Last week, friends, we talked about signing szn when it came to prospects. And hey, the Calgary Flames signed Joni Jurmo shortly afterwards. That’s kind of fun.
This week, let’s talk playoffs!
The NCAA conference tournaments are complete. The NCAA begins their national championship tournament on Thursday. In Canada, major junior playoffs begin this coming weekend.
In terms of the AHL, the Calgary Wranglers are virtually guaranteed a playoff spot. After Tuesday’s loss to Coachella Valley, their magic number to clinch a playoff spot was seven points – earned by them or not earned by Henderson – with nine games left. It’s not a lock, but it’s pretty close. If the Wranglers go .500, they’re in easily.
The fascinating thing, to me, will be to examine how the Wranglers handle their last nine games. They have dates with Coachella Valley (1), San Jose (2), Bakersfield (2) and Abbotsford (4) left on the docket. Aside from the Barracuda, those are seven games against playoff opponents. Can the Wranglers round themselves into playoff form in time for the third week in April? And can they do that while adding some extra bodies from around the Flames system like Parker Bell and Jurmo whose club seasons have ended?
Like I said: it’s going to be fascinating, because the Wranglers have a few different things to juggle all at once.
Let’s dive into this week’s prospect update!
20; Calgary’s fifth round pick (155th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 59 | 33 | 31 | 64 | 50 | 35 | 31 | 231 | 26.86 |
2022-23 | 55 | 25 | 39 | 64 | 51 | 36 | 28 | 187 | 28.82 |
Tri-City missed the playoffs and their season is over. All indications are that Bell will soon be joining the Wranglers for the remainder of the season.
22; Calgary’s third round pick (80th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 30 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 36 | 1.82 |
2022-23 (NCAA) | 37 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 42 | 3.69 |
Boltmann’s NCAA season and college career are complete.
19; Vancouver’s third round pick (75th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Vancouver
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 67 | 13 | 79 | 92 | 46 | 65 | 34 | 140 | 36.37 |
2022-23 (OHL) | 68 | 6 | 51 | 57 | 32 | 31 | 21 | 110 | 22.20 |
Kitchener has finished their regular season and Brzustewicz had one of the most productive seasons by a blueliner in the OHL and in Kitchener history.
Hats off to Hunter Brzustewicz for matching the all-time #OHLRangers single season record for points by a defenceman! Brew ties Jason Gladney (1993-94) with 92 points this season. He also passed Gladney for the most assists by a Rangers d-man in a single season with 79! pic.twitter.com/myR2z0TBl7
— Kitchener Rangers (@OHLRangers) March 25, 2024
They’re matched up with the Erie Otters in the first round of the playoffs.
21; Calgary’s sixth round pick (173rd overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 11th-ranked prospect
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 53 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 62 | 4.51 |
2022-23 (WHL) | 63 | 28 | 47 | 75 | 53 | 54 | 37 | 194 | 29.48 |
Ciona played in three of the Wranglers’ four games. He had an assist, but otherwise was quiet.
21; Calgary’s first round pick (13th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 2nd-ranked prospect
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 40 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 28 | 27 | 17 | 137 | 41.84 |
2022-23 (NCAA) | 34 | 20 | 16 | 36 | 31 | 19 | 16 | 141 | 24.31 |
Coronato is in the NHL. He’s eligible to return for the AHL’s playoffs.
23; Dallas’ fifth round pick (137th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Dallas
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 62 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 93 | 15.43 |
2022-23 (AHL) | 59 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 24 | 18 | 14 | 87 | 20.94 |
Damiani scored his first as a Wrangler against Coachella Valley on Tuesday night. He’s playing primarily in their bottom six.
Damiani notches his first goal with the Wranglers! pic.twitter.com/dd10xS3sey
— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) March 27, 2024
20; Dallas’ second round pick (48th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Dallas
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 56 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 61 | 4.27 |
2022-23 (OHL) | 65 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 10 | 14 | 9 | 116 | 6.93 |
Grushnikov registered his first point as a Wrangler, an assist, against Coachella Valey.
