Calgary Flames Prospect Update: Biggest Wins in the System

With the NCAA, Russian, and Scandinavian regular seasons now concluded, a large portion of Flames prospects are now gearing up for the playoffs. Expect the intensity to ramp up, and teams like UND, Denver, and Djurgårdens IF U20 all to make deep runs in their respective leagues with Flames prospects.

Let’s take a look at everything within the Calgary Flames organization.

Welcome to the TWC Calgary Flames prospect update. We have defined a prospect as a skater who has played fewer than 65 NHL games and was born in 2001 or later.

Prospects with Surprising Seasons so Far

Ethan Wyttenbach, Forward, Quinnipiac, NCAA

No one expected the 2025 5th-rounder to break out like he did this season with Quinnipiac. The American forward exploded onto the NCAA scene, scoring the most points out of every single player with 58 across just 38 games. Talk about a Hobey Baker dark horse entering the season.

The silky smooth handler and sniper routinely put on a show every single game and demonstrated high-end hockey sense and creativity. Wyttenbach is likely to return to Quinnipiac for a sophomore season and could even break the 70-point mark, a feat only accomplished twice in the last decade.

Matvei Gridin, Forward, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

The first year forward has impressed most with his play at the NHL level this season. While Gridin might not be a playmaker, he can certainly finish, leading to him posting 12 points in his young NHL career so far. Entering the season, his NHL ETA was 2–3 years, but he certainly sped up that timeline.

The Russian-born forward is now on track to shatter any expectations he had for himself this season as he looks poised to be a solid middle-six forward of the future.

Yan Kuznetsov, Defence, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

The 24-year-old Russian has been one of the biggest surprises of the season, as he went from a 1st/2nd pairing older AHL prospect, to carving out a regular role in the Flames’ defence core. The 6’05 defender has been a steady defensive presence with moderate offensive upside as well.

The defender was entering what was likely a make-or-break season for him, and it’s safe to say it’s been the latter so far. This unlikely development is even more surprising when you take into account that Kuznetsov has seen nearly double the NHL games this season of prospect Zayne Parekh.

Krill Zarubin, Goaltender, AKM Tula, MHL

The 2024 3rd-round selection has shown consistent development all season long. The surprising thing is just how consistent the 20-year-old Russian has been over a 48-game sample size. Considering his club has only played 60 games all season, Zarubin was an absolute workhorse.

Now with Dustin Wolf with the Flames full-time these past couple of seasons, Zarubin grabs the spot as the best goaltending prospect in the Flames pipeline. With good hockey sense, athleticism, and mobility, Flames fans could see Zarubin in Calgary sooner rather than later if he keeps his momentum up.

Calgary Flames prospect updates

AHL

• Another struggling week for the Wranglers as they went 0–4–0, while even getting shutout 1–0 by their rivals, the Bakersfield Condors, on the 21st.
• The Calgary Wranglers are way out of the AHL playoff picture, being 13 points behind even 8th-place Tucson. Calgary now has a season record of 20–29–14 for the 2025–2026 campaign.
• Veteran prospects Rory Kerins and William Stromgren are two playmaking bright spots on a more mature Wranglers forward core. Both could also be suiting up for the Flames in the event of an injury.
• Rapid City Rush defender Chase Pauls was called up to the Wranglers on the 19th.

ECHL

• The Rapid City Rush also struggled this week, going 1–2–0 in a trio of games against the Kalamazoo Wild Wings. Rapid City’s sole victory came in the middle game on the 21st in a 3–2 fashion.
• The Rush currently sit 7th in the ECHL’s Mountain Division with a 25–31–5 record. Rapid City sits 12 points back from a playoff spot.
• Defender Hunter Donohoe joined the Rush on the 23rd, from the TMU Bold.

Europe

• Usual shutdown-defender Jacob Leander is on a three-game point streak after getting an assist in his game against IK Oskarshamn U20 on the 17th and one in his matchup against BIK Karlskoga U20 on the 23rd.
• Forward Theo Stockselius appeared with the Djurgårdens IF SHL team for their playoff series against the Malmö Redhawks on the 17th, 19th, and 21st. He was then reassigned to the Djurgårdens IF U20 team, where he played against MoDo Hockey U20 on the 22nd. In that game against MoDo, Stockselius scored four goals in his club’s 6–5 OTW (which are his only four goals all season).

NCAA

• Eric Jamieson completed his first regular season of NCAA college hockey after Denver’s 4–3 OTW against the University of Minnesota-Duluth on the 21st. He has shown consistent development in all three zones, as his offensive instincts have particularly improved this season.
• Jonathan Castagna has also completed his Junior season in the NCAA after a 3–2 loss to Princeton on the 20th. The recently acquired Castagna was a high-energy offensive play pusher who posted 1.03 PPG this season.
• Trevor Hoskins appeared in his final two games of the season this past week. His first game was a 2–0 win on the 20th against the University of Massachusetts, and his second was a 2–1 win against the University of Connecticut on the 21st. In both games, the 2nd-year forward averaged 18:00 of TOI.

WHL

• 2023 7th-rounder Axel Hurtig had a busy week. His first game of the week was a 5–1 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings, where he racked up 14 minutes of penalties. Then, in Hurtig’s game on the 21st against the Lethbridge Hurricanes, he netted an assist and a +4 rating in their 8–5 win.
• Forward Andrew Basha continues to light the WHL on fire. In his two games this past week, he had a pair of three-point outings on the 20th and 21st, both against the Red Deer Rebels.

Forwards