How have the Flames’ 2023 draft prospects progressed?

Craig Conroy took over as general manager of the Calgary Flames in the 2023 off-season, and the 2023 NHL Draft was his first at the helm of the hockey club. We’ve discussed for the last few days the importance of the Flames utilizing their drafting and development if they want to move their team towards contention, driven by their young players.

Well, the 2023 NHL Draft class – or at least the players first eligible for draft selection in 2023 – show a bit of how the Flames think they’ll be able to pull off their retool. The 2023 class are players born between Sept. 16, 2004 and Sept. 15, 2005.

The 2024-25 campaign was the second season for this cohort since their first year of draft eligibility. Here’s how they’ve progressed looking at their year-by-year stats and their NHLe (NHL equivalent) scoring rates.

G Yegor Yegorov

A sixth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft – continuing the Flames “take a goalie late” trend that’s showed some nice results with Dustin Wolf (2019) and Arsenii Sergeev (2021) thus far – Yegorov has remained in Russia as he’s kept working on his game.

• Draft (2022-23): .915 save percentage in 15 games (MHK Dynamo Moskva, MHL)
• Draft+1 (2023-24): .917 save percentage in 25 games (MHK Dynamo Moskva, MHL)
• Draft+2 (2024-25): .870 save percentage in 4 games (HK Tambov, VHL), .891 in 8 games (MHK Tambov, NMHL), .904 in 20 saves (MHK Krylia Sovetov Moskva, MHL)

Here’s a trend: when Yegorov has a consistent role and is on one team, he doesn’t pretty well. When he bounces around a bunch, as he did in 2024-25, he doesn’t do as well. It’s worth noting, too, that he spent time in second-tier Russian pro (VHL), second-tier junior (NMHL), top-tier junior (MHL) and backed up for a game in the KHL. That’s a lot of different stuff thrown at him in one year. Maybe he’ll get a clearer role within Spartak’s system in 2025-26.

D Hunter Brzustewicz

Brzustewicz was a third-round selection by Vancouver in the 2023 NHL Draft. He was traded to the Flames as part of the Elias Lindholm trade last season. He’s a right shot blueliner.

• Draft (2022-23): 57 points in 68 games (Kitchener, OHL; 22.2 NHLe)
• Draft+1 (2023-24): 92 points in 67 games (Kitchener, OHL; 36.4 NHLe)
• Draft+2 (2024-25): 32 points in 70 games (Calgary, AHL; 18.2 NHLe), 0 points in 1 game (Calgary, NHL; 0.0 NHLe)

Brzustewicz is a late birthday, and so he moved into the AHL ranks in his second post-draft season. He’s adjusted pretty well and while his offensive numbers aren’t as bonkers as they were in his final OHL season, but it’s hard to quibble with his progression. He figured the OHL out quickly after moving there from the U.S. National Development Program, and he figured out the AHL fairly well this season.

He has another two seasons left on his entry-level deal.

D Axel Hurtig

A physically mature (e.g., big) left shot blueliner from Sweden, the Flames selected him in the seventh round in the 2023 draft. He was selected by the Calgary Hitmen in the CHL’s Import Draft in 2023 and came over a year later.

• Draft (2022-23): 3 points in 8 games (Rogle, J18; NHLe N/A), 8 points in 34 games (Rogle, J20; 3.9 NHLe)
• Draft+1 (2023-24): 11 points in 27 games (Rogle, J20; 6.7 NHLe), 0 points in 7 games (Rogle, SHL; 0.0 NHLe), 1 point in 4 games (Kristianstads, HockeyEttan; NHLe N/A)
• Draft+2 (2024-25): 16 points in 55 games (Calgary, WHL; 7.2 NHLe)

Does Hurtig project as a dynamic offensive blueliner? Not really. He’ll probably be a shutdown defender if he makes it. But he’s adjusted really nicely to the WHL and was one of the most dependable defensive players on a good Hitmen team. His ability to adapt and adjust – and slightly increase his offensive production – is a sign that maybe he can keep progressing.

