Here come the AHL playoffs: a Calgary Flames prospect update

You could be forgiven if the Calgary Wranglers were in the forefront of your mind during much of the month of April. After all, many of their best and brightest were playing in the National Hockey League.

Reigning AHL most valuable player (and the league’s top goaltender) Dustin Wolf filled in for Dan Vladar as the Flames’ second goaltender, winning four of his five NHL starts in April. Wolf played just once in the AHL’s regular season in April, posting a loss.

Matt Coronato, the Wranglers’ leading scorer when he was called up in early March, had three points in nine games in the NHL and drew praise for his two-way play. Adam Klapka scored a goal and had a fight. Ilya Solovyov looked like a perfectly acceptable NHL shutdown defender.

With their playoff ticket punched, Wranglers head coach Trent Cull and his staff spent much of April experimenting with their lineup. We saw several Flames prospect make their AHL debuts. And amidst all this experimenting, the Wranglers won just one game in April’s regular season outings – going 1-4-1.

If the experimentation in April results in post-season success, something tells us nobody will remember what their record was.

Let’s dive into this week’s prospect update!

Parker Bell – LW/C, Tri-City Americans, WHL / Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

20; Calgary’s fifth round pick (155th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
WHL season to date	59	33	31	64	50	35	31	231	26.86
AHL season to date	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.00
2022-23 (WHL)	55	25	39	64	51	36	28	187	28.82

Bell played once in the final regular season weekend. He didn’t dress for Game 1 in Tucson.

Jake Boltmann – D, University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, NCAA/Big 10
 

22; Calgary’s third round pick (80th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	30	0	2	2	2	2	2	36	1.82
2022-23 (NCAA)	37	1	4	5	3	5	3	42	3.69

Boltmann’s NCAA season is complete. He’s transferred to Northeastern University for the 2024-25 season.

Hunter Brzustewicz – D, Kitchener Rangers, OHL / Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

19; Vancouver’s third round pick (75th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Vancouver
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
OHL season to date	67	13	79	92	46	65	34	140	36.37
AHL season to date	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2022-23 (OHL)	68	6	51	57	32	31	21	110	22.20

Brzustewicz joined the Wranglers on an amateur try-out deal. He’s among a handful of players who stayed in town to work with the development team.

Lucas Ciona – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

21; Calgary’s sixth round pick (173rd overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 11th-ranked prospect
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	55	4	2	6	5	6	5	67	4.35
2022-23 (WHL)	63	28	47	75	53	54	37	194	29.48

Ciona didn’t dress for the last regular season weekend or for Game 1 in Tucson.

Matt Coronato – RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

21; Calgary’s first round pick (13th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 2nd-ranked prospect
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	41	15	27	42	28	27	17	140	40.82
2022-23 (NCAA)	34	20	16	36	31	19	16	141	24.31

After being in the NHL since early March, Coronato returned to the AHL for the final regular season outing.

Riley Damiani – C, Texas Stars/Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

23; Dallas’ fifth round pick (137th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Dallas
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	66	11	13	24	19	16	13	94	14.49
2022-23 (AHL)	59	13	18	31	24	18	14	87	20.94

Damiani didn’t dress for the final two regular season games, but returned to the lineup for game 1.

Artem Grushnikov – D, Texas Stars/Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

20; Dallas’ second round pick (48th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Dallas
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	63	1	5	6	5	6	5	65	3.80
2022-23 (OHL)	65	8	9	17	10	14	9	116	6.93

Grushnikov dressed once over the final weekend but didn’t dress for Game 1 in Tucson. (The Wranglers have a bunch of defenders healthy right now and they likely opted for a more veteran crew for the first playoff game.)

Samuel Honzek – LW/C, Vancouver Giants, WHL / Slovakia, WJC / Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

19; Calgary’s first round pick (16th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 4th-ranked prospect
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
WHL season to date	33	10	21	31	22	16	11	86	23.26
WJC season to date	5	3	1	4	3	2	1	10	n/a
AHL season to date	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.00
2022-23 (WHL)	43	23	33	56	40	36	26	134	32.25

Honzek was cleared for game action after suffering a minor injury in the WHL’s playoffs, and made his AHL debut over the final regular season weekend. He didn’t dress for Game 1 in Tucson.

Axel Hurtig – D, Rögle BK, J20 Nationell/SHL / Kristianstads IK, HockeyEttan
 

18; Calgary’s seventh round pick (208th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
J20 season to date	27	3	8	11	7	11	7	54	15.10
SHL season to date	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
HockeyEttan season to date	4	0	1	1	1	1	1	5	n/a
2022-23 (J20)	34	2	6	8	3	7	3	47	3.82

Hurtig’s season finally ended, as Kristianstads IK lost the top spot in the HockeyEttan promotion round robin playoffs on the final night of competition. We’ll see if he stays in Sweden for 2024-25, or if he makes the move to North America to join the Calgary Hitmen, who hold his Canadian junior rights.

