Say what? Getting to know the newest Calgary Flames prospect Owen Say

The Calgary Flames announced today that they have signed University of Notre Dame netminder Owen Say to a one-year two-way deal beginning next season. Here’s everything you need to know about him:

Who is Owen Say

The 23-year-old netminder played his early hockey in London, Ontario, with the London Knights junior system. Following that, he bounced around the CJHL before spending two years with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, where he put up over a 0.900 save percentage in both years he was there. He finished second in save percentage in his second year in the league, with a whopping 0.923 in 38 games.

Say then jumped over to the NCAA, joining the Mercyhurst University Lakers for his first two seasons. The Lakers are not a great program, with no prospects on their team in either year that Say played there. However, that didn’t stop him from putting up a 0.903 save percentage as a rookie then stealing the crease and putting up a 0.913 save percentage in his second year. These were the same numbers that Arseni Sergeev put up that year, but Say played 31 games while Sergeev had 16.

Say then entered the transfer portal and joined Notre Dame for his third year this past year. He was expected to play behind Washington Capitals prospect Nicholas Kempf, but stole the net from the fourth-rounder and put up a whopping 0.920 save percentage this season. What makes this even more impressive is that he did this at Notre Dame, who won 12 games all season. Say went 10–15 while putting up these numbers. Unreal!

For those wondering at home, no, Say did not ever play with legendary Flames prospect Jake Boltmann.

What does signing Say mean for the Flames?

Adding a netminder at this point is a really interesting move for the Flames in net. The Wranglers have Devin Cooley locked up for next season already but have RFA’s Waltteri Ignatjew and Connor Murphy to make decisions on. The former has not been great this season, putting up a 0.889 in 22 games this year, while the latter is an ECHL netminder. However, this is Ignatjew’s first season in North America and there is a good chance they give him a longer look.

What is more interesting is what the Flames do with their unsigned goalies going into next season. Arseni Sergeev is finishing up his third NCAA season, and put up a 0.915 save percentage in 30 games for Penn State. He could be in line for an ELC as well after putting up his third straight season with a save percentage greater than 0.900.

The team also has three goalies in Russia, Yegor Yegorov, Kirill Zarubin, and Daniil Chechelev. Leaving Chechelev aside, as he has now gone back to Russia, both of the others likely need at least one more season in Russia as neither has played regularly at the VHL level, let alone in the KHL.

This leaves the Flames with a number of goalies who will be fighting for minutes. Smart money would suggest the Flames sign Sergeev this summer after his playoffs are completed and run with him, Say, and Cooley in the AHL, with the odd man out making his way down to Rapid City.

There is a lot to like about Owen Say, and the Flames have been quite good at identifying talented goalies late in the draft or outside of it. Let’s see how he does.