Flames assign prospect Hunter Laing to the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades

In the aftermath of their flurry of pre-season games since the weekend, the Calgary Flames made a single roster move on Thursday. On Thursday morning, they announced that they’ve assigned unsigned prospect Hunter Laing to the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades.

The roster move reduces the Flames’ training camp roster to 51 players: six goaltenders, 16 defencemen and 29 forwards.

The 19-year-old Laing is a right shot forward who plays centre and the wing, but primarily lined up on the right side for the Flames during prospects camp and training camp. He was a sixth-round pick by the Flames in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Laing was the last unsigned junior player standing at Flames camp and dressed in Tuesday’s game in Abbotsford – we’re guessing he stuck around so that he could get a game in, likely as a reward from management and the coaching staff for a good camp.

The son of former Abbotsford Heat captain Quintin Laing, Laing is a Kelowna kid and worked with Flames special assistant Jarome Iginla when he was younger – Iginla coached at the Rink Academy in Kelowna, where Laing played – and spent time in the Western League with the Prince George Cougars before being traded to Saskatoon midway through the 2024-25 season.

As far as draft choices go you can easily get why the Flames liked him. Aside from the Iginla connection, there’s the physical attributes: Laing’s listed at 6’6″ and 209 pounds, and as a right shot forward that can play centre, he ticks a lot of boxes for what teams want.

He’s also progressed fairly well after a quiet offensive start to his career in the Dub. He had 11 goals and 25 points in 2023-24 as a 17-year-old, then 25 goals and 48 points in 2024-25 as an 18-year-old. He’s expected to be leaned on heavily by a pretty young Blades team, but that’s the rub: he’ll be given the opportunity to play a ton. And that means he has the opportunity to potentially improve upon last season’s offensive numbers.

The Flames have until June 1, 2026 to sign Laing to an entry-level NHL contract or lose his rights, so it’s going to be an important year for him. We’ll see how he does in the Dub.