D Eric Jamieson

Selected in his second year of draft eligibility, Jamieson was a sixth-round selection by the Flames in 2024. He projects as a two-way left shot defender.

• Draft (2022-23): 13 points in 65 games (Everett, WHL; 5.0 NHLe)
• Draft+1 (2023-24): 32 points in 66 games (Everett, WHL; 12.0 NHLe)
• Draft+2 (2024-25): 36 points in 66 games (Everett, WHL; 13.5 NHLe)

Jamieson is a pretty consistent, reliable 200-foot player. He’s good enough at the details of his defensive game that Everett’s coaching staff had him as the defensive partner for exceptional status rookie Landon DuPont this past season. That’s a pretty strong endorsement of his overall game.

Jamieson’s off to college at the University of Denver in the fall.

D Etienne Morin

A puck-moving left shot blueliner from the QMJHL, Morin was a second-round pick in 2023.

• Draft (2022-23): 72 points in 67 games (Moncton, QMJHL; 25.0 NHLe)
• Draft+1 (2023-24): 49 points in 58 games (Moncton, QMJHL; 19.7 NHLe), 0 points in 1 game (Calgary, AHL; 0.0 NHLe)
• Draft+2 (2024-25): 58 points in 62 games (Moncton, QMJHL; 21.8 NHLe)

Morin is one of those players where the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Is his offensive production pretty consistent? Yep. Does that mean his game hasn’t progressed? Nope. Folks who watch more QMJHL hockey than we do say his play away from the puck has taken a big step and so he’s becoming a pretty complete blueliner.

His entry-level deal begins in 2025-26.

F Sam Honzek

Honzek was the Flames’ first-round pick in 2023. (He was the first player Conroy selected as general manager.) He’s a left shot forward.

• Draft (2022-23): 56 points in 43 games (Vancouver, WHL; 32.3 NHLe)
• Draft+1 (2023-24): 31 points in 33 games (Vancouver, WHL; 23.3 NHLe), 0 points in 2 games (Calgary, AHL; 0.0 NHLe)
• Draft+2 (2024-25): 21 points in 52 games (Calgary, AHL; 16.1 NHLe), 0 points in 5 games (Calgary, NHL; 0.0 NHLe)

On one hand, Honzek’s NHLe figures are trending in the wrong direction. On the other hand, he’s dealt with some injuries and then adjusting to pro hockey. Honzek still has three years on his ELC – this season was a slide year – and the hope is that things will start moving in a better direction for him offensively.

F Jaden Lipinski

Lipinski was a fourth-round pick by the Flames in 2023. He’s a right shot forward that plays centre and the wing.

• Draft (2022-23): 51 points in 66 games (Vancouver, WHL; 19.1 NHLe)
• Draft+1 (2023-24): 66 points in 67 games (Vancouver, WHL; 24.4 NHLe), 0 points in 1 game (Calgary, AHL; 0.0 NHLe)
• Draft+2 (2024-25): 58 points in 59 games (Vancouver, WHL; 24.3 NHLe), 0 points in 2 games (Calgary, AHL; 0.0 NHLe)

On one hand, Lipinski has had consistently good face-off numbers in the Dub. On the other hand, his offensive numbers have been pretty much unchanged – give or take a slight wobble – since being drafted.

The Flames have until June 1 to sign Lipinski to an ELC, or else they lose his rights.

F Aydar Suniev

A third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, Suniev is a left shot forward.

• Draft (2022-23): 90 points in 50 games (Penticton, BCHL; 11.8 NHLe)
• Draft+1 (2023-24): 25 points in 36 games (Massachusetts, Hockey East; 22.4 NHLe)
• Draft+2 (2024-25): 38 points in 35 games (Massachusetts, Hockey East; 35.0 NHLe), 0 points in 1 game (Calgary, NHL; 0.0 NHLe)

Suniev has progressed really nicely since being drafted. He moved to college after junior A and adjusted well, then he found another level to his game as a sophomore. He’s signed his ELC and made his NHL debut at the end of this season, so we’ll see how he adjusts to pro hockey in 2025-26.