Back in September, the Calgary Flames sent prospect Parker Bell back to the junior, as he rejoined the Western Hockey League’s Tri-City Americans for his overage season – despite being on the first season of his entry-level deal. Now, many months later, Bell’s going to get a chance to play some pro hockey.
As the Americans have completed their season and missed the WHL’s playoffs, Bell’s joining the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers for the remainder of their season.
(Additionally, the Wranglers have added defender Joni Jurmo on a try-out deal and released blueliner Sam Jardine from his try-out.)
If you’ve read the site this year and followed Paige Siewert’s Wranglers coverage, you’ve probably noticed that the Wranglers have juggled a lot of players this season. In addition to easing first-year forwards William Strömgren and Lucas Ciona into AHL action, second-year pros Ilya Nikolaev and Rory Kerins were trying to find their footing after spending most of 2022-23 in the ECHL with Rapid City. As a consequence, they had a lot of fairly inexperienced players to juggle in terms of easing them into the pro game.
When looking at what’s best for a player’s development, usually the answer is “playing games.” As the Wranglers juggled the needs of a lot of pros, Bell had the ability to head back to the WHL and play a ton. And so… he did, rather than either be an afterthought in the AHL or dispatched to Rapid City. So Bell wore a letter as an alternate captain and played in virtually every game situation for Tri-City, playing in 59 games and posting 64 points. Among Tri-City’s regulars, he led the team in goals, even strength goals and points-per-game. He was, in short, exactly what you’d want an 20-year-old to be.
Originally drafted by the Flames in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft, Bell is a left shot forward that can play the centre and the wing and is listed at 6’4″ and 195 pounds. In 239 WHL games over five seasons, Bell contributed 77 goals and 184 points. He has two seasons remaining on his ELC with the Flames, and undoubtedly the hope is that whether or not he gets into any game action, his time with the Wranglers this season will set him up for future success.
The Wranglers are back in action on Wednesday evening when they host Coachella Valley.
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