Even from this early on, the 2024-25 hockey season has been nothing short of exciting. Most eyes are rightfully glued to the best professional hockey league, the NHL, but fantastic hockey is being played all over right now. Fans of the Calgary Flames have been enjoying a bit better of a start than in years past, as the team currently sits at 6-4-1 and occupies the sixth spot in the NHL’s Western Conference. However, the next best place to look for those in North America is the American Hockey League (AHL), one league below the NHL.
The Flames’ AHL farm team, the Calgary Wranglers, have found a considerably greater level of success than their parent club. After losing their season opener, the team is presently riding (pun intended) a nine-game winning streak. Their 9-1-0 record and 18 points are both the best in the entire AHL. The Wranglers seem unbeatable at the moment and have exhibited minimal flaws in play. There are many reasons for their immense success; some prolific players and prominent team trends are worthy of further analysis.
Notable Names Leading the Charge
A huge aspect of the Wranglers’ early-season success has been the performances of their personnel. The 2024-25 roster features plenty of players who have NHL experience and/or could realistically be in the NHL if the Flames didn’t already have an abundance of players. Forwards Jakob Pelletier, Dryden Hunt, Clark Bishop and Walker Duehr have a combined 382 NHL appearances and all are likely eager to get back there to earn the big bucks. Pelletier, who many thought would be a Flame or claimed on waivers when he was sent down after the preseason, has used this fresh start to showcase his elite playmaking capabilities. The 23-year-old has 10 assists in 10 games, tied for the league lead in helpers.
Hunt also has 10 points in 10 games (two goals, eight assists), Bishop has nine (six goals, three assists) and is currently on a four-game goal streak and Duehr is tied for second place in the AHL with 11 points (six goals, five assists). The player tied with him is the Wranglers’ Rory Kerins, who worked his way up from the ECHL last season. His nine goals lead the entire league and he was named AHL Player of the Month for his efforts. Defensively, the team has been managed by burgeoning prospects Ilya Solovyov and Yan Kuznetsov, who have both played in the big league and are excellent defensively-minded rearguards. Kuznetsov’s plus/minus of plus-9 is tied for the league lead, and Solovyov has impressively chipped in with two goals and four points in six games, leading all Wranglers defenders in scoring.
Goaltending was something plenty of fans were worried about with prized prospect and two-time AHL goaltender of the Year Dustin Wolf graduating to the NHL this season, but worry no more. Signed as a free agent this offseason, 27-year-old journeyman netminder Devin Cooley has taken the reins and provided much reassurance with sound, responsible goaltending. He sports a 6-1-0 record, has recorded one shutout, a 1.82 goals-against average (GAA) and a .946 save percentage (SV%). No other AHL goalie has more wins, and his other stats put him at sixth and eighth league-wide, respectively. Backup Walterri Ignatjew was a relative unknown from overseas but has also performed quite admirably with a 3-0-0 record, a 2.34 GAA, and a .927 SV%.
Positive Trends for the Wranglers
As previously mentioned, the Wranglers are the AHL’s best team at this point of the season. They have scored a league-high 36 goals, with offence seemingly coming from all angles. Head coach Trent Cull also has the team very well-disciplined; they are not taking many penalties so far with just 94 team penalty minutes (23rd). When they do, their penalty kill has been extremely well-structured and effective. So far, they have an 88% kill rate when shorthanded, which ranks them eighth in the AHL. Their power play definitely has some room to grow as they are clicking at just a 19% rate (12th). However, when the team is outscoring the opposition at even strength at such a high rate, there is less pressure for the power play to succeed.
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While there is bound to be some regression, hopefully, the Wranglers can continue this success and parlay it into a deep playoff run in 2024-25. It was recently announced that the team lost Matt Coronato to the Flames, but gained another promising young forward prospect in Samuel Honzek, as well as welcomed back Wranglers veteran Adam Klapka from the big club. These transactions stand to make the team even better, and they will look to make it ten wins in a row when they face off against the Bakersfield Condors on Nov. 5.