19; Calgary’s first round pick (16th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 4th-ranked prospect
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
WHL season to date | 33 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 22 | 16 | 11 | 86 | 23.26 |
WJC season to date | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | n/a |
2022-23 (WHL) | 43 | 23 | 33 | 56 | 40 | 36 | 26 | 134 | 32.25 |
Honzek completed a rather pedestrian regular season offensively with an assist this week. This year’s been a bit of a wash for him, between his abdominal injury and then a jaw injury after the World Juniors that saw him wear a shield for awhile. He can erase the bad taste of this regular season with a good playoffs, though.
The Giants are matched up with Everett in the first round.
18; Calgary’s seventh round pick (208th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
J20 season to date | 27 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 54 | 15.10 |
SHL season to date | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
HockeyEttan season to date | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | n/a |
2022-23 (J20) | 34 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 47 | 3.82 |
Hurtig’s season is complete, as Rögle was beaten in three games (of their best-of-three playoff series) with Frölunda. Hurtig had zero points and was minus-3 over three games.
24; Free agent signing; 12th-ranked prospect
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 63 | 20 | 21 | 41 | 32 | 27 | 22 | 182 | 25.94 |
2022-23 (AHL) | 71 | 17 | 37 | 54 | 41 | 28 | 21 | 202 | 30.31 |
Jones keeps doing his thing. He had a goal and an assist over four games.
21; Vancouver’s third round pick (82nd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Vancouver
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Liiga season to date | 46 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 63 | 4.03 |
CHL season to date | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | n/a |
2022-23 (Liiga) | 52 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 118 | 9.27 |
Jurmo signed his entry-level deal with the Flames. He’s expected to join the Wranglers on an amateur try-out deal shortly.
21; Calgary’s sixth round pick (174th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 14th-ranked prospect
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 46 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 23 | 18 | 14 | 104 | 24.26 |
2022-23 (ECHL) | 38 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 31 | 25 | 21 | 117 | 22.36 |
Kerins played zero of the Wranglers’ four games this past week.
23; Free agent signing; 18th-ranked prospect
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 57 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 31 | 28 | 20 | 156 | 27.97 |
2022-23 (AHL) | 60 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 18 | 16 | 11 | 103 | 16.61 |
Klapka keeps doing his thing. He had four points over four games this past week.
23; Calgary’s fourth round pick (108th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 43 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 77 | 9.61 |
2022-23 (NCAA) | 37 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 67 | 13.28 |
Koumontzis slid out of the Steelheads’ forward rotation after going cold offensively for a few games.
21; Calgary’s second round pick (50th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 17th-ranked prospect
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 56 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 82 | 8.54 |
2022-23 (AHL) | 63 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 11 | 19 | 11 | 65 | 12.02 |
Kuznetsov played twice and was scratched twice.
19; Calgary’s fourth round pick (112th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 16th-ranked prospect
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 67 | 24 | 42 | 66 | 47 | 33 | 23 | 181 | 24.39 |
2022-23 (WHL) | 66 | 19 | 32 | 51 | 36 | 35 | 23 | 152 | 19.14 |
Lipinski finished off a really nice 19-year-old season. He was named a second team divisional all-star.
Introducing the 2023-24 Second Team All-Stars from the B.C. Division!
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 26, 2024
19; Calgary’s seventh round pick (219th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
USHL season to date | 13 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 30 | 19.43 |
BCHL season to date | 24 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 17 | 9 | 6 | – | 5.51 |
2022-23 (BCHL) | 51 | 29 | 39 | 68 | 47 | 36 | 27 | – | 8.75 |
Littler is out for the rest of the regular season with an injury.
24; Free agent signing
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 46 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 100 | 13.00 |
2022-23 (AHL) | 51 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 16 | 13 | 6 | 124 | 24.22 |
Lyle is injured. He last played on Feb. 19.
18; Calgary’s second round pick (48th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; tied for 5th-ranked prospect
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 58 | 12 | 37 | 49 | 32 | 21 | 13 | 191 | 19.67 |
2022-23 (QMJHL) | 67 | 21 | 51 | 72 | 47 | 34 | 21 | 213 | 25.03 |
Morin finished off a fairly disappointing offensive season. But like Honzek, he can erase that with a good post-season. Moncton plays Chicoutimi in the first round.
