Latest news with #BlakeColeman
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FLAMES RETOOL TRACKER: Under-25 power rankings at right wing
There has, in recent years, been a shortage of right-shot regulars among the Calgary Flames' forward cast. That started to change this season, with Matt Coronato emerging as one of the go-to guys and Adam Klapka showing that he's also ready for a full-time role. The best part is that those two are both in their early 20s, fitting the age range that the Flames have targeted to build a future contender. Who could eventually join them on right wing? Examining the organizational depth chart, here is how we rank the under-25 options on that side of the sheet. Age: 22 How acquired: Selected in first round, No. 13 overall, of 2021 NHL Draft Working in his favour: He's a sharpshooter, plain and simple. Still working on it: There are no glaring weaknesses but, as Coronato continues to gain experience, he should be even more reliable in his own zone and even more effective on the power play. As Calgary's best righty faceoff option, he's also determined to boost his success rate in the circle. Big-league potential: Blake Coleman has predicted that Coronato will be one of those guys who snipes 30 goals a season and we're not about to disagree. Coronato recently signed a seven-year contract extension, formalizing what was already clear: He's a huge part of the long-range plan at the Saddledome/Scotia Place. Because he finished third on the team charts with 24 goals and because he was so often trusted to play the final moments of close games, it's easy to forget that he was the youngest regular on the roster this season. He'll only get better. Age: 24 How acquired: Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022 Working in his favour: At 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds, he is among the biggest dudes in the NHL. What makes him such a unique package is that he's also a slick skater and has soft mitts. Still working on it: The two keys for Klapka are being consistent with his hard-to-play-against identity and being careful not to cough up the puck. Big-league potential: Although many thought he'd top out as a depth piece, he finished this season on the first line. This skyscraper-on-skates made a major impact during the Flames' wild-card chase, scoring several clutch goals over the final month of the campaign. In doing so, he should have cemented his spot as a full-time NHLer. While he has been on a bit of a yo-yo over the past couple of campaigns, Klapka now requires waivers to be reassigned to the Wranglers. If the Flames tried to sneak him through, they'd lose him. Age: 19 How acquired: Selected in first round, No. 28 overall, of 2024 NHL Draft Working in his favour: He has oodles of offensive skill and could be the fastest skater in the Flames' pipeline. Sounds like a heck of a combo, doesn't it? Still working on it: Gridin has a familiar checklist for a high-scoring prospect, including an emphasis on his away-from-the-puck details and defensive-zone duties. Big-league potential: This could be a future first-liner. This Russian has a lefty curve on his stick, but he has been working the right wing as a junior and it's hard to argue with the results. On the heels of his USHL scoring crown, Gridin racked up 36 goals and 43 assists in 56 appearances this season with the Shawinigan Cataractes, ranking fifth in the QMJHL with an average of 1.41 points per game. He's now poised to turn pro and plans to put on a show come fall. As he told Postmedia: 'Sam Honzek is a great example for me — what he did last year at the main camp. What's the problem for me to do the same thing?' Age: 21 How acquired: Selected in fourth round, No. 106 overall, of 2024 NHL Draft Working in his favour: When Hoskin has the puck on his stick, good things tend to happen. He has a deadly release. Still working on it: As he continues his climb, the challenge is to prove that the offence will translate. Big-league potential: With a late bloomer like Hoskin, a guy who twice passed through the NHL Draft, it feels like it's too soon to even try to predict. While the stats are mighty encouraging, there is some mystery surrounding this rising righty because he has primarily played at lower levels. Hoskin was named MVP of the Canadian Junior Hockey League in 2023-24 and then was saluted this season as the top freshman in what is typically considered the weakest conference in the NCAA's Division 1 ranks. This speedster just transferred to Merrimack, where it will be illuminating to see how he stacks up against