Grading the 2025-26 Calgary Flames defencemen and goaltenders

The time has now come for the second part of grading the Calgary Flames season. Today, we will move to the backend of the team and look at the defencemen and the goaltenders for this season.

As I did with the forwards, I limited it to players with 25 or more games played this season. I will make an exception to anyone who came over after the trade deadline and played a permanent role.

Kevin Bahl: A-

Kevin Bahl had a really solid first season as a Flame a year ago. We didn’t really know what we would be getting, but Bahl really came into his own as a rock-solid shutdown defender.

This year was no different, and I thought Bahl was slightly better this time around as well. He seemed to have really worked on his skating because it became clear that he was quicker this season. His decision-making with the puck was extremely solid, and his defending was still as good as it ever has been. With how depleted the defence became after the trades of Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar, Bahl will be depended on to lead the defence moving forward, and I have no doubt in my mind that he is the man for the job.

Olli Maatta: A-

The sample size is extremely small for Olli Maatta here, but he was fantastic after coming over in early March in the aforementioned Weegar trade. He produced at an insane rate, scoring 14 points in 20 games. Now, I fully expect Maatta not to produce at a 60-point pace next season, but he seemed to have found another gear after coming over to Calgary.

I like Maatta and his game a lot, and like with Bahl, he is going to be trusted with helping mentor and lead the younger players coming up. As someone who has a Stanley Cup on his resume, Maatta is one of those guys that I’m glad is on the roster and in the dressing room through this rebuild.

Yan Kuznetsov: B+

There are a handful of players that I didn’t envision becoming full-time NHL players this season. Yan Kuznetsov is right there at the top. He was called up in November, and he didn’t look back. He became a staple in the top four and did more than hold his own for a guy who barely played any NHL hockey before this season.

Now, there were definitely some struggles and some growing pains this season for Kuznetsov. But that was expected for a younger player playing a lot of minutes on a bad team. It will be super intriguing to see how Kuznetsov comes into next season and to see if he can build off the success he had this year.

Zayne Parekh: B-

This was not the rookie season I’m sure a lot of people envisioned Zayne Parekh having, but it certainly wasn’t the disaster that some people will try to convince you it was. He was barely playing to start the year, and he struggled with confidence issues.

Then, when he was finally gaining his footing, he got injured. That, however, may have been a blessing in disguise. By the time he was fully recovered, the World Juniors were just around the corner. The Flames made the wise choice to send Parekh. He not only went there and played well, but he also dominated. It was what he needed to get his swagger back. When he got back to Calgary, he joined the Wranglers on a conditioning stint, which again, he dominated. By the time he was back with the Flames, you could tell he had come back as a different player.

He was much more confident with the puck, and he was being that creative and crafty player that the Flames drafted. By the end of the season, he was playing over 20 minutes a night, and he became a difference maker. He has some kinks in his game to work out, especially on the defensive side of the puck, and he needs to get stronger going into next season. However, overall, if he plays like he did to end the season, there is a star here. You should be really excited about what Parekh is going to be long-term for the Flames.

Zach Whitecloud: B+

Zach Whitecloud came over in the trade that saw Andersson move over to Vegas. He was seen as a throw-in to make the cap space work for Vegas. But early on, it became clear that Whitecloud would be more than just a cap dump.

He came in and played a stabilizing game on the blue line. Nothing flashy, just a rock-solid player who was dependable in every situation. He played so well that he made Weegar expendable as a guy they could move on from. As I mentioned with Bahl and Maatta, he will be relied on to be a leader to the younger guys coming in. If he can play like he has since the trade, he very well could be a long-term piece moving forward for the Flames.

Hunter Brzustewicz: B

Another rookie success story from this season. Hunter Brzustewicz came up for the Flames and played really well for the team. A highly touted prospect whom the Flames acquired when they traded Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks, he spent last season in the AHL, and you could tell that was huge for his development.

He looked mature both physically and mentally when the Flames brought him up, and he improved with each game. Like Parekh, he has a few kinks he’ll need to work out. But he is much further along than I think a lot of us thought he would be at this point.

I’m still not entirely sure what his ceiling will be at the NHL level. If this season was any indicator, he is going to be a really important piece of the Flames moving into the future. I am really excited to see what he can bring to the table next season.

Brayden Pachal: C-

There isn’t much to report on for Brayden Pachal this year. Last year, he was rock solid, and he played pretty much the entire season. This year, he was limited to only 39 games because of the youth movement. He was left as the odd man out.

I don’t think Pachal was bad by any means. He just was not as impactful as he was a season ago on the defensive side of the game. He is still a fine guy to have as your 7th or 8th defencemen, but I think the days of him playing every day as a Flame are probably over.

Joel Hanley: C-

A lot like Pachal, Joel Hanley definitely took a step back this season, as many of us expected him to. Somehow, Hanley held his own playing on the top pair with Weegar for a majority of the season.

He was fine. Again, I don’t think he is necessarily a player the Flames need on their roster going into next season, with how many guys they have on the backend.

Dustin Wolf: B

After being the only reason the Flames were a point away from making the playoffs last season, Dustin Wolf did have a little bit of a sophomore slump this year. However, I don’t think it was his fault at all.

Wolf’s save percentage took a hit, as he finished the year with a .899sv%, a far cry from his .910sv% that he finished with a season ago. However, the team in front of him this year was awful. He faced high-danger chance, after high-danger chance, after-high danger chance the entirety of the season. I think it would have been insane to think he would stop them all.

There were definitely times when you would have liked a save from him, but I thought he had a good year overall despite the drop in numbers. He was much better after the Olympic break, and if there is one player I am not concerned at all with moving into the future, it’s Wolf. He has always been highly motivated. So, I totally expect a bounce back in a major way next season for the team’s number one goalie.

Devin Cooley: A+

When you look at what Devin Cooley was before going into this season, you would see him as an AHL goalie and nothing more, really. He won the backup goalie job out of camp because he just wasn’t as bad as Ivan Prosvetov, and the Flames had no one else.

Then the season started, and Cooley became one of the best goalies in the league. For a large majority of the season, he was in the top three of all goaltending stats, and he was stealing games for the Flames or at least keeping them much closer than they should have been all year long. He is the sole reason why the Flames probably aren’t picking first overall this summer. He became a fan favourite with his infectious attitude, and he was a quote machine. I think we were all cheering for him; I know I was, and he was rewarded with a nice contract extension.

Now, should we expect Cooley to be this good again next year? I am not entirely sure. For the future of the Flames’ goaltending, it would be nice for him to be the long-term backup option behind Wolf, but only time will tell, and again, I think everyone will be cheering for Cooley to be great again.