The Flames have decisions to make on nine minor-league RFAs this spring

Friends, if you look at our rundowns of Calgary Flames prospects toiling in college and major junior hockey, you’re probably thinking to yourself, “Oh boy, there are a lot of players I’d like to see suit up with the Wranglers or Flames pretty soon.”

And yeah, the Flames have a lot of players they want to get into their pro development system and get on the path to the NHL. (Spoiler: for some players, the path is very short and direct.)

So, uh… who’s leaving to make room for these youngsters?

Well, the primary spot to look is usually pending restricted free agents at the minor-league level. These are usually guys that have been in the system and working on their game, but for one reason or another haven’t quite found the thing that’ll make them a successful pro and move them up the ladder.

This coming spring, the Flames have nine players on expiring deals that are eligible to become RFAs: goaltender Owen Say, blueliners Artem Grushnikov and Jeremie Poirier, and forwards William Strömgren, Carter King, Parker Bell, Lucas Ciona, Rory Kerins and Sam Morton.

We would say there are four guys we’re a bit concerned about right now: Grushnikov, Poirier, Bell and Ciona. In particular, we’re wondering about the two blueliners – Bell and Ciona have been in and out of the lineup, but when they’ve been in and playing their physical, up-tempo games, they’re quite good. But Grushnikov and Poirier have both been healthy scratches this season. With the Flames having oodles of young defenders in their pipeline, those two gentlemen may be under the gun in the second half to prove that they should remain in the Flames system.

Onto the updates!

Andrew Basha – LW/RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

20; Calgary’s second round pick (41st overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 5’11”, 174 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 8th-ranked prospect 2025

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	24	1	4	5	4	5	4	18	8.30
2024-25 (WHL)	23	9	20	29	24	12	9	73	31.22

Basha had an assist over two games.

Jacob Battaglia – LW/RW, Kingston Frontenacs, OHL

19; Calgary’s second round pick (62nd overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 196 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 7th-ranked prospect 2025

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	32	12	11	23	17	17	13	92	19.65
2024-25 (OHL)	68	40	50	90	67	57	45	239	35.06

Battaglia missed a game for undisclosed reasons – we’re assuming illness – and then got tossed for boarding in the game he played.

Parker Bell – LW/RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

22; Calgary’s fifth round pick (155th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; 6’4″, 192 pounds; shoots left

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	23	1	0	1	1	1	1	31	1.73
2024-25 (AHL)	61	7	5	12	9	12	9	67	7.84

Bell had a goal in two games.

Hunter Brzustewicz – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

20; Vancouver’s third round pick (75th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Vancouver; 6’0″, 190 pounds; shoots right; FN’s 3rd-ranked prospect 2025

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	23	4	8	12	9	6	5	28	20.79
2024-25 (AHL)	70	5	27	32	19	20	13	75	18.22

Brzustewicz is in the NHL.

Nick Cicek – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

25; free agent signing; 6’3″, 201 pounds; shoots left

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	30	3	9	12	7	9	4	32	15.94
2024-25 (DEL)	50	3	14	17	10	16	9	75	9.81

Cicek had an assist over two games. With Brzustewicz, his usual partner, in the NHL, he’s been paired with Etienne Morin.

Lucas Ciona – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

22; Calgary’s sixth round pick (173rd overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 210 pounds; shoots left

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	21	2	1	3	3	2	2	25	5.69
2024-25 (AHL)	68	8	14	22	18	17	14	91	12.89

Ciona had a goal over two games.

Matvei Gridin – RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

19; Calgary’s first round pick (28th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 182 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 4th-ranked prospect 2025

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	28	10	15	25	18	18	14	83	35.58
2024-25 (QMJHL)	56	36	43	79	58	40	32	236	32.85

Gridin had a goal over two games. His offensive output has slowed a little bit, but he’s still among the AHL’s freshman scoring leaders – he’s third currently behind Bakersfield’s Quinn Hutson (28 points) and Rockford’s Nick Lardis (26).

Artem Grushnikov – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

22; Dallas’ second round pick (48th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Dallas; 6’1″, 203 pounds; shoots left

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	26	0	0	0	0	0	0	23	0.00
2024-25 (AHL)	61	1	4	5	3	4	3	43	3.27

Grushnikov had no points in two games.

