Connor Zary’s sophomore season was derailed by two knee injuries

One thing is certain about the Calgary Flames moving forward: they’ll have a bunch of good young top-nine wingers.

Connor Zary is one of those young wingers in the top nine. After a solid rookie season in 2023-24, Zary was an effective player when he was in the lineup.

In this article, we’ll take a look at Zary’s 2024-25 season, looking at the expectations coming into the season as well as how he performed.

Zary’s 2024-25 expectations

The Flames selected Zary 24th overall from the Kamloops Blazers in the 2020 draft after trading down twice leading up to the pick. Zary got some professional action in 2020-21, scoring three goals and seven points in nine games with the Stockton Heat. In 2021-22, he played 53 games with the Heat, scoring 13 goals and 25 points in 53 games. His final AHL season was in 2022-23, where Zary scored 21 goals and 58 points in 72 games.

He finally became a regular with the Flames in 2023-24, scoring 14 goals and 34 points in 63 games. Zary finished eighth in rookie goals and ninth in rookie points, earning Calder Trophy votes, finishing eighth in voting.

Similar to Matt Coronato’s expectations, Zary was expected to take a step forward coming into this season in his sophomore season. Let’s see how Zary did in an increased role.

How Zary did in 2024-25

On a surface level, Zary’s 2024-25 season was okay. He finished with 13 goals and 27 points in 54 games. Had he played 63 games like the season before, Zary was on pace for 15 goals and 31 points, similar to the numbers he posted in 2023-24.

Over an 82-game pace, Zary was on pace for 19 goals and 41 points. That’s not a step forward like he was expected to do, but it’s not a step back either. Of course, there were other causes as well, as he suffered two separate knee injuries during the season. On Jan. 7, Zary was on the receiving end of a knee-on-knee hit and missed a month and a half.

When he returned, Zary scored three times and added two assists in 14 games played. He was suspended in that span and suffered his second knee injury on Mar. 27 as Mikko Rantanen fell on his leg.

Next season’s expectations

The 2025-26 season will be a big one for Zary. If he’s going to take that next leap forward to become a bona fide top-six winger, you have to imagine it’ll come next season. 

If not, it’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. Selected 24th overall, if Zary becomes a consistent 15-20 goal scorer in a middle-six role, that’s a good outcome for a player picked where he was. Of course, you want him to achieve more, but there’s a lot to like about Zary.

Injuries derailed what could’ve been a step-forward year for the 23-year-old. When healthy, he didn’t quite meet the expectations, averaging around the same pace as he had last season. Overall, Zary gets a B- after his 2024-25 season.