GAME PREVIEW: Calgary at Edmonton – 09.20.26
HITMEN HEADLINES: The Calgary Hitmen (1-0-0-0) swing back into action this afternoon as they wrap up the Western Hockey League opening weekend with a stop in Edmonton against the Oil Kings (1-0-0-0). Game time is 4:00 p.m. at Rogers Place. Fans can watch the game for FREE on YouTube. The Hitmen are coming off Friday’s home opener which saw the club post a 3-2 shootout victory over Red Deer. Russian rookie forward Artem Katsuro scored the lone goal of the shootout while goaltender Eric Tu stopped all three Rebels shooters to lead the Hitmen to victory. Charlie Kresl and Brennan Brown both scored first period goals to push Calgary out to a 2-0 lead. Red Deer then replied with a pair of third period markers to force overtime. On the night the Rebels outshot the Hitmen 37-27, but Tu turned aside 35 shots and was named the first-star. The Oil Kings are also coming off a date with the Rebels, skating to a 3-1 victory last night in Central Alberta. Outshot 42-26, Edmonton received a first-star performance from goaltender Ethan Simcoe who made 41 saves including 22 in the first period.
EDMONTON: Today marks the first of eight regular season meetings between the two Central Division rivals. Calgary went 5-3 against Edmonton last season thanks to four home ice victories. Overall, the Hitmen and Oil Kings both scored 27 goals. Kale Dach (3g, 5a), Andrei Molgachev (5g, 3a) and Ethan Moore (2g, 6a) led the Calgary attack with eight points each. Kayden Stroeder (5g, 2a) and Lukas Sawchyn (1g, 6a) were the top performers for the Oil Kings with seven points each.
2025-26 SERIES RECAP
Sept. 27/25 in CGY: Hitmen 6 Oil Kings 3…Six different Hitmen scored in the win with points from nine different players.
Oct. 26/25 in EDM: Hitmen 3 Oil Kings 2…Brandon Gorzynski scored twice for Calgary.
Jan. 28/26 in CGY: Hitmen 5 Oil Kings 2…Trailing 2-1 after 40, the Hitmen erupted for four third-period goals.
Feb. 13/26 in CGY: Hitmen 5 Oil Kings 3…Calgary erased a 3-1 first period deficit.
Feb. 14/26 in EDM: Oil Kings 4 Hitmen 3…Edmonton built a 4-0 second period lead.
Mar. 15/26 in CGY: Hitmen 3 Oil Kings 1…Andrei Molgachev scored twice for Calgary while Eric Tu made 29 saves.
Mar. 18/26 in EDM: Oil Kings 5 Hitmen 1…Kayden Stroeder notched a hat trick for Edmonton.
Mar. 22/26 in EDM: Oil Kings 7 Hitmen 1…Lukas Sawchyn led Edmonton with four points (1g, 3a).
INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on Goal: CGY 223 EDM 243 Power Plays: CGY 6-33 (18.2%) EDM 6-33 (18.2%)
WHL DEBUTS: A total of seven Hitmen played their first career game in the WHL in Friday’s home opener against Red Deer. Among them were two defenceman in Tate Batchelor and Jakob Leander along with five forwards in Artem Katsuro, Gabriel Belanger, Grady Anaka, Charlie Kresl and Teague McGlynn.
DID YOU KNOW? The Hitmen have 13 returning players from last seasons roster which finished fourth in the Eastern Conference with 85 points. There are also 13 rookies on their roster. They are among 17 forwards, eight defencemen and two goalies.
LET’S GO CAMPING: Five Hitmen from the current 27-player roster headed to NHL camps earlier this month: Carter Sanderson (Pittsburgh), Jakob Leander (Calgary), Blake Vanek (Ottawa), Landon Amrhein (Calgary) and Andrei Molgachev (Utah).
OFF-SEASON NOTEBOOK: On June 8, the Hitmen announced the promotion of Cass Bruni to General Manager from Assistant GM while Garry Davidson moved from the GM’s chair to a Hockey Operations Advisory Role…On June 30 the Hitmen made two picks in the 2026 CHL Import Draft selecting 19-year-old defenceman and Calgary Flames prospect Jakob Leander along with 17-year-old Russian forward Artem Katsuro…On June 29 the Hitmen announced the signing of 19-year-old forward and Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Carter Sanderson…On July 27 the Hitmen acquired 19-year-old forward Brennan Brown, a third-round pick in 2027 and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2029 from the Swift Current Broncos in exchange for 18-year-old forward Ty Meunier and a seventh-round pick in 2030…On September 11 the Hitmen inked listed prospect 18 year-old defenceman Maden Simard…On September 14 Calgary acquired a fourth-round pick in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft from the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for 18-year-old defenceman Kaden Meyer…Also on September 14, the Hitmen signed 2025 fourth-round pick and 16 year-old goaltending prospect Donagh Esler-Twiss to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement. On Sept. 27 The Hitmen inked 20-year-old forward Charlie Kresl after the product of Denver, CO, attended training camp as a free agent.
2026 PRE-SEASON RECAP: Calgary went 3-1 during their four-game exhibition schedule with two of those victories coming against the Rebels. Julien Maze (3g, 2a) was the top scorer for the Hitmen with five points while Calder Hamilton (3g, 1a), Hunter Auta (1g, 3a) and rookie Charlie Kresl (1g, 3a) all tallied four points each. In between the pipes, four goaltenders all saw action.
RARE AIR: Today marks a rarity in Calgary’s early season schedule as up until Nov. 3rd the Hitmen will play 15 games with only five of them on the road including this afternoon’s visit to Edmonton.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Defenceman Hunter Aura is entering his third season in the WHL, all with the Hitmen. Aura posted career highs last season in assists with 36 and points with 40. The Kamloops, BC, product, who turns 19 next month, was a third-round pick of the Hitmen in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft.
HOME AND AWAY COMPARISON: Last season the Hitmen collected 41 points on the road which tied for seventh best in the WHL. Their overall road record was 18-11-4-1. Edmonton meanwhile went 24-6-2-2 at home.
MAYFAIR DIAGNOSTICS INJURY REPORT: Rylan Ng (Upper Body, Week-to-Week), Landon Amrhein (Upper Body, Day-to-Day).
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: Calgary returns home to host these same Oil Kings on Friday, Sept. 25 in a 7:00 p.m. start at Scotiabank Saddledome. It will be the lone game of the weekend with the Hitmen then idle until Saturday, Oct. 3 when they head to Lethbridge to face the Hurricanes in a 6:00 p.m. start.
