Keegan Brekt
1. Jonathan Huberdeau- Huberdeau has started to come around as of late on the score sheet collecting 4 goals and 5 assists in his last 6 games. In the last 10 games he has 20 shots on goal and a shooting percentage of 25%, which is excellent. At the same time, in those 10 games, his +/- was -8. To give you some context, through 30 games Huberdeau sits 18th amongst all NHL skaters with 21.6%. Landing higher on the list than players like Caufield who is 20th overall and Guentzel at 24th. Huberdeau has 11 goals and 10 assists so far this season. If he continues this pace, he could get close to 30 goals by the end of the year.
2. Andrei Kuzmenko – The season has been extremely disappointing for Kuzmenko, who’s only managed 1 goal and 10 points through 28 games played this season. The strength he finished the 23/24 season with seems to have diminished. Some people were high on re-signing Kuzmenko in the summer, but the Flames should be putting that idea on the back burner. This isn’t the first time inconsistency in his game has been an issue. Flames management should seriously consider trading Kuzmenko sooner than later, before his stock bottoms out. He has just 1 point in his last 10 games played.
3. Rory Kerins – Kerins has had an impressive start to the season for the Wranglers. So impressive that he is currently tied 1st overall among all AHL skaters with 28 points. In 25 games played, Rory has notched 17 goals, 3 of which were game winners and 5 were PP goals. His shooting percentage in that span is a wopping 27%. I’m confident Kerins will continue to dominate, as he hasn’t shown signs of slowing down yet.
4. Dan Vladar – The season looked promising for Vladar after coming to Flames camp fully recovered from hip surgery, but it seems that he may in fact might not have it in him to be a starter. Through 16 games played this season, Vladar has posted a 6-6-4 record, with a 3.08 GA/G and a .885 SV%, which is good for 39th overall out of all goaltenders. Vladar is also tied for 4th in shutouts with 2.
5. Jacob Pelletier – It probably felt like an eternity for Pelletier to have to wait until December to see any NHL action, but the time has arrived. He’s played rather well after being thrown into the mix. Jacob has played 4 games, he’s posted 5 shots for 1 goal and 2 points with a +/- of +1. He’s done so with an average ice time of 8:08. Every fan in Calgary is cheering for Pelletier, hopefully he can keep the wind in his sails.
6. Martin Pospisil – I’ll start with the PIMs. Pospisil has accumulated 35 minutes in penalties in the 30 games he’s played and I’ll be honest, it’s been nice seeing him step up and fight regardless of the awareness he needs to have about his history with head injuries. He’s also managed to take less offensive zone penalties lately, while winning 37.7% of the faceoffs he’s taken to this point in the season. In the last 10 games, he has 1 goal and 4 points. 2 of those points have come on the powerplay with one of them being a goal.
7. Axel Hurtig – The 19 year old, 200 pound, 6’4″ Swedish defender has had a good first year in the WHL playing with the Hitmen. In 27 games played, Hurtig has 1 goal and 4 assists giving him an average of 0.19 points per game. He sits 93rd overall out of all WHL defenders in points, has 26 shots on goal and is +19 so far on the year. There is potential there, but only if he continues to improve in all facets of the game. Especially with the size he has.
8. Mikael Backlund – let’s take a look at the captains season to this point. We know Backlund is never going to lead the Flames in goals or carry the team to a championship any time soon. So why are they holding on to him? Backlund is on pace to having the lowest faceoff percentage since the 2019-20 season when he finished with 47.3% in the dot.
In the last 10 games, he has just 3 points, with one of them coming on the powerplay. In that span he had one goal on 29 shots and 2 PIMs. It doesn’t take a genius to see that the Flames should look at moving on from number 11 by, or at the trade deadline. It was nice to see Backlund get the C, as he deserved it. Now it would be nice to see a new captain to take this team in a different direction. Backlund has 4 goals and 12 points so far this season, with a shooting percentage of 4.9% and an average ice time of 19:24.
9. Etienne Morin – Morin is having an exceptional season with the Moncton Wildcats. He’s scored 6 goals and 27 points in 28 games which has him ranked 4th amongst all QMJHL D-men. He has 11 points on the powerplay, 18 minutes penalized, 91 shots on goal and one game winning goal. The Flames picked Morin 48th overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Even though he’s only 19 and there’s time to grow, I’d like to see a 2nd round pick start to blossom right around this point in his development.
10. Luke Misa – Misa was drafted by the Flames 150th overall in the 5th round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, and it’s looking like highway robbery. Through 29 games played for the Brampton Steelheads this year, Misa has 18 goals and 25 assists for a whopping 43 points. That puts him 12th overall for points, and 18th overall for assists out of all skaters in the OHL. He has a 1.48 points per game average, is a +19 on the year and has delivered 87 shots on net. It’s exciting to think about what potential skill the Flames may have found drafting Misa if he can continue to produce offensive numbers like he has been able to, and transition that production to the next level. I think he can.
Matt Lemear
