CHL Prospect Pipeline – Calgary Flames
Introducing the CHL Prospect Pipeline presented by Kubota, the premiere feature highlighting current CHL talent that has been drafted or signed by each of the National Hockey League’s 32 teams.
Calgary Flames
Ryan Francis
A fifth-round selection in the 2020 NHL Draft, the diminutive playmaker brings tremendous poise and a keen ability to find his teammates around the net. Spending part of the past four years with Cape Breton, the 2001-born centre then joined Saint John midway through this season where he continued his strong offensive start before ultimately wrapping up the campaign with a team-leading 50 points counting 16 goals and 34 assists across 32 appearances. Not yet finished, there was no let up from the Nova Scotia native who then added another 10 points in just six playoff outings. In all, Francis has skated in 215 career contests in the QMJHL in which he has collected 61 goals and 127 assists for 188 points, while he will continue to add to the totals as he is poised to return to the Sea Dogs for the coming season.
With tonight's 3⃣ goals and 3⃣ assists, Ryan Francis ties the franchise record for points in a game (6). He joins Steven Anthony and Alexandre Picard-Hooper as co-record holders. @NHLFlames #CofRed pic.twitter.com/h6cEG28k3H
— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) April 14, 2021
Rory Kerins
Another mid-round selection in last year’s NHL Draft, the 19-year-old Soo Greyhounds left-wing heard his name called on draft day after putting together a terrific sophomore season that saw him finish second in team scoring with near point-per-game production that counted 30 goals and 29 assists across 64 appearances. In all, it marked a 36-point uptick from his modest rookie campaign, while the Caledon, Ont., native was also one of 33 OHL skaters to reach the 30-goal plateau last season. Set to return to the Soo for the coming season, this year saw Kerins get a taste of the pro ranks as he earned a four-game trial with the AHL’s Stockton Heat, the Flames’ top minor-league affiliate.
Congrats to #OHL forward Rory Kerins (@kerinssy23) of @OHLHoundPower, selected 174th overall by the @NHLFlames in the 2020 #NHLDraft!#MeetTheFuture presented by @KubotaCanadaLtd 🏒 pic.twitter.com/f3RvSgEFLS
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) October 7, 2020
Jakob Pelletier
The Flames’ top selection in the 2019 NHL Draft, Pelletier is a dynamic offensive talent who generates good scoring chances because of his willingness to play in high-traffic areas. Notably gifted, Pelletier owns a dangerous scoring touch that allows him to light the lamp with regularity. Originally chosen with the third pick in the 2017 QMJHL Entry Draft, the now 20-year-old left winger has spent the past four seasons split between the Moncton Wildcats and Val-d’Or Foreurs in which he has totaled 107 goals and 168 assists in just 210 showings, highlighted by a career-high 89-point finish in 2018-19 in which he ranked seventh in league-wide scoring. That performance came after he scored north of a point-per-game as a freshman and was later recognized as part of the QMJHL All-Rookie Team and was followed by QMJHL Second All-Star Team honours in his third season after he finished with 82 points in just 57 appearances. A Quebec City native, Pelletier has also been a frequent selection to Team Canada, with his trophy case featuring a first-place finish at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup as well as a silver medal at the most recent World Juniors. Back with the Foreurs, Pelletier has put together a dominant 2020-21 campaign in which he finished atop the team in scoring with 43 points in 28 outings before adding 15 points through nine playoff matchups with Val-d’Or aiming to raise its fourth league championship in franchise history.