some of the powerhouse programs in Hockey East. FLAMES RETOOL TRACKER: Emergence of two right-handers provides hope on wing FLAMES RETOOL TRACKER: Matvei Gridin has highlight-reel potential on right wing Age: 20 How acquired: Selected in seventh round, No. 219 overall, of 2022 NHL Draft Working in his favour: At 6-foot-3 and 216 pounds, Littler is already built like a big-leaguer. Puck protection is a strength. Still working on it: Flames skating coach Danielle Fujita is hoping to add Littler to her list of success stories and he already has made improvements to his footwork. Big-league potential: For a seventh-round long-shot, any NHL appearances count as a win. We considered putting Hunter Laing in this spot — he made a compelling case with 25 goals in the WHL this winter — but Littler caught our attention with his late-season surge at the University of North Dakota. Although he scored only seven times as a freshman with the Fighting Hawks, he tallied three of those in a hat-trick of playoff appearances. Could that be a hint that he's primed for a breakthrough as a sophomore? He's also a trusted penalty-killer at North Dakota, where they pump out future pros. wgilbertson@
National Post
29-05-2025
- General
- National Post
FLAMES RETOOL TRACKER: Under-25 power rankings at right wing
There has, in recent years, been a shortage of right-shot regulars among the Calgary Flames ' forward cast. Article content Article content That started to change this season, with Matt Coronato emerging as one of the go-to guys and Adam Klapka showing that he's also ready for a full-time role. Article content The best part is that those two are both in their early 20s, fitting the age range that the Flames have targeted to build a future contender. Article content Who could eventually join them on right wing? Examining the organizational depth chart, here is how we rank the under-25 options on that side of the sheet. Article content 1. Matt Coronato Article content Article content Still working on it: There are no glaring weaknesses but, as Coronato continues to gain experience, he should be even more reliable in his own zone and even more effective on the power play. As Calgary's best righty faceoff option, he's also determined to boost his success rate in the circle. Article content Big-league potential: Blake Coleman has predicted that Coronato will be one of those guys who snipes 30 goals a season and we're not about to disagree. Article content Coronato recently signed a seven-year contract extension, formalizing what was already clear: He's a huge part of the long-range plan at the Saddledome/Scotia Place. Because he finished third on the team charts with 24 goals and because he was so often trusted to play the final moments of close games, it's easy to forget that he was the youngest regular on the roster this season. He'll only get better. Article content Article content Age: 24 Article content How acquired: Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022 Article content Working in his favour: At 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds, he is among the biggest dudes in the NHL. What makes him such a unique package is that he's also a slick skater and has soft mitts. Article content This skyscraper-on-skates made a major impact during the Flames' wild-card chase, scoring several clutch goals over the final month of the campaign. In doing so, he should have cemented his spot as a full-time NHLer. While he has been on a bit of a yo-yo over the past couple of campaigns, Klapka now requires waivers to be reassigned to the Wranglers. If the Flames tried to sneak him through, they'd lose him.
New York Times
28-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman ruled out of Game 4 with injury
EDMONTON – Edmonton Oilers right winger Zach Hyman left Game 4 of the Western Conference final in the first period on Tuesday because of an injury and was ruled out for the rest of the game, as reported on the ESPN broadcast. Hyman was hit by Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment in the neutral zone just before the midway mark of the first period. He dropped his stick, favored his right arm and immediately skated off the ice and to the Oilers' dressing room at 9:17 of the period. Advertisement Hyman was coming off a two-goal, three-point performance in a 6-1 win in Game 3 to give the Oilers a 2-1 series lead. He has five goals and 11 points in 15 games this postseason. He also has 111 hits, just 15 behind the single-season mark of 126 set by Blake Coleman with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020.