Ben Jones – C, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

24; Free agent signing; 12th-ranked prospect
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	72	21	22	43	34	28	22	208	23.80
2022-23 (AHL)	71	17	37	54	41	28	21	202	30.31

Jones has missed one game for the Wranglers over the past two seasons.

Joni Jurmo – D, Ilves Tampere/KooKoo Kuovola, Liiga/CHL / Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

21; Vancouver’s third round pick (82nd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Vancouver
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Liiga season to date	46	1	4	5	3	4	3	63	4.03
CHL season to date	6	0	1	1	1	1	1	8	n/a
AHL season to date	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2022-23 (Liiga)	52	5	8	13	8	11	6	118	9.27

Jurmo has been practising with the Wranglers but, given the glut of blueliners they have right now, he has yet to slot into a game.

Rory Kerins – C, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

21; Calgary’s sixth round pick (174th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 14th-ranked prospect
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	54	16	16	32	27	22	18	115	23.62
2022-23 (ECHL)	38	17	20	37	31	25	21	117	22.36

Kerins played once over the final weekend of the regular season, but didn’t dress for Game 1 in Tucson.

Adam Klapka – RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

23; Free agent signing; 18th-ranked prospect
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	65	21	24	45	34	31	22	182	27.59
2022-23 (AHL)	60	13	12	25	18	16	11	103	16.61

Klapka returned from the NHL in time for the final regular season game of the year.

Demetrios Koumonztis – D/RW, Idaho Steelheads, ECHL
 

23; Calgary’s fourth round pick (108th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	47	9	10	19	11	14	10	84	9.28
2022-23 (NCAA)	37	7	11	18	12	10	7	67	13.28

Koumontzis has yet to play a game for the Steelheads in the ECHL playoffs.

Yan Kuznetsov – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

21; Calgary’s second round pick (50th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 17th-ranked prospect
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	63	5	8	13	9	12	8	88	8.22
2022-23 (AHL)	63	5	14	19	11	19	11	65	12.02

Kuznetsov played both games over the final weekend of the season and dressed for Game 1 in Tucson.

Jaden Lipinski – C, Vancouver Giants, WHL / Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

19; Calgary’s fourth round pick (112th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 16th-ranked prospect
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
WHL season to date	67	24	42	66	47	33	23	181	24.39
AHL season to date	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
2022-23 (WHL)	66	19	32	51	36	35	23	152	19.14

Lipinski didn’t dress in the final regular season games, or for Game 1 in Tucson.

Cade Littler – C, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, USHL / Penticton Vees, BCHL
 

19; Calgary’s seventh round pick (219th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
USHL season to date	13	8	3	11	9	8	6	30	19.43
BCHL season to date	24	9	12	21	17	9	6	–	5.51
2022-23 (BCHL)	51	29	39	68	47	36	27	–	8.75

Littler returned from injury to start the Vees’ second-round series with Vernon.

Brady Lyle – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

24; Free agent signing
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	47	6	9	15	9	7	3	102	12.72
2022-23 (AHL)	51	7	24	31	16	13	6	124	24.22

Lyle returned from a lengthy injury and played one of the final weekend’s games, but he didn’t dress for Game 1 in Tucson.

Etienne Morin – D, Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL / Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

18; Calgary’s second round pick (48th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; tied for 5th-ranked prospect
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
QMJHL season to date	58	12	37	49	32	21	13	191	19.67
AHL season to date	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.00
2022-23 (QMJHL)	67	21	51	72	47	34	21	213	25.03

Morin didn’t dress over the final weekend of the regular season or for Game 1 in Tucson.

Sam Morton – C, Minnesota State University Mankato Mavericks, NCAA / Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

24; Free agent signing

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
NCAA season to date	37	24	10	34	32	20	19	151	24.00
AHL season to date	13	5	2	7	7	5	5	25	21.46
2022-23 (NCAA)	10	6	2	8	7	3	3	28	21.00

Morton has found a nice bit of chemistry on a second line between William Strömgren and Adam Klapka. He played both games of the final regular season weekend – scoring twice – and for Game 1 in Tucson.

Ilya Nikolaev – C/LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL / Rapid City Rush, ECHL
 

22; Calgary’s third round pick (88th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
AHL season to date	29	3	3	6	6	6	6	33	8.25
ECHL season to date	6	2	6	8	7	5	5	16	30.61
2022-23 (ECHL)	40	13	20	33	21	22	15	97	18.94

Nikolaev didn’t dress over the final weekend of the regular season or for Game 1 in Tucson.

Jakob Pelletier – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL
 

22; Calgary’s first round pick (26th overall); 3rd-ranked prospect
 

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	18	5	7	12	8	7	6	45	26.57
2022-23 (AHL)	35	16	21	37	32	18	14	92	42.13

Pelletier has carved out a spot for himself on the Wranglers’ top line with Matt Coronato and Cole Schwindt. He seems to be getting his momentum back.

Over at Postmedia, Wes Gilbertson chatted with Pelletier recently.