Calgary Flames Prospect Update: A (Gavin) White spot in the system

With the NHL off for the Olympic break, now is the perfect time to check out the Wranglers and keep tabs on emerging Flames Matvei Gridin, Hunter Brzustewicz, or new acquisition Gavin White. Ethan Wyttenbach is proving to be a late-round steal by making his Hobey Baker case even stronger this week.

Let’s take a look at everything in the Flames organization from this past week.

Welcome to the TWC Calgary Flames prospect update. Each week, we’ll take a dive into how the Flames prospects have done in their respective leagues, to go along with a feature on one standout prospect in Calgary’s system. We have defined a prospect as a skater who has played fewer than 65 NHL games and was born in 2001 or later.

Gavin White, Defence, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

Who is Gavin White?

The newest Flames acquisition is a former OHL alumnus appearing with the Hamilton Bulldogs from the 2019–2020 season until the 2022–2023 season, when the Peterborough Petes traded him as a playoff rental.

In the OHL, White amassed exactly 100 points across 145 games, while also going back-to-back-to-back Memorial Cups for the 2021–2022 and 2022–2023 seasons. Shortly after the first one, the Dallas Stars drafted the now 23-year-old in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL draft with the 115th overall pick.

For the past three seasons, White has been plying his trade with the AHL’s Texas Stars, and now looks to be reinforcements for the defensively struggling Wranglers after being exchanged for Jeremy Poirier on the 2nd.

So far into the 2025–2026 campaign, White averages 17:46 of TOI per game, of which 2:17 is on the penalty kill. White will likely translate to a third-pairing role with the Wranglers.

What type of game does White play?

White plays a defensive-oriented defender’s game, with some transitional upside that includes smart activations and situational awareness. His overall game is defined by higher-end defensive senses, a moderate compete level, and some quality physical elements.

At the AHL level, White maintains his gap control with decent space management, an active stick to reduce lanes and options, and consistent isolation that keeps opponents to the outside under all circumstances.

The Wranglers defender has good angling on every rush defence, which furthers these isolation attempts, reduces pace, and with smart stick positioning, it helps limit net crashing and can help generate takeaways to the tune of 5.6 per game.

In his own zone, his defensive senses demonstrate above-average scan frequency, which translates to better defensive awareness, a higher degree of risk assessment, and defensive instincts (stick usage, box outs, and tie-ups). The Canadian has good fundamental defensive habits, which further his effectiveness.

The young defender only has 0.17 errors leading to goals against, which reinforces the strength of these habits.

These senses also blend with White’s competitive level, as he does everything with a sense of urgency, high intensity, and hustle when out of position (which he often is not).

The newest Wrangler also shows strong physical elements, such as consistent internal body positioning, sturdy stability, and effective use of body leverage, which amplifies his board-play effectiveness. Considering White wins 56% of all his board battles, it’s clearly working.

White’s physicality isn’t imposing or intimidating, but it’s smart, well-timed, and overwhelmingly effective.

Offensively, White has a motor, has gained more confidence, implements higher frequency activations, and has some growing offensive instincts like space creation and playmaking. He has yet to put it all together, though.

With that being said, White’s offensive game is still a work in progress, considering he generates only 0.21 scoring chances per game, has 0.08 goals expected, and only 2 seconds of (likely accidental) power-play time per game.

His biggest barriers to his game are his offensive instincts (creativity, hockey IQ, and play deception), puck skills with risky placement, and mixed decision making that, while it relieves pressure, it often doesn’t move plays forward, and average shooting mechanics.

What should Calgary Flames fans expect out of him?

Both White and Poirier were players who needed a change of scenery, so that’s exactly what both got. White will add more depth options to the Wranglers’ defensive core, with a more reliable defensive upside, which is exactly what first-year head coach Brett Sutter probably wanted.

Expect White to get consistent shifts with the Wranglers for the rest of this campaign, but overall, the 2002-born defender remains a long shot to see any NHL games this year.

Within 2–3 years, it wouldn’t be unrealistic to say that White could compete for an NHL depth role or play an odd NHL game with the Flames.

