Matt Coronato is ready for prime time with younger, more motivated Flames

After being selected No. 13 overall by the Flames back in the 2021 NHL Draft, Coronato followed in the footsteps of former Flames prospect Adam Fox in heading to Harvard and immediately making an impact.

Unlike Fox, however, Coronato eventually signed with the Flames after playing two seasons with the Crimson. The Greenlawn, N.Y. product racked up 38 goals and 72 points in 68 games over his two seasons in the Ivy League.

Coronato also skated in five games with Team USA at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, tying for second on the team leaderboard with seven points (four goals, three assists).

Now, with the Flames making it crystal clear that they plan to return to the playoffs while also doing a better job of integrating rookies into the lineup than in previous seasons, Coronato’s time has come.

With Pelletier out of commission for the time being, Coronato’s main competition in Flames camp is currently the likes of Walker Duehr, Dryden Hunt, Adam Ruzicka, Connor Zary, and Adam Klapka.

But what Coronato has at his disposal that few others in the organization do is his world-class shot. He used it to his full advantage throughout his tenure at Harvard, scoring more goals during his two NCAA seasons than practically anyone else his age.

Take, as an example, Matthew Knies, who played on a line with superstar prospect Logan Cooley at the University of Minnesota. Coronato didn’t have anyone on his line even close to Cooley’s talent level, but he still scored 20 goals in just 34 games last year — compared to 21 in 40 for Knies.

Mackie Samoskevich, Jimmy Snuggerud, Rutger McGroarty, Josh Doan, and Brendan Brisson are all top prospects who stood out at their respective NCAA schools over the last two seasons, but Coronato managed to outproduce (or at least match) all of them. The only players reliably ahead of Coronato at his age were the blue-chippers, guys like Cooley and Adam Fantilli.

That’s not to say Coronato didn’t have any help at Harvard. Sean Farrell and Alex Laferriere both finished with more points than him last year. They’re also both middle-round draft picks who are a year older than Coronato. The Flames prospect is the real prize of that group and the one who could make an immediate impact in the NHL.

It’s not a matter of whether Coronato plays with the Flames this year but rather where he might fit in the lineup. The Flames have historically preferred to slot Mangiapane and Coleman on Backlund’s wings, which would free up both Sharangovich and Coronato to take on other assignments.

New Flames head coach Ryan Huska has tried the sharpshooting Sharangovich on the right side of the top line with Huberdeau and Elias Lindholm for extended stretches of training camp, but Mangiapane now occupies that spot. It seems like only a matter of time before Coronato is rotated into that position.

Coronato isn’t the only youngster pushing for a spot in Calgary. Smooth-skating Belarusian defenseman Ilya Solovyov also has his sights set on a bottom-pairing position with the big club, while Klapka and Zary both have an outside chance of cracking the fourth line. Pelletier will play more NHL games after he returns to full health.

But with just three games left on the Flames’ exhibition schedule, Coronato appears to be on the inside track toward locking down a top-nine role with the team. As the games become more meaningful, it’s worth keeping an eye on the Flames’ No. 39 to monitor how he rises to the occasion.

The team’s playoff hopes might end up depending on it.