Trevor Hoskin – RW, Merrimack College Warriors, NCAA

21; Calgary’s fourth round pick (106th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 175 pounds; shoots right

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	17	4	13	17	10	9	6	25	32.23
2024-25 (NCAA)	36	12	27	39	29	28	23	80	17.23

Merrimack was off this week. They face Vermont on Dec. 29.

Axel Hurtig – D, Calgary Hitmen, WHL

20; Calgary’s seventh round pick (208th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’4″, 202 pounds; shoots left

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	28	3	5	8	7	8	6	48	7.08
2024-25 (WHL)	55	5	11	16	12	14	10	66	7.20

Hurtig had an assist in the lone Hitmen game this week.

Eric Jamieson – D, University of Denver Pioneers, NCAA

20; Calgary’s seventh round pick (208th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 200 pounds; shoots left

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	19	6	7	13	7	12	7	39	24.63
2024-25 (WHL)	66	14	22	36	26	27	19	175	13.51

Denver is off until Jan. 2.

Rory Kerins – C, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

23; Calgary’s sixth round pick (174th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 5’10”, 175 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 15th-ranked prospect 2025

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	27	11	14	25	20	16	14	55	36.90
2024-25 (AHL)	63	33	28	61	52	40	35	135	38.59

Kerins had a goal and an assist over two games.

Carter King – C, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

23; free agent signing; 5’11”, 190 pounds; shoots left

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	26	2	2	4	3	4	3	24	6.13
2024-25 (NCAA)	44	21	22	43	31	16	14	116	35.18

King had an assist over two games.

Hunter Laing – C/RW, Saskatoon Blades, WHL

19; Calgary’s sixth round pick (170th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’5″, 205 pounds; shoots right

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	30	15	17	32	24	17	15	69	26.41
2024-25 (WHL)	64	25	23	48	40	35	29	153	18.57

The Blades are in the middle of a break. They’re back at it on Dec. 27.

Aidan Lane – LW/RW, Harvard University Crimson, NCAA

18; Calgary’s sixth round pick (176th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 192 pounds; shoots right

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	11	5	1	6	6	6	6	31	12.52
2024-25 (OHL)	13	7	6	13	10	10	7	36	26.49

Harvard is off until Jan. 2.

Jakob Leander – D, HV71, U20 Nationell

18; Calgary’s seventh round pick (208th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’4″, 196 pounds; shoots right

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	22	1	5	6	5	6	5	26	4.47
2024-25 (J20)	39	1	5	6	3	5	3	33	2.52

HV71 is off until Jan. 10.

Jaden Lipinski – C, University of Maine Black Bears, NCAA

20; Calgary’s fourth round pick (112th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’4″, 204 pounds; shoots right

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	17	3	5	8	6	8	6	26	15.17
2024-25 (WHL)	59	17	41	58	45	30	27	134	24.34

Maine is back in action on Jan. 2.

Cade Littler – C, University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, NCAA

21; Calgary’s seventh round pick (219th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 197 pounds; shoots right

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	16	4	4	8	7	6	5	33	18.00
2024-25 (NCAA)	33	7	2	9	8	9	8	30	9.82

North Dakota is back in action on Jan. 2.

Yan Matveiko – C, Krasnaya Armiya Moskva, MHL

19; Calgary’s seventh round pick (211th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 150 pounds; shoots left

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	29	13	15	28	17	22	13	46	11.32
2024-25 (MHL)	42	10	14	24	20	21	17	68	6.70

Matveiko is injured.

Luke Misa – LW/C, Penn State University Nittany Lions, NCAA

19; Calgary’s fifth round pick (150th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 5’10”, 170 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 13th-ranked prospect 2025

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	16	2	1	3	2	3	2	33	5.12
2024-25 (OHL)	67	34	51	85	58	63	43	211	33.60

Penn State is off until Jan. 3.

Etienne Morin – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL/Rapid City Rush, ECHL

20; Calgary’s second round pick (48th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; 6’0″, 180 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 10th-ranked prospect 2025

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
AHL season to date	12	1	0	1	1	1	1	11	3.32
ECHL season to date	7	1	3	4	2	1	1	20	13.12
2024-25 (QMJHL)	62	14	44	58	29	40	24	222	21.79

Morin had no points in two games. He’s been playing on the Wranglers’ de facto second pairing with Nick Cicek.

