Martin Frk brought a combination of veteran leadership and clutch scoring to the Wranglers in 2024-25

Earlier in his AHL career, Frk also won a Calder Cup with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the 2016-17 season. 

2024-25 expectations

As a 31 year old, Frk came to Calgary as a depth piece. He still has NHL potential and would benefit the organization in a developmental or reinforcement role. He felt like someone who would skate in a handful of games with the Flames but that was before players like Rory Kerins and Clark Bishop stepped up their games to earn NHL time. 

Frk was aware he is past his prime and didn’t expect to steal spots away from the young guys looking to make a splash early in their professional career. He hadn’t played in North America in over a year so the point production wasn’t expected to be one of the best on the team but his skill and potential were known. 

2024-25 results

When the season started with the Wranglers, they were pretty forward-heavy. Walker Duehr and Jakob Pelletier were with the team still and others like Dryden Hunt, Rory Kerins, Sam Morton, and William Stromgren had historical performance that earned them spots.

Frk started a little lower in the line combinations and by the end of the season, he was a top two line guy. When Dryden Hunt, Rory Kerins or Clark Bishop were up with the Flames, he was an easy piece to move up to fill in some gaps. He played alongside William Stromgren, Sam Honzek, Clark Bishop, Rory Kerins and Sam Morton at different points in the season but mostly stuck with Bishop and Honzek’s line. When members of the leadership were called up as well, Frk would be one of the guys wearing an A to fill in as one of the alternate captains. 

Martin Frk finished the regular season second in team scoring just under Rory Kerins. He played 67 games with 27 goals and 33 assists, averaging nearly a point per game. He had some big goals like his five game winning goals and seven power play goals. 

His individual standout performance of the year was on Apr. 12 against the Abbotsford Canucks where he scored a hat trick and a shootout goal in the Wranglers’ win. This is the same Abbotsford Canucks currently playing in the AHL Western Conference Finals against the Texas Stars.

In their two playoff games, Frk had his best performance in game one against the Coachella Valley Firebirds where he had two assists and four shots. He was a big part of setting up the comeback that forced this game to a triple overtime decision. 

When Frk looked back at his season during the team’s exit meetings, this is what he said about his play:

“If I could take it back, I didn’t start really well. The first 20 games were tough, but then kind of I turned the page, so it was good, you know, I’m happy, you know, that’s I feel like that’s what they signed me for to be able to produce points, help the team to win a lot of games. Hopefully I did a good job in their eyes or in their mind.”

Next season’s expectations

Martin Frk’s contract was just a one-year, two-way deal but he proved there is still gas in the tank. His production put him 13th overall in the AHL in goals and point totals and if the Flames find themselves out of room, surely there is another organization that can utilize him. 

Frk has enjoyed his time in Calgary so far and said in regards to the summer and his contract status:

“We’ll see how it goes, but you know, I guess we all want to come back and be part of this team and this organization. Especially me, I really like it here. It’s a home now for me, so I would like to come back for sure.”

Frk has had three years in a row in the AHL at 60 points or above and would be a great leader to keep around the next round of young guys expected to come in for the Wranglers this fall.