Flames defenceman has missed the past season-and-a-half dealing with his mental health
Oliver Kylington is due to move up another rung of the ladder in his return to the NHL.
Kylington is expected to take the ice on Thursday when the AHL Calgary Wranglers play host to the Ontario Reign at the Saddledome.
“We think for Oliver and for the organization, it’s a really positive step for what he’s been going through the last couple of years,” Brad Pascall, the Flames vice-president of hockey operations and Wranglers general manager told Sportsnet 960 The Fan.
Kylington has been away from playing hockey for a year and a half while dealing with mental health issues. After the slick-skating defenceman missed all of last season, he was expected to rejoin the Flames this season, but as training camp began was unable to participate.
He had been skating with various injured players for the past several months while continuing his journey. Last week he was assigned to the Wranglers on a conditioning stint as a player on long-term injury reserve, which allows him to spend six days or three games in the minors, whichever is longer. The team may request the stint be extended by two games, which appears most likely.
Now, he appears ready to reach a new milestone.
“It was really just, ‘Hey, I’m ready to go, excited and looking forward to it,’ ” Pascall said.
“To get to this point, it’s something that we were all looking forward to and working towards, especially Oliver,” Pascall added. “You rely on him for how he’s feeling and for what his re-entry process will be, and we’ve been there to support him. So the conversations real positive. It’s something that he’s really excited about."
Kylington has played 168 NHL games after being drafted in the second round in 2015. He had a breakout campaign in 2021-22, in which he collected nine goals and 31 points while averaging more than 18 minutes of ice time in 73 games.
As for a timetable for a return to the Flames, that is not completely clear. Kylington, whose salary counts against the Flames cap right now, could also be assigned to the Wranglers on a 14-day conditioning stint, which means he could be with the Wranglers deep into February.
As much as the Flames would love to have Kylington in the line-up, they will do all they can to ensure the 26-year-old is fully ready before that step is taken. More pressing is how he feels right now and how things go in a return to playing at the AHL level.
“I think he’s right now in a good place,” Pascall said.
“He’s having a lot of fun and looking really happy to be involved in a team atmosphere once again.”
Kylington, who signed a two-year, $5 million contract prior in the summer of 2022, is due to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.