Hours after being dispatched to the minors to re-set and gain some confidence, the highly touted forward scored the lone goal for the Calgary Wranglers in a 1-0 victory.
A demotion to the AHL is never an easy pill to swallow.
Matt Coronato made the most of the situation.
On the same day the Calgary Flames sent him down to the AHL Wranglers, the 2021 first-round pick reported for duty — his first ever AHL game — and scored the lone goal in a 1-0 matinee victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Friday.
“It feels good to get a win,” Coronato told the assembled media after the clash. “It was fun, wake up and play.”
Dustin Wolf collected the 27-save shutout in the Wranglers' fifth straight win that improved their record to 6-0-1.
How long Coronato stays with the Wranglers remains to be seen, but it was the right thing to do. Despite being fifth on the Flames with 23 shots in 10 NHL games, Coronato managed one goal and one assist and a minus-9 rating. A re-set and opportunity to gain some confidence would be a great benefit.
“We want him to play, so whether it’s one or three or four games he’s down with the Wranglers, the message is to go down, play in all situations and work on the things we want him to work on,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said.
“This most definitely is not the last we’ve seen of him, I can say that for sure.”
The Flames could have just scratched Coronato for a couple of games, or even just Saturday’s road clash with the Seattle Kraken. But with the Wranglers scheduled also to play at home on Sunday, Coronato can see plenty of ice time in just a couple of AHL outings.
It would be no surprise if he’s summoned back for next Tuesday’s home date with the Nashville Predators and goes on the three-game road trip to Eastern Canada right after.
“I think it’s a good thing for him, with him struggling and us not winning and his minutes have gone down,” said Flames captain Mikael Backlund, who went through plenty of ups and downs while trying to become a full-time NHLer. “It’s good for him to get more minutes and get back going.
“He’s a great kid. I love the kid, he works so hard and is so respectful,” added Backlund, who planned to be in communication with Coronato while he’s with the Wranglers. “Hopefully he takes it the right way, go down there and play big minutes, get his confidence and swagger back, score a lot of goals and he’ll be right back.”