coach Marc Savard — while Tulk netted 24 goals and 60 points in 68 games for the Hitmen as an 18-year-old and Pilling, who managed 13 points in 35 WHL games before suffering a season-ending leg injury in early January, opened eyes during the summer prospects camp and earned an invite.
Calgary's Young Stars games will be broadcast on the Flames website and Sportsnet 960 The Fan. The Flames will meet the Oilers on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. MT and the Jets on Monday at 11 a.m. MT.
