5 Wranglers forwards who could enter Flames lineup this season

This season has been one of major ups and downs for the Calgary Flames, and while there have been some major negatives, the youth injection of Connor Zary, Martin Pospisil and Nick DeSimone have hopefully shown the Flames front office the way forward. With the rumours swirling about Calgary and the trade market, it’s safe to say that many Calgary Wranglers will be eyeing off a chance at the NHL level in 2023-24, but the question now becomes, who makes way for the high-flying AHL squad members?

At this point, there are two obvious candidates in the Flames lineup that just haven’t been playing the way fans and management would expect in Adam Ruzicka and Dillon Dube, and whether they are traded or simply benched, they’ve got limited time to prove they belong at the NHL level for Calgary. In the case that Ryan Huska decides to once again go back to the well of the AHL, these are the five players to keep an eye on that could join the Flames team this season if neither Ruzicka nor Dube can find their game.

5. Cole Schwindt

Cole Schwindt is the often forgotten member of the Matthew Tkachuk to Florida trade, as Jonathan Huberdeau and Mackenzie Weegar steal the attention away, and while he’s not lighting it up at the AHL level, he’s clearly got plenty of potential. In 142 games over his past two full AHL seasons, Schwindt has tallied 33 goals and 72 points, so while the production isn’t there, he’s more than capable of going on massive scoring runs, something that could be useful at the top level.

While he may never be considered a top-six player in the NHL, Sportsnet writer Eric Francis mentioned last week that he’s a name to watch this season if the Flames do sell some of their top UFA’s and look to the youth movement, and at 22-years of age, he’s got plenty of time ahead of him. Martin Pospisil wasn’t producing and what some would consider and NHL level with the Wranglers, but has given this team a spark at the top level, and alongside AJ Greer and another grinding player, we could see the best of Schwindt at the next level, so don’t rule it out.

4. Emilio Pettersen

The Calgary Flames have found plenty of value late in the draft over the past few decades, with the likes of Martin Pospisil, Matthew Phillips, Johnny Gaudreau and Dustin Wolf examples of that, and now, they may have another late-round pick joining the fray. At 23 years of age, Emilio Pettersen has been with the Flames since he was taken 167th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, and after struggling to get rolling, it appears he has now found his game, as he’s off to another great start in 2023-24 after a 44 point outing a season ago.

In 18 games this year, Pettersen has 12 points for the red hot Wranglers, and while he doesn’t bring the size of Ruzicka or the experience of Dube, he has something that neither of them have shown this year and that’s a positive upside. Everywhere Pettersen has played he has managed to contribute on the score sheet, and while he won’t crack the Flames top six with the likes of Huberdeau, Kadri, Zary, Pospisil and Mangiapane on the roster, he could very well become a full-time NHLer in the right situation.

3. Adam Klapka

While the days of the Flames valuing nothing but size are likely over, it’s still a good option to have size on your roster, and when you combine that with skill and production, you get 23-year old Adam Klapka. While his first season in the AHL in 2022-23 was a rocky one, the opportunity left by the departing Pelletier, Zary, Pospisil and Phillips has allowed him to step up, and now, through 18 games with the Wranglers, he has six goals and 14 points, already more than half way to his season total of 25 points in 60 games last year.

It’s true that Klapka still has to learn how to use his size effectively against different type of opponents, he could be exactly what this Flames team needs, as his size, presence and grit alongside his goalscoring ability make him perfect for the third line. It’s likely that the team will want him to stay in the AHL and develop and continue scoring at his current pace for a few more months, and if he can do that, we could be looking at a mainstay of the Flames bottom six for years to come.

2. Rory Kerins

At 21 years of age and playing in the ECHL when the season began, absolutely no one had Rory Kerins on their radar a few months ago, but now, after producing four goals and 9 points through his first six games, he’s suddenly a hot topic in Calgary. At 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, Kerins isn’t the most physical player, but his skill and grit have made him into a rising star this season, and if it continues, he’s bound to be on the Flames radar, whether that be this season or next.

Kerins is another example of the Flames potentially finding a gem late in the draft, as he came to Calgary as a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, and after the Ontario native produced 118 points in his final season in the OHL in 2021-22, he’s proven that he can produce at a very high clip. With so much talent in the Wranglers lineup, it’s likely that Calgary may look to keep some of their prospects down there to continue allowing them to dominate and get used to the professional game, so there’s a chance we may not see Kerins this season, but if the Flames want to trust the youth movement, there’s no one better to throw into the fire this year.