One year ago, Ethan Wyttenbach could only watch from the sidelines. This summer, he finally got to be part of it.

After an injury limited his experience at Calgary's 2025 Development Camp, the Flames prospect returned this year healthy, confident, and coming off a breakout freshman season at Quinnipiac where he exploded for 59 points in 40 games. But as valuable as the on-ice work was, the biggest takeaway came from something much simpler: building relationships with the players he hopes to one day call teammates.

"It was an awesome week," Wyttenbach told NHL.com's Annie Nadin. "Last year, I didn't really get a chance to be out here because of my injury, so seeing everyone again and getting to know all the players that I maybe couldn't build relationships with last summer... It was definitely cool to see guys you play against and learn some more about these guys, especially when some of them are hopefully going to be my teammates one day."

That list included two familiar opponents in Cole Reschny and Cullen Potter, players Wyttenbach had spent the past year competing against instead of skating beside.

The transition from rivals to teammates produced a few laughs.

"It was funny. When we played during the year, we got into a little scrum at the end of a play," Wyttenbach said with a laugh. "Then you get out here and you're in the same uniform... you're kind of now teammates. It's just cool to have those little differences."

The connections extended beyond the rink. Wyttenbach roomed with Reschny throughout camp and already has a longstanding relationship with Potter through USA Hockey, giving the trio another opportunity to continue building chemistry later this summer.

As encouraging as the week was, Wyttenbach's focus quickly shifts back to Quinnipiac, where he's determined to keep rounding out his game after an offensive breakout.

"I think offensively it's there," he said. "So just trying to build the little details of my game and just round out my game in every way possible."