Calgary Flames prospect updates

AHL

• The Wranglers continue their slide down the standings after going 0–1–2 this past week. They lost their February 3rd matchup 3–2 in overtime to their rivals in Bakersfield. Calgary then collected a regulation loss (7–2) on the 6th and an OTL (6–5) on the 7th, both against the Tucson Roadrunners.
• Calgary has now slipped to 16–19–12 and is in the midst of a 5-game losing streak. The Flames’ affiliate finds itself sitting 9th in the AHL’s Pacific Division.
• ECHL defender Xavier Bernard was reassigned to the Rapid City Rush on the third. Matvei Gridin and Hunter Brzustewicz were both reassigned to the Wranglers on the 4th. The Gridin and Brzustewicz being sent down is just so that both players can get extra games in during the NHL break.

ECHL

• The Rapid City Rush played a trio of games against the Wichita Thunder this past week on the 4th, 6th, and 7th. The Rush lost the first game 4–2. They then collected a 3–2 win in their second game, and then dropped the 3rd game 4–3.
• The Rush still sit 6th in the ECHL’s Mountain Division with 41 points and a 19-22–3 record.
• There are still no Flames-affiliated prospects on their ECHL affiliate.
• There are two new additions for the Rush: defender Xavier Bernard, who was reassigned on the third, and forward Blake Christensen, who joins from the Kalamazoo Wings on the 6th.

Europe

• Stockselius continues his pro stint with Djurgårdens IF, as he appeared in two more SHL games this past week. He played Färjestad BK on the 5th, with a 2–1 SOW, and Linköping HC on the 7th in a 2–1 regulation win.

NCAA

• UND had a pair of games against the Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth on the 6th and 7th. Defensive prospect Wiebe had the weekend of his season, posting an assist in the first game and then three in the second matchup. Talk about vision and passing. Highly touted 2025 1st-rounder, Cole Reschny, left the second game with a minor contusion, but is not expected to miss extended time.
• Harvard forward Aidan Lane has notched ten points in his freshman season, after notching an assist in his game against Northeastern University. The smart (on and off the ice) two-way forward has been in a bit of an adjustment period as he adapts to the NCAA style of game.
• 2023 4th round forward, Jaden Lipinski, played a game against Boston University in his sole game this last week, and in just 6:30 of TOI, he found the scoresheet with an assist. The speedster is another CHL-NCAA forward who has struggled to carve out a consistent role on his new team.
• Wyttenbach continues to build his case for the Hobey Baker as he lit up the scoresheet this week. The high hockey IQ playmaker posted a goal and two assists against Brown University in a 9–1 victory on the 6th. Not to outdo himself, he then scored a hat-trick against Yale University in a 8–0 win the following day. Wyttenbach is certainly building his case, that’s for sure.
• 2024 4th rounder, Trevor Hoskins, also joined the barnburner theme in the NCAA this past week with a 9–5 win over Stonehill College, where he posted two goals and two assists on the 3rd. He continues to build momentum this season and is proving the transfer out of Niagara was the right call.

OHL

• Battaglia had a busy week playing the Sarnia Sting on the 4th, where he netted a goal in their 6–3 win. He then found the scoresheet twice against the Soo with a goal and assist on the 6th, and supported his team in a 3–1 win versus the Erie Otters on the 7th. The playmaker looks to be finding his groove again.

WHL

• 2023 7th-rounder Axel Hurtig was busy appearing in four games this past week. Across those four games, Hurtig scored a goal in a 7–1 rout of the Saskatoon Blades and had a +3 rating. The Hitmen captain is certainly leading by example on the ice as he is an absolute workhorse every shift.

Russia

• Goaltending prospect Yegor Yegorov played one game against Sputnik Almetievsk on the 8th. The 2023 6th-rounder stopped 22/24 shots enroute to a 7–2 victory.
• 2024 3rd round goaltender, Zarubin had a busy past week playing in three games, where he made a combined 88 saves on 92 shots, and walked away with a 2–1-0 record.

Forwards