Flames prospect-watching is going to get hectic very quickly

Pals, most of the columns we’ve written on the site regarding the Calgary Flames’ prospects have been about rookie camp games… or Europeans playing their regular seasons already. They’re fun to write, but prospect-watching and tracking is relatively simple at present.

But it won’t be for very long.

Over the past week, the Flames have sent three prospects back to their junior teams. All three will be making their regular season debuts on Friday night:

• Mace’o Phillips will make his debut with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers. (That’s on FloHockey.)
• Axel Hurtig will start his second season with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen. (That’s on Victory Plus)
• Jacob Battaglia will start his fourth season with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs. (That’s also on FloHockey.)

And then, in another week, the college seasons start getting going and things will get downright nutty.

Here’s this week’s update.

Jakob Leander – D, HV71, U20 Nationell

18; Calgary’s seventh round pick (208th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’4″, 196 pounds; shoots right

Leander continues to play the top pairing for HV71, but he registered zero points this week. So far, HV71 has won twice in four games.

Yan Matveiko – C, Krasnaya Armiya Moskva, MHL

19; Calgary’s seventh round pick (211th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 150 pounds; shoots left

Man, Matveiko (and his team) are fascinating right now. He’s playing a ton and he’s third in scoring on the league’s top team. But the team is an absolute wagon and, based on face-offs, he’s their worst centre. But he’s a big part of their team game and he’s objectively helping them win games, even though he’s streaky so far this season.

Team is a wagon. 8 wins, 7 in regulation, in 9 games.

Theo Stockselius – C, Djurgårdens IF, U20 Nationell

18; Calgary’s second round pick (54th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’2″, 181 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 12th-ranked prospect 2025

Stockselius had his point streak snapped this weekend. And his team is off to a slow start, with just one win in four outings.

Yegor Yegorov – G, MHK Spartak-MAX, MHL

20; Calgary’s sixth round pick (176th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 183 pounds

Yegorov is alternating starts with teammate Yuri Ivanov. Their team has won twice in five games.

Kirill Zarubin – G, AKM Tula, MHL

19; Calgary’s third round pick (84th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 178 pounds; FN’s 18th-ranked prospect 2025

Zarubin is still alternating starts with Victor Levchenko. Their team has won twice in six games.