The Calgary Flames have needed an injection of youth for a long, long time, but with very little elite level prospects, the job in front of General Manager Craig Conroy was a daunting one when he took over from Brad Treliving in the summer of 2023.
Since that point, Conroy has done a fantastic job, turning their middling veteran core into immense prospect capital on top of their draft pick capital, which is among the best in the National Hockey League in the coming years.
While most of that future won't arrive until the end of the 2026/27 season, there's still plenty of opportunity out there, and now, Conroy has addressed what we could see from the youth this upcoming season.
Calgary Flames Will Give the Youth Opportunities
Recently, Sports on QR Calgary hosted Conroy for an interview, and while there wasn't too many shocking things to come away from it, perhaps the most intriguing of all was Conroy's revelation that the future will get their opportunities this season.
"I want to see growth from these young guys. They’re going to be put in situations and given opportunities that they wouldn’t get on a lot of teams. And now they have to take advantage of it."Craig Conroy
“I want to see growth from these young guys. They’re going to be put in situations and given opportunities that they wouldn’t get on a lot of teams. And now they have to take advantage of it.”
— Robert Munnich (@Robert_Munnich) September 2, 2026
Craig Conroy via @SportsOn770
This is music to Flames fans ears. pic.twitter.com/S6MvnHAK0H
As Conroy states, players under 23 will be given opportunities that they likely wouldn't get elsewhere, with the likes of Zayne Parekh, Matvei Gridin, Matt Coronato, Simon Nemec and Samuel Honzek among others expected to play key roles for the Flames. Whether those players succeed or not, only time will tell, but given that the Flames are potentially going to move some veterans to accomodate the arrival of more prospects, spots are going to be harder and harder to come by.
Who Will Get the Opportunities in 2026/27?
Apart from the names above, moves being made will also benefit the likes of Tyson Gross, Aydar Suniev and Hunter Brzustewicz, all of whom had limited chances in 2025/26, as well as Jonathan Castagna, who many expect to get the call to the NHL at some point in 2026/27.
Of course, the Flames will give the opportunities to Farabee, Huberdeau, Backlund, Whitecloud, Bahl and other veterans, but in doing so, will hopefully increase their trade value moving forward as the future remains the focus.
Ultimately, this upcoming campaign in Calgary has always been about the future, and while we're not going to see any young player pop off to superstar status, if they can take the opportunities afforded to them and solidify themselves as pieces of the future, all the better for the Flames rebuild.
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