24; Free agent signing
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
NCAA season to date | 37 | 24 | 10 | 34 | 32 | 20 | 19 | 151 | 24.00 |
AHL season to date | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 23.91 |
2022-23 (NCAA) | 10 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 21.00 |
Morton had a couple points over four games this week. He’s settled into a nice spot in-between Ben Jones and Jakob Pelletier on the Wranglers’ top line.
22; Calgary’s third round pick (88th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 29 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 33 | 8.25 |
2022-23 (ECHL) | 40 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 21 | 22 | 15 | 97 | 18.94 |
Nikolaev didn’t play any of the Wranglers’ games this week.
22; Calgary’s first round pick (26th overall); 3rd-ranked prospect
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 31.00 |
2022-23 (AHL) | 35 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 32 | 18 | 14 | 92 | 42.13 |
Pelletier found his mojo a bit offensively, with four points in four games. (Disclaimer: three of the points all came in the same game.)
21; Calgary’s third round pick (72nd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; tied for 5th-ranked prospect
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 16 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 32 | 29.89 |
2022-23 (AHL) | 69 | 9 | 32 | 41 | 20 | 21 | 13 | 172 | 23.68 |
Poirier went a bit quiet offensively, with just a single power play assist over four games.
22; Florida’s third round pick (81st overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Florida; 9th-ranked prospect
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 57 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 25 | 21 | 14 | 114 | 23.07 |
2022-23 (AHL) | 70 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 118 | 18.22 |
In 13 fewer games, Schwindt has surpassed last season’s point output. He passed 2022-23’s production with a three point week. And if you look at his underlyings: he’s less reliant on power play time for scoring and putting more pucks on net than a year ago. He’s still just 22.
23; Calgary’s seventh round pick (205th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 8th-ranked prospect
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 45 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 77 | 11.51 |
2022-23 (AHL) | 68 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 9 | 16 | 8 | 82 | 10.55 |
The same week that Poirier went a bit quiet offensively, Solovyov – typically a shutdown type – had a two-goal game and three points overall. Hockey’s weird sometimes.
20; Calgary’s second round pick (45th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 19th-ranked prospect
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 59 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 67 | 13.51 |
2022-23 (SHL) | 45 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 31 | 8.69 |
Strömgren continued his quietly effective back-half of the season with a three point week.
19; Calgary’s third round pick (80th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 13th-ranked prospect
GP | G | A | P | P1 | 5v5 P |
5v5 P1 | SH | NHLe | |
Season to date | 35 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 100 | 23.02 |
2022-23 (BCHL) | 50 | 45 | 45 | 90 | 73 | 47 | 40 | – | 11.81 |
Suniev and UMass were walloped by Boston College and eliminated from their conference tournament, but qualified for the NCAA national tournament as an at-large team. They’ll face Denver on Thursday in their region’s semi-final round.
22; Calgary’s fourth round pick (96th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft
GP | TOI | SV% | |
KHL season to date | 1 | 58 | .880 |
VHL season to date | 5 | 271 | .908 |
2022-23 (ECHL) | 39 | 2135 | .892 |
Chechelev’s season is finished.
20; Calgary’s seventh round pick (205th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 15th-ranked prospect
GP | TOI | SV% | |
Season to date | 16 | 934 | .913 |
2022-23 (NCAA) | 19 | 1104 | .912 |
Sergeev’s season is finished.
22; Calgary’s seventh round pick (214th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft; 1st-ranked prospect
GP | TOI | SV% | |
Season to date | 35 | 2025 | .923 |
2022-23 (AHL) | 55 | 3239 | .932 |
With Dan Vladar getting shut down for the season, Wolf will be with the NHL club for the remainder of the regular season. He’s eligible to return for the AHL’s playoffs.
18; Calgary’s sixth round pick (176th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft
GP | TOI | SV% | |
Season to date | 25 | 1319 | .917 |
2022-23 (MHL) | 15 | 786 | .915 |
Yegorov’s season is finished.
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