Several young forwards will be looking to establish themselves this season — and take their games to the next level
That’s right, the off-season’s over and training camp will begin in earnest this week with the Flames’ pre-season opener set for Sunday. If that feels sort of unbelievable, well, we hear you.
And while expectations might not be sky-high for this year’s group, there’s still plenty of reason for intrigue.
Ilya Nikolaev
Can he finely establish himself as a full-time player in the AHL?
A third-round draft pick in 2019, Nikolaev has spent most of his time playing North American pro hockey with the Rapid City Rush in the ECHL. Last year, he did play 29 games with the Wranglers and managed three goals and three assists in 29 games. He’s 23 years old, though, and if he’s got a future with the Flames you’d like to see him fully establish himself as an everyday option for the Wranglers as soon as possible.
Jakob Pelletier
Can he get past the shoulder injuries that held him back in 2023-24?
Anyone writing off Pelletier based on last season needs to take a deep breath. After breaking in with the Flames in 2022-23 under Darryl Sutter, Pelletier had a great training camp and looked ready to pick up right where he left off last year. Then, a brutal shoulder injury kept him out until February and he had his return derailed by a second injury. He never looked the same after that, struggling to reclaim his confidence. But the 2019 first-round draft pick has had a healthy summer. Assuming he’s able to get past the mental hurdles that come with the types of injuries he suffered, he’ll be in the mix for playing time with the Flames this year, whether that’s on Day 1 or not.
Martin Pospisil
Where does his future lie?
There are a couple questions you could ask about Pospisil. He famously plays the game with an edge, but he’s got to keep in mind where the line between being an agitator and playing dirty lies. But we’ll focus elsewhere, and on whether we might see Pospisil used at centre this season. While his ability to fly up and down the ice and go into the corners were a big part of what made him so invaluable last season after earning his first call-up in November, there’s a lot of chatter about whether his future might lie in the middle of the ice. The Flames definitely have more depth on the wings than they do up the middle, so the likes of Pospisil, Connor Zary and Yegor Sharangovich could all get looks at centre this season.
Kevin Rooney
Does his penalty-kill prowess earn him a full-time spot with the Flames this season?
When you first look at Rooney’s numbers for the 2023-24 season, you’ll see that he only played in 33 games for the Flames. That doesn’t tell anywhere near the full story, though. Rooney suffered a freak shoulder injury towards the end of training camp that required surgery and sidelined him for months. There was, inevitably, a rehab stint with the Wranglers as he built his strength and conditioning back to where it needed to be. But when the Flames recalled Rooney in early February, he stuck around. He was a big part of the checking unit and when his team was shorthanded, Rooney and Mikael Backlund were more often than not the guys hopping over the boards for the penalty kill. Teams need players like Rooney and he might have a bigger role to play this year than some people realize or expect.
Cole Schwindt
Can he break through?
Towards the end of training camp last year, it looked like Cole Schwindt had earned himself a place on the Flames’ opening day roster. He didn’t quite manage it, though, and wound up spending most of the year in the AHL with the Wranglers. He was called up for three games at the end of January and one in mid-February, but topped out at eight minutes of ice time in a game and didn’t register a point. We know Schwindt is close to being an NHL player. He was a +7 in 66 games with the Wranglers and collected 36 points. He’s good in his own end and if he can improve his faceoff efficiency he should have a future in the NHL. He’s only 23 years old, too, so Schwindt is entering the phase of his career where he’d probably like to be transitioning into more regular NHL play, but some more time with the Wranglers won’t hurt him. But for a team that’s in the midst of a rebuild, you’d expect the Flames to find space for Schwindt to add to his NHL experience if and when he earns it.
Yegor Sharangovich
Is there even more to come?
William Stromgren
Can he keep up the rate of growth we saw last year?
Stromgren had only two points in his first 23 games with the Wranglers last season but finished the season with seven goals and 20 assists over 68 games. He scored the seres-clinching goal in the Wranglers’ first-round playoff win over the Tucson Roadrunners. If some were calling the Flames’ second-round pick, 45th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft a bust at Christmas time last year, they were changing their tune by the time the season was through. At 21 years old, the Swedish winger seems to be elevating his game. If his development continues on the same upward trajectory, that’s only good news for the Flames. He might not be highlighted as someone who is likely to contribute to the big-league roster this season, but he might also not be as far off as a lot of people believed him to be.
Connor Zary
Can he avoid a sophomore slump and emerge as a star?
Expectations are high for Zary heading into his second NHL season. Few foresaw his breakout season last year, when he burst onto the scene and scored 14 goals and added 20 assists in 63 games. He scored in his first game with the Flames and while there were a few stretches where he slowed down, he generally provided an offensive spark on the second line and was one of the good news stories of the season. He could be moved to centre this year, but one way or another the hope is that he can provide more of the same in 2024-25. If he can take his game to the next level? Well, the sky is the limit.
