With a 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night, the Calgary Flames are now 2-3-0 on their 2026 preseason. There is a lot going on with this group, so lets dive right into some storylines.
1.) Yan Kuznetsov looks ready. The six-foot-five second round pick in 2020 has had time to cook and skates more fluidly than half of the defencemen signed to one-way deals. He’s big, he’s fast, and he pushes back on the opposition. The 23 year old even used his speed to jump into a few rushed against the Jets on Saturday.
If there was ever a time to take the natural next step for Kuznetsov, it’s this year—but waiver eligibility is a factor. It’s likely that Yan gets sent down and waits for about three defencemen to get injured for his shot.
Artem Grushnikov also looks ready. Saturday was his best showing in a Flames jersey since being acquired in the Chris Tanev deal. Great gap control and mobility.
On that note.
2.) A look at the depth chart on defence:
Hanley-Weegar
Bahl-Andersson
Bean-Parekh
Pachal-Miromanov
Kuznetsov-Brzustewicz
Solovyov-Grushnikov
Poirier-Cicek
Morin
That’s 15 defencemen. Poirier and Morin might not be pushing for a spot, but the rest of them have impressed in camp.
This seems like poor form for a re-tooling roster.
Kuznetsov, Brzustewicz, and Grushnikov deserve a chance to take the next step and clogging the depth chart with veterans that won’t be in the picture by the time the new arena opens denies them of that opportunity.
Having any of those three getting experience with what some would call “games that matter” would be invaluable to both the organization and the player.
3.) Morgan Frost looks like he’s hitting the ground running this season.
In my exchanges with Bill Meltzer, he’s emphasized that the speedy center typically starts slow.
“Thing with Morgan is to avoid slow starts. Every year, he struggles in October and November and then gets going by mid-December. That’s not good enough. Has to be for a whole season, not half to two thirds.”
The stats back that up. Frost had five assists and posted a -11 in 11 games last October. Another five points in November in ten games.
Last season was a bit of a wash for the 26 year old pivot, but he looks great this camp. His alacrity has made him a breadwinner when it comes to controlled zone entries and he’s finishing on plays.
Frost leads the Flames with five points (2G, 3A) in three preseason games. Two of his three assists have been primaries.
4.) Rory Kerins is getting a hard look. Head coach Ryan Huska had the line of Honzek-Kerins-Klapka out for the majority of offensive starts on Saturday.
That unit is janky and not the typical fourth line experience, but they certainly produced offence against Winnipeg.
Kerin’s picked up a secondary assist on Parekh’s first period powerplay goal, but his line ended up getting outscored 2-0 at even strength. The Hockey Gods weren’t giving them much despite generating a handful of high quality opportunities. The line finished the night 6-1 in high danger chances at even strength.
In one hand, you have Rory Kerins producing a point per game with a goal and three assists in four appearances. He could easily have eight points with a bit better luck.
In the other? The 24 year old from Caledon, Ontario has been getting outchanced and outscored at 5v5. Huska won’t put up with that on his fourth line. He wants reliable minutes.
5.) The final sequence of Saturday’s game included Martin Pospisil taking his third penalty of the night after he tripped the venerable Jonathan Toews. There has been noticeable frustration in his game early in camp, but he’s still doing good things on the forecheck.
It’s interesting to see Pospisil play most of this preseason in a bottom six role. It’s just a matter of time before Huska goes back to gluing the agitating Slovak to Nazem Kadri’s flank.
6.) Matvei Gridin likely starts the season in the AHL, but not for lack of results.
That goal may have been his first point in three preseason games, but he’s passing the eye test while playing in a top six role.
Is there room for him? Unlikely, and he doesn’t need to clear waivers.
7.) The annual Abbotsford preseason game drives me nuts.
I can generally pull semi-accurate preseason stats from various platforms, but that game always has a minimal scoresheet.
Stats not recorded include Time on Ice, Hits, anything considered “advanced stats”.
Does Martin Pospisil lead the team in hits? Adam Klapka has nine, Pospisil has eight, but Martin played in the Abbotsford game.
8.) I think we can all agree that the preseason is a bit too long. The Flames have three games to go.
9.) We’re going to start seeing the season-opening lineup start to get reps over the final nine days of camp. The team starts the season with a road back-to-back against Edmonton and Vancouver and then the home opener two nights later against St. Louis—a 1:00 P.M. matinee game.
What a way to get the crowd engaged. The Flames are bad at both matinees and playing the Blues.
10.) Time will tell if Huska runs with Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and Matthew Coronato as the first line. The three started camp skating together.
That unit was arguably Coronato’s combination last season.
Expected Goals Percentage – 5v5 (ice time as a line)
Coleman-Backlund-Coronato: 54.4% (457:54)
Sharangovich-Backlund-Coronato: 52.1% (128:12)
Huberdeau-Kadri-Coronato: 47.5% (127:12)
Huska went out of his way to point out that he thinks Coronato has the best shot on the team in early September. Putting Coronato on a line with Kadri, who unapologetically throws every puck he can get his hands on at the net, seems questionable.
Matthew Coronato needs a line where he can be a volume shooter. Coronato practised with Morgan Frost and Connor Zary on Wednesday, which seems like a better fit.
11.) A lot can happen in nine days, but here is a projected opening lineup:
Huberdeau-Kadri-Sharangovich
Farabee-Backlund-Coleman
Zary-Frost-Coronato
Lomberg-Kirkland-Pospisil
Klapka
Hanley-Weegar
Bahl-Andersson
Pachal-Parekh
Kuznetsov-Miromanov
What is your ideal lineup? Would you bump any of these players for younger options?
For fun, here is the Hockey HotStove’s swing at it:
Huberdeau-Kadri-Pospisil
Zary-Frost-Coronato
Coleman-Backlund-Sharangovich
Kerins-Kirkland-Farabee
Klapka
Lomberg
Weegar-Parekh
Bahl-Andersson
Kuznetsov-Pachal
Hanley
The Flames face-off against the Seattle Kraken on Monday at 7:00 P.M. MST. Stay tuned for lineups and analysis!
KEEP READING:
Neufeld: 7 Bold Predictions Heading into the New Season
9 Reasons the Calgary Flames Struggled Last Season
Remarkable Turnaround: How the Flames PK went from 30th to 1st
Five Former Flames Head Coaches: Where are they now?
Projecting Calgary Flames Forward Lines: Has Craig Conroy Dug Himself a Hole?
Stats via Puckpedia, Elite Prospects, and the National Hockey League. Credit to Robert Munich for the highlights.
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