Injury suffered by Dennis Gilbert gives the Flames an opportunity for 2020 second-round pick to receive his first NHL taste
Yan Kuznetsov haș received his first summons to the NHL after fellow defenceman Dennis Gilbert was injured in Thursday’s victory over the Nashville Predators.
As the Flames prepare for afternoon road games on consecutive days in Philadelphia on Saturday and Chicago on Sunday, they required an extra blueliner.
Likely, Jordan Oesterle, a healthy scratch in Nashville, will suit up, but the recall from the minors is a big achievement for Kuznetsov.
Calgary’s second-round pick (50th overall) in the 2020 draft, Kuznetsov has collected two goals and seven points in 31 games this season with the AHL Calgary Wranglers. He has played 112 AHL games over parts of four seasons, although only 21 years old.
The 6-4, 209-lb., Kuznetsov, joins a blueline brigade that has been reaching down its ranks since Nikita Zadorov was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 3.
This stretch, however, has been an opportunity to give prospects a look. Ilya Solvyov, the 2020 seventh-round draft choice, has skated in a half-dozen NHL games.
The Flames signed veteran defenseman Mark Pysyk just before Christmas.
There may be some relief on the horizon, although it is a very real possibility the Flames will trade away a pair of pending unrestricted free-agent defencemen in Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin.
Oliver Kylington, who has been out of action since the end of the 2021-22 season while dealing with mental health issues, joined the Wranglers this week on a conditioning assignment, the latest step in a potential return.
Top prospect Jeremie Poirier has been sidelined indefinitely after suffering a lacerated arm due to a skate early in the season.