The Calgary Flames are kicking off their training camp later this week.
The waters seem a little calmer than they did a year ago, when the prospect of six prominent soon-to-be free agents seemed to loom over everything.
That’s gone now, and while expectations are low for the Flames heading into training camp, there are still a lot of questions we’ve got before things kick off.
Over the next four days, we’ll be going through our list of one question for every player who we’re expecting to see at Flames training camp.
Here’s Part 1, starting with the forwards:
Mikael Backlund
Could he eventually catch Jarome Iginla for most games played in a Flames uniform?
Backlund is 35 years old, going into his second year as Flames captain and is coming off two of the best seasons of his career. You don’t generally expect guys in their mid-30s to be getting better, but the Swedish centre is defying expectations. And on Oct. 30 against the Utah Hockey Club, Backlund will become the second player in Flames history to suit up for 1,000 games in the club’s colours. It’s a pretty amazing accomplishment, and with Backlund’s famously meticulous attention to detail when it comes to fitness and maintaining his body, you can’t help but wonder if in a couple years we’ll be talking about him passing Iginla’s club record of 1,219 games played.
Parker Bell
Can he establish himself with the Wranglers?
A fifth-round draft pick in 2022, Bell has spent the last two years playing with the Tri-City Americans in the WHL, making four appearances for the Calgary Wranglers in the AHL. His numbers with the Americans have been pretty impressive, though. In 59 games last year, he potted 33 goals and added 31 assists, so he’s clearly got a scoring touch and some good offensive sense. Like several other players on this list, though, it’s time for the 20-year-old to start making the transition into the pros.
Clark Bishop
Can he earn playing time?
Over the past two seasons, Flames assistant/GM and Wranglers personnel boss Brad Pascall has repeatedly asserted that Bishop was on the shortlist of players who could earn a call-up with the Flames. He hasn’t actually played an NHL game since 2022, but he’s got a mindset and playing style that could make him a good fit on the fourth line. He’s not going to be on the power-play, but if the Flames needed a winger to step in and contribute on the fourth line, the 28-year-old should be able to do the job. He’s a valuable leader for the Wranglers, but it would be nice to see him get at least a few more NHL games under his belt.
Lucas Ciona
What sort of leap does he make in his second year as a pro?
Lucas Ciona ended his junior career on a high, serving as captain of a Seattle Thunderbirds team that won the WHL championship and played in the Memorial Cup. The transition to the pro game is rarely a straight line, though, and the Flames’ sixth-round pick, 173rd overall, in the 2021 draft was in and out of the lineup for the Wranglers last year. He scored four goals and added two assists in 55 games and didn’t play in the playoffs. Nobody should be writing him off because of those numbers, though, and it’s going to be interesting to watch how he took the lessons from Year 1 and used them to fuel his off-season.
Blake Coleman
How much more of an offensive burden can he carry?
Heading into last season, most of us thought we knew exactly what Coleman was: an incredibly useful third-liner who had a knack for coming up big in pivotal moments. In 2023-24, though, he sort of blew that impression out of the water with a standout campaign. He was second in goals scored for the Flames, with 30, and his 24 assists made him third in points for the club, too. Both of those marks were career highs. Coleman himself said he knew he could put up those types of numbers but had always been asked to play a different role in his career. So can he keep it going? Is it possible that the Flames will move him up the lineup to try to take advantage of his offensive gifts even more than they did last year? If his best is yet to come at 32 years old, that’s pretty remarkable.
Matt Coronato
Is there a place for him on the roster?
Coronato is going to have to have an exceptional training camp if he wants to find a place on the roster on Night 1 of the NHL season. That’s not beyond him, but with Coleman, Andrei Kuzmenko and new arrival Anthony Mantha all fighting for playing time at right-wing and Coronato’s skill-set not particularly well-suited for fourth-line minutes, there’s not an obvious place on the roster for the 21-year-old. The 13th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft scored three goals and six assists in 34 NHL games last year, but also added 15 goals and 27 helpers in 41 games with the Wranglers. It feels like the best thing for his development would be playing regular NHL minutes, but the question is where those minutes are going to come from.
Walker Duehr
Can he show that last year was an aberration?
The 2023-24 season felt like a regression for Duehr. Under former head coach Darryl Sutter the previous season, Duehr burst onto the scene and scored seven goals and added four assists in 27 games. He was a force in the corners and seemed primed for a big role last year. It didn’t play out that way. His numbers dropped in the 40 games he played, and Duehr scored only twice while adding five assists. To the naked eye, he also just didn’t seem to have the same energy to him. Duehr is 26 years old, though, and should be entering his prime. If he can get back to the player that made himself indispensable two seasons ago, he’ll find plenty of opportunities.
Martin Frk
Can he be more than a big shot?
At the AHL All-Star Classic back in 2020, Frk uncorked a slapshot that was clocked at 109.2 miles per hour. Nobody’s ever been recorded shooting a puck harder than that. So yeah, if the Flames could find a way to get him open in the slot, opposing goalies aren’t going to love that. Now, Frk isn’t really expected to be in the opening night lineup for the Flames. He’ll likely start with the Wranglers but could be one of the first call-ups to the NHL team. The Czech winger spent last season in the Swiss League, but at 30 years old, he’s played in 124 NHL games and has scored 20 goals.
Matvei Gridin
Where is he going to play this year?
The Flames took Gridin in the first round, 28th overall of this year’s NHL Draft and got a player who led the USHL in scoring last season and, at the time, was expected to spend this season with the University of Michigan Wolverines in the NCAA. That plan has changed, though, and the Val-d’Or Foreurs took him first overall in the CHL Import Draft this summer. Reporting out of Quebec suggests there’s a trade in place that will see Gridin joining the Shawinigan Cataractes once the season gets started, although that isn’t completely confirmed. Either way, it’s going to be an important year for Gridin as he tries to add more consistency to his game in the QMJHL and begins building to hopefully spending more time in Calgary sooner rather than later.
Samuel Honzek
Can he put a tough year behind him?
After being selected 16th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, Honzek had a tough year. The 19-year-old — yes, he’s still only 19 — was limited to only 38 outings with the Vancouver Giants in the WHL because of injuries and never quite looked like the player many hoped he could be. Don’t overreact, though. Getting hurt the year after you were drafted is tough, but hopes are still high for the Slovak. He got a little time with the Wranglers at the end of last year and that’s where he’ll be spending most of this season. The most important thing for Honzek is that he stays healthy and continues developing in the right direction.
Jonathan Huberdeau
Is this it?
Huberdeau deserves credit for his professionalism and willingness to stand in front of the media and take accountability when things aren’t going well. Seriously, he does. But there’s no getting around the fact that the way he’s performed since arriving in Calgary two years ago in the trade that sent Matthew Tkachuk to the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers has been hugely disappointing. He put up 55 points two seasons ago and only 52 last year. For a guy getting paid $10.5 million for the next seven years, that’s just not good enough. The Flames need more from him, plain and simple. It’s not wrong to worry about whether they’re ever going to actually get more or will have to settle for the player they’ve got and the underwhelming production he gives them. The contract isn’t tradeable, so we might be asking this question every fall for a long time now.
