NHL Prospect Watch – Calgary Flames
In the lead-up to the 2023-24 NHL season, we’re taking a look at the current and former WHL talent in each NHL Club’s prospect pool. In this 32-part series, we’ll highlight the WHL players signed to an NHL contract or recently drafted, 25 years of age or younger with 50 or fewer NHL games played. Join us for a brand-new season of NHL Prospect Watch!
We continue with the prospect pool of the Calgary Flames.
Parker Bell
Selected in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames, forward Parker Bell enters the 2023-24 season having put up career numbers last winter with the Tri-City Americans. Bell, who turns 20 years of age September 26, put up 25 goals and 64 points to lead all Americans forwards during the regular season; he then earned a point per game in Tri-City’s six post-season contests. Bell, who calls Campbell River, B.C. home, made his professional debut in April with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. In 180 career WHL regular season contests, he has accrued 120 points (44G-76A) since being selected by the Americans in the fifth round of the 2018 WHL Draft.
Three things that are too hot to touch (in no particular order):
– The stove.
– Lava.
– Sand on a hot, summer day.
– The literal sun.
– Parker Bell. @TCAmericans | @NHLFlames pic.twitter.com/kgOryxHyB5— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 19, 2023
Lucas Ciona
Seattle Thunderbirds captain Lucas Ciona reached the top of the WHL mountain in 2022-23, leading his Club to the WHL Championship for the second time in franchise history. Ciona, who hails from Edmonton, Alta., finished second among Thunderbirds skaters with 75 points during the regular season, adding five goals and nine points during Seattle’s playoff run. For his efforts, Ciona was named to the WHL U.S. Division Second All-Star Team; he then capped off a busy 2022-23 campaign by recording four points at the 2023 Memorial Cup in Kamloops, helping the Thunderbirds reach the final for the first time ever. Ciona signed an entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames in October of 2022 after being selected by Calgary in the sixth round of the 2021 NHL Draft. A veteran of more than 235 WHL regular season and playoff games, Ciona has collected 163 points in a Thunderbirds uniform over the course of his junior hockey career.
Lucas Ciona evens it for the Thunderbirds!#MemorialCup pic.twitter.com/XFhIzyOxS4
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 27, 2023
Samuel Honzek
Trencin, Slovakia’s Samuel Honzek became the fourth-highest NHL Draft selection in Vancouver Giants history in June when he was selected 16th-overall by the Calgary Flames. Honzek arrived in North America in the fall of 2022 after being selected by Vancouver in the first round of the CHL Import Draft and made an immediate impact with the Giants, finishing second among team leaders in goals (23) and points (56) despite being limited to 43 regular season contests. Honzek represented Slovakia at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship but was forced out of the lineup due to injury, a setback that ended up holding the 18-year-old out of the Vancouver lineup for the better part of two months. Honzek wrapped up his 2022-23 campaign by collecting a goal and three assists from the Giants’ four post-season contests.
"The sky's the limit. He does everything." #Flames general manager Craig Conroy speaks on first rounder Samuel Honzek. pic.twitter.com/yA7x9eppxQ
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) June 29, 2023
Jaden Lipinski
Honzek’s Vancouver Giants teammate, forward Jaden Lipinski, was also selected by the Calgary Flames in the 2023 NHL Draft. The product of Scottsdale, Ariz. was a fourth-round pick by Calgary after enjoying a breakout campaign during the 2022-23 WHL season, one which saw him finish third among Giants skaters with 51 points (19G-32A). Lipinski proved to be a clutch performer for Vancouver last season; he counted five game-winning goals to lead the Club, and 36 of his 51 points were scored at even-strength. Since being signed by Vancouver in 2021, Lipinski has proceeded to wear the Giants sweater in 150 regular season and playoff games, totalling 72 points (28G-42A) during that span.
WATCH 📽️ | @WHLGiants forward Jaden Lipinski meets with media after being selected 112th overall by the @NHLFlames in the 2023 #NHLDraft. pic.twitter.com/m0ZVBwJYEo
— The WHL (@TheWHL) June 29, 2023
Dustin Wolf
Goaltender Dustin Wolf was nigh on unbeatable during his WHL career with the Everett Silvertips, a trend that has followed him through his first two seasons of professional hockey in the Calgary Flames organization. Wolf, who hails from Gilroy, Calif., won the American Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player and Best Goaltender award in 2023 after leading the league with 42 wins, seven shutouts, a 2.09 goals-against average and .932 save percentage with the Calgary Wranglers. Wolf has been named the best goaltender in his league in each of the past four seasons, winning the Baz Bastien Memorial Award in the AHL in 2022 and 2023 after claiming the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the WHL Goaltender of the Year in 2020 and 2021. This past April, Wolf won his NHL debut with the Calgary Flames, turning aside 23 of 24 shots in a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Originally selected by Everett in the fifth round of the 2016 WHL Draft, Wolf won 106 regular season games, 24 by shutout, over his time as a Silvertip. He was selected by the Calgary Flames in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Draft.
First NHL game ✅
First NHL win ✅Congrats to Dustin Wolf (@dwolf2332) on one heck of a debut! 🐺 pic.twitter.com/hLv5jiHz2f
— NHL (@NHL) April 13, 2023
Connor Zary
A first-round selection by the Calgary Flames in the 2020 NHL Draft, forward Connor Zary set career bests in 2022-23 in his second full season of AHL hockey. Zary, from Saskatoon, Sask., scored 21 goals, totalling 58 points with the Calgary Wranglers to finish second among the team’s leading scorers, helping the Club post the AHL’s best regular season record in its first year of existence. Zary added a goal and three assists from nine post-season outings this past spring. As a WHLer, Zary spent his entire career with the Kamloops Blazers after being selected in the second round of the 2016 WHL Draft. His career year in the WHL came in 2019-20, during which he scored 38 goals and 86 points before being named Blazers captain during his final WHL campaign in 2020-21. Overall, Zary earned 206 WHL points over his 203 career regular season appearances with Kamloops.
Connor Zary goes coast-to-coast and nets one right on target 🎯@AHLWranglers | #CGYvsCV pic.twitter.com/RpLtY6ewng
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) May 13, 2023