National Post
26-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
FLAMES RETOOL TRACKER: Charting the depth at right-wing
The Calgary Flames might not be super deep at right-wing, but at the NHL level, you can't exactly argue that they are low on potential. Article content Article content That storyline is still taking shape, but the emergence of a few young talents and the ever-reliable presence of Blake Coleman meant that by season's end, the Flames had to be feeling pretty darn good about the way their wingers on the right were looking. Article content Article content We're going through the Flames roster position-by-position this spring and taking a look at where they're deep and where they could use some help. This week, we're looking at the right-wing. Article content To kick things off, let's take a look at the Flames' organization depth chart at the position: Article content A year ago, it was generally understood that the Flames were short on right-wingers — or right-shot wingers, at least. Today, though, the situation looks a little different. It's not like they're super deep, but Matt Coronato had a breakout season with 24 goals and 23 assists and was rewarded with a seven-year contract. Adam Klapka emerged in the back-half, too, and was playing first-line minutes in the season's final weeks. Both guys are right-shots, and Martin Pospisil has mostly played on the right-side, too. All three are 25 or under and there's at least one high-end prospect in the pipeline, in Matvei Gridin, so the right-wing could actually be emerging as an area of strength for the organization. Article content Article content The veterans Article content Article content Given what we mentioned above, it seems unlikely that the Flames will look to keep Anthony Mantha around for another year. The 30-year-old was dealt a rough hand this season, signing a prove-it deal with the Flames in free agency and starting well before a knee injury ended his campaign in November. The signing made sense for the Flames and it's no fault of his own, but with the younger talent that's broken through, it doesn't make a lot of sense to block their progress and development. As far as other veterans go, we mentioned Blake Coleman in last week's breakdown of left-wingers, but he's played more on the right in recent seasons and his on-ice partnership with Mikael Backlund has been oh-so-reliable. With only two seasons left on his contract, it's inevitable that trade rumours will start to swirl around Coleman's name in the coming months, but his leadership and experience have been invaluable to the organization.
National Post
12-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
FLAMES RETOOL TRACKER: The state of the centre position
Article content It's a quiet time in the Calgary Flames' calendar. Article content Article content Their season ended a little less than a month ago and it's still roughly six weeks until the NHL Draft. Article content So what better time to dive deep into where they stand in their famous retool, right? How close are they to contention? Where are their strengths and weaknesses? What are their priorities going to be in the draft, free agency and the trade market? Article content Article content Over the next five weeks, our Flames beat reporters Danny Austin and Wes Gilbertson will be going position-by-position to look at the state of the Flames' rebuild. We're kicking things off this week by looking at centre and today's big-picture look at their roster, prospects and future needs. Article content There's no position on the ice where the Flames need to add more depth than at centre, but where do they actually stand? Let's take a look: Article content The sure things Article content Assuming the earth doesn't tilt over from its axis over the summer, we know Nazem Kadri and Mikael Backlund are going to be playing centre for the Flames this season. Kadri will be on the first line, leading the team's offensive charge and putting up numbers, whoever is on his wings. Backlund will be in the middle of the Flames' shutdown line, likely alongside Blake Coleman, quietly captaining his team, leading the penalty kill and doing all the other quiet things his team requires of him. Article content There can't be any complaints about the work either guy put in last season. They were important leaders in the locker room and had generally good years. It is, however, worth pointing out that Backlund is 36 years old and entering the last year of his contract. Kadri is 34, and while he hasn't slowed down, time eventually catches up to everybody. They're important pieces of the retool, but if the focus is on the future, they may not be around when the Flames are truly trying to contend for a Stanley Cup. Article content Article content Something to prove Article content Article content Hopes should still be high for Morgan Frost. Acquired alongside winger Joel Farabee in the deal that sent Jakob Pelletier and Andrei Kuzmenko to Philadelphia, the 25-year-old could be a fixture on the Flames power-play and a middle-six pivot for years to come … but the early returns didn't exactly blow anyone away. Frost had only three goals and nine assists in 32 games with the Flames and those numbers don't exactly fill you with confidence, do they? Were those numbers the result of a tough, confidence-draining end to his time in Philly under John Tortorella? Could a good summer and a full training camp with the Flames bring out the best in him? He's a restricted free agent this summer and it's going to be interesting to see how much the Flames are willing to offer him. How much do you pay for potential? Article content Zary's potential Article content Connor Zary has established himself as a full-time NHLer over the past two seasons while playing on the wing, but there has been persistent chatter about him playing in the middle and it can't be ignored. Injuries hampered Zary's production and games played this season, but there were stretches when he was one of the Flames' most eye-catching offensive players. If the team is planning for life post-Backlund and you factor in an inevitable decline for Kadri as he enters his late 30s, it might make sense to start transitioning the 23-year-old Zary to the centre of the ice. Even if they do draft a few centres this season, it'll be a little while before they're ready to contribute at the NHL level, so Zary could be useful in the middle for the next couple of seasons, at least.
