Flames prospect Axel Hurtig rewarded for rookie camp with pre-season debut

The Calgary Flames begin their 2025-26 pre-season schedule on Sunday evening, kicking things off with the traditional pair of split-squad exhibition games against the Edmonton Oilers. The split squad set means we get to see 40 different players dress for pre-season contests, several doing so for the first time.

On Sunday, four Flames skaters are expected to play their first exhibition outings while a pair of goalies will dress as backups for the first time. Making their first NHL pre-season appearances will be Axel Hurtig, Jacob Battaglia and Rory Kerins in Edmonton, and Aydar Suniev in Calgary, along with netminders Arsenii Sergeev (in Edmonton) and Owen Say (in Calgary). (Yeah, it’s kind of wild that Kerins and Suniev played regular season NHL games before pre-season games.)

After Sunday’s morning skate in Calgary, Flames head coach Ryan Huska briefly discussed the team’s philosophy behind dressing young players in pre-season games – as part of a slightly longer discussion of the exhibition schedule being shortened to four games next season.

“You always try to give some younger players that deserve it a game or two along the way, knowing that they’re going to be a big part of your future,” said Huska. “And you want to reward them for what they’ve done over the summer and how they’ve played in camp. Like when it comes to next year with just four games, it makes it harder to reward players that way.”

Later on, when asked about players that impressed him during the two rookie camp games last week, Huska cited several players – including Hurtig.

“You know, I liked Axel Hurtig, was one guy that pleasantly surprised me,” said Huska.

A product of Hogas, Sweden, Hurtig is a left shot defenceman listed at 6’5″ and 209 pounds. He was a seventh round pick by the Flames in the 2023 NHL Draft, and moved from Sweden to the Western Hockey League for the 2024-25 season to join the Calgary Hitmen as an import. He adjusted to the WHL’s smaller ice quite well, becoming a really important tough-minutes shutdown defender for the Hitmen pretty quickly.

In his first season in North American hockey, Hurtig posted five goals and 16 points in 55 games for the Hitmen, and posted a plus-39 plus/minus, tied for 12th in the entire WHL in that category. He also represented Sweden at the World Junior Championship tournament.

Hurtig’s likely destined for a return to the Hitmen for the coming season, but his pre-season debut is a nice reward for the hard work he’s put in thus far.