The Calgary Flames are a pretty banged up group at the moment. They were already without Yegor Sharangovich and Kevin Rooney, and announced this morning that 19-year-old left winger Samuel Honzek is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. It’s tough news for the organization, though, as their 4-0-0 record shows, they are a resilient group.
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The Flames are by no means the most talented team, but appear to have fully bought in to head coach Ryan Huska’s approach of playing for one another. Now, they are in a position where they will need to call up a player in light of Honzek’s injury, and whenever that individual gets the call, you can expect him to compete every bit as hard as everyone else in the lineup has been. Here are four candidates they may look to call up.
Jakob Pelletier
Perhaps the biggest surprise cut of this preseason’s training camp was Jakob Pelletier. By no means did he play to the level deserving of a roster spot, but most figured the Flames wouldn’t risk putting him on waivers. They did just that, however, and to the surprise of many, he went unclaimed.
Pelletier hasn’t seemed himself since suffering two shoulder injuries last season, though his short time in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Calgary Wranglers this season is helping him get back on track. He’s managed four assists through three games, and may be in line to get another opportunity with the Flames.
Dryden Hunt
Dryden Hunt can best be described as a “tweener.” What that means is that he is too good for the AHL, but doesn’t quite cut it at the NHL level. Throughout his pro career and with the Wranglers, he’s had no problem putting up big offensive numbers. In 230 career NHL games, however, he has only 51 points.
The biggest issue for Hunt is that he hasn’t figured out a way to make himself useful as a bottom-six forward. With that said, Honzek was seeing first-line minutes prior to his injury, which Hunt has the skillset for. Many are expecting Matt Coronato to fill that role, but with how good he has looked on a line with Justin Kirkland and Ryan Lomberg, perhaps inserting Hunt onto the top line is something Huska considers.
Sam Morton
Being a 25-year-old in the AHL usually suggests your chances at becoming an NHL regular are slim to none. Such isn’t the case for Sam Morton, however, who the Flames are quite high on and believe still has plenty of untapped potential.
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The Flames signed Morton following his senior season with Minnesota State University, which allowed him to suit up for some games with the Wranglers in 2023-24. He impressed, scoring five goals and adding two assists for seven points in 13 regular season outings, and another three goals in six playoff games. His time is coming, and may have officially arrived with the Honzek news.
Rory Kerins
After a solid 2023-24 season with the Wranglers, many were excited to see what kind of push Rory Kerins could make in hopes of cracking the Flames roster out of training camp. He wound up falling far short of that goal, however, as he struggled in the preseason games he suited up for and didn’t make it nearly as far into camp as several other prospects.
Perhaps his rough training camp was nothing more than shaking some rust off, as he has looked excellent with the Wranglers through three games. A hat trick against the Coachella Valley Firebirds last night gives him five goals and six points, both of which lead the squad.
Internal Option Likely To Get First Crack
With all that said, the Flames do still have one internal option who is likely to get the first look in Adam Klapka. The hulking forward has sat the past two games as a healthy scratch, and will need to make a better impression to stay in the lineup. If he continues struggling, a called-up forward, perhaps one of the four above, may jump ahead of him on the depth chart and get an opportunity to step up in Honzek’s absence.