Jakob Pelletier: gets promoted to Canada's top line and does this 😍 What a pass, Pelts! pic.twitter.com/R5VVh6lDLD
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) January 4, 2021
Jeremie Poirier
A new-age defenceman who excels in moving the puck, the budding blue-liner put together an eye-popping draft year in which he sat second to only teammate William Villeneuve among all QMJHL rearguards in providing offside from the back end. In all, the 2019-20 campaign saw Poirier register 53 points in 64 games while he was the only defender league-wide to reach the 20-goal plateau. That performance ultimately helped the Quebec-born blue-liner to hear his name called by the Flames in the third round of last year’s NHL Draft. This season, Poirier found yet another level as he produced over a point-per-game in coming up with nine goals and 28 assists across 33 outings before adding nine more points in just six playoff appearances. Originally chosen with the eighth pick in the 2018 QMJHL Entry Draft, the 18-year-old Poirier has spent all three of his seasons with Saint John in which he has collected 111 points counting 35 goals and 76 assists in 158 career contests.
🚨PP GOAL🚨
Did that puck owe Poirier money? | 4-4 pic.twitter.com/RVO3lsvptZ— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) May 2, 2021
Dustin Wolf
The reigning CHL Goaltender of the Year, Wolf has been often overlooked due to his smaller stature but there is no denying his ability to keep the puck out of the net. Wrapping up this year’s abbreviated WHL campaign, the shortened season saw Wolf begin with a trio of consecutive shutouts in which he combined for 70 total saves. By season’s end, Wolf added one more perfect game to his portfolio, bringing him to 24 career shutouts and just two back of the WHL’s all-time mark. In fact, finding the win column all together has been a frequent achievement for Wolf, who has picked up the two points on 106 nights of his four-season, 149-game career, while also helping the Everett Silvertips claim the U.S. Division crown in three of those four campaigns. Dominant between the pipes, Wolf led all goaltenders in the goals-against average and save percentage columns in both of the 2018-19 and 2019-20 campaigns, helping him earn a spot on the WHL Western Conference First All-Star Teams, while this season also saw him try his hand at the pro ranks with a three-game trial with the Flames’ farm club. A 20-year-old Californian, Wolf returned to the international stage at the 2021 World Juniors where he helped his home country take home the gold medal. A 2019 seventh-round selection by Calgary, Wolf inked his entry-level contract with the Flames last May.
A new record brought to you by Dustin Wolf. 🐺#LetsGoTips pic.twitter.com/e5gIPUkVan
— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) March 27, 2021
Connor Zary
Bringing high energy mixed with a willingness to go to the net, such a playing style rewards Zary on the scoresheet. Through four seasons with the Kamloops Blazers, the 19-year-old Saskatoon native has compiled 206 points in 203 total appearances, highlighted by a career-high 86-point finish last year in which he notched 38 goals with 48 assists through 57 showings to rank fifth in league-wide scoring, while also earning him a spot on the WHL Western Conference First All-Star Team. Chosen by the Flames in the top round of the 2020 NHL Draft, then agreeing to an entry-level deal last December, the budding centre continued to flash his strong offensive game this season in putting up 24 points through 15 games, while also dazzling on loan with the AHL’s Stockton Heat in which he amassed seven points in nine games at the minor-pro level.
What kind of player is Connor Zary? He explains. pic.twitter.com/m8ypSoR1CH
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) October 7, 2020
Dmitry Zavgorodniy
In past decades, Zavgorodniy would have been held back by his smaller size, but that is no longer the case in the new-style game, and the 2000-born right winger showed it last season with the Rimouski Oceanic as he tallied 29 goals and 38 assists for 67 points in an injury-shortened, 40-game campaign. In all, Zavgorodniy skated three seasons with the Oceanic in which he produced 83 goals and 95 assists for 178 points over 169 total appearances. Playing on loan this season in his native Russia with St. Petersburg SKA of the KHL, Zavgorodniy collected three points in six games, while he also got a taste of the pro ranks in North America as he skated in 29 games with the Flames’ AHL club in Stockton. Selected in the seventh round of the 2018 NHL Draft, Zavgorodniy is an emerging offensive talent who is equally adept at finding the back of the net as he is at setting up his linemates.
.@CortexBusiness Transaction Alert: The #Flames have signed forward Dmitry Zavgorodniy to an entry-level deal.https://t.co/jVTQNY5m4G
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) March 30, 2019