Flames lose blueliner Ilya Solovyov on the waiver wire, claimed by Colorado

Solovyov, 25, was a seventh-round selection by the Flames in the 2020 NHL Draft in his third year of eligibility. He had been passed over twice, but his 2019-20 season with the Saginaw Spirit impressed the Flames enough to take a flyer on him. He played a season in the KHL with Dynamo Minsk, then joined the Flames’ minor league system.

He turned into a really reliable defender for the Stockton Heat and later the Calgary Wranglers. The offensive game wasn’t his bread and butter but he was a really strong shutdown defender at the AHL level and used his size, positioning and physicality effectively. He was used by the Wranglers coaching staff as a reliable partner for anybody who needed the help on their pairing. The challenge for Solovyov was being able to play at the NHL pace.

He had a handful of call-ups in 2023-24 and 2024-25, playing 15 games for the big club, but he couldn’t do enough to cement himself in the Flames’ plans. He ended up with four points in 15 NHL games and 69 points in 229 AHL games with the Heat and Wranglers.

Solovyov was slated to potentially become a Group 6 free agent at the end of 2025-26 unless he played in 65 NHL games, so there was a good chance he was departing the organization sooner or later. Blueliners currently on the Wranglers roster include Yan Kuznetsov, Nick Cicek, Etienne Morin, Artem Grushnikov, Jeremie Poirier, Hunter Brzustewicz, Simon Mack, Chase Pauls and Xavier Bernard. While it hurts their depth to lose Solovyov, it does open up more ice time for some newer faces in the system.

The Flames conclude their pre-season on Friday night when they host the Winnipeg Jets.