Mace’o Phillips – D, Green Bay Gamblers, USHL

18; Calgary’s third round pick (80th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’6″, 228 pounds; shoots left

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	17	1	3	4	2	3	2	39	5.54
2024-25 (USHL)	25	2	1	3	3	3	3	31	2.76

Phillips is back in action with Green Bay on Dec. 27.

Jeremie Poirier – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

23; Calgary’s third round pick (72nd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 196 pounds; shoots left

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	23	1	4	5	2	4	1	36	8.66
2024-25 (AHL)	71	5	37	42	23	26	15	132	23.57

Poirier had an assist in one game.

Cullen Potter – C, Arizona State University Sun Devils, NCAA

18; Calgary’s first round pick (32nd overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 5’10”, 172 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 5th-ranked prospect 2025

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	18	6	10	16	14	5	4	56	32.00
2024-25 (NCAA)	35	13	9	22	16	17	13	118	22.63

The Sun Devils were off this week. They’ll face those stuffed shirts at Dartmouth on Dec. 27.

Cole Reschny – C, University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, NCAA

18; Calgary’s first round pick (18th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 5’11”, 183 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 2nd-ranked prospect 2025

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	16	2	16	18	12	8	7	31	40.50
2024-25 (WHL)	62	26	66	92	70	48	46	213	36.75

Reschny is with the Canadian national junior team.

Theo Stockselius – C, Djurgårdens IF, U20 Nationell/SHL

18; Calgary’s second round pick (54th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’2″, 181 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 12th-ranked prospect 2025

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
U20 season to date	7	1	8	9	6	7	5	23	21.09
SHL season to date	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
2024-25 (J20)	40	22	29	51	38	35	29	93	20.91

Djurgardens is off until Jan. 10. Stockselius has been out since mid-October with a skate cut.

William Strömgren – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

22; Calgary’s second round pick (45th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 175 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 16th-ranked prospect 2025

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	27	2	18	20	13	13	8	25	29.52
2024-25 (AHL)	70	14	35	49	35	26	20	107	27.90

Strömgren had no points in two games.

Aydar Suniev – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

20; Calgary’s third round pick (80th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’2″, 198 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 9th-ranked prospect 2025

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	25	7	2	9	9	5	5	34	14.35
2024-25 (NCAA)	35	20	18	38	31	21	17	119	34.99

Suniev is out week-to-week with an injury.

Ethan Wyttenbach – RW, Quinnipiac University Bobcats, NCAA

18; Calgary’s fifth round pick (144th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 5’10”, 180 pounds; shoots right; FN’s 20th-ranked prospect 2025

	GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	18	9	16	25	21	13	12	38	31.89
2024-25 (USHL)	44	24	27	51	42	38	30	127	26.61

Quinnipiac is off until Jan. 2.

Owen Say – G, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

24; free agent signing; 6’2″, 185 pounds

	GP	TOI	SV%
Season to date	15	759	.894
2024-25 (NCAA)	27	1531	.920

Say started once and made 46 saves in an overtime loss.

Arsenii Sergeev – G, Rapid City Rush, ECHL / Calgary Wranglers, AHL

21; Calgary’s seventh round pick (205th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 192 pounds

	GP	TOI	SV%
AHL season to date	1	60	.981
ECHL season to date	12	714	.922
2024-25 (NCAA)	33	1982	.919

Sergeev made his AHL debut this past week, stopping a franchise record 52 pucks in a win during Winter Wranglerfest.

Yegor Yegorov – G, MHK Spartak-MAX, MHL

20; Calgary’s sixth round pick (176th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 183 pounds

	GP	TOI	SV%
Season to date	17	1011	.923
2024-25 (MHL)	20	1032	.904

Yegorov has been idle lately, as Spartak-MAX is juggling four or five goalies on their roster and leaning on some of their younger, lesser-used netminders.

Kirill Zarubin – G, AKM Tula, MHL

20; Calgary’s third round pick (84th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 178 pounds; FN’s 18th-ranked prospect 2025

	GP	TOI	SV%
Season to date	25	1468	.936
2024-25 (MHL)	21	1157	.935

Zarubin played twice and tallied a win and a loss.