They’re two players who are expected to have bright futures with the Calgary Flames. For now, though, Matvei Gridin and Andrew Basha are headed back to their junior clubs.
The Flames made the announcement – which was not entirely unexpected – on Thursday morning, cutting their training camp roster down to six goalies, 17 defencemen and 31 forwards.
Gridin was selected in the first-round, 28th overall, of the 2024 NHL Draft after an outstanding season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL. The six-foot-1 Russian winger scored 38 goals and added 45 assists last season. He had committed to playing with the University of Michigan Wolverines, but instead opted to go the CHL route and will be skating for the Shawinigan Cataractes in the QMJHL this year.
Basha, meanwhile, was drafted in the second-round by the Flames with the 41st overall pick. A Calgary-native, the left-winger scored 30 goals and added 55 assists with the Medicine Hat Tigers last season and has a willingness to go into the hard areas of the ice that could see him become a fan favourite down the road with the Flames.
Basha will be returning to a powerhouse Tigers team that many believe will be a frontrunner to contend for the Memorial Cup next spring and is expected to feature as many as six players who have been drafted to NHL teams already,
including Given their age, the two 18-year-olds were always expected to play in junior this season. The cuts came a couple days after the Flames had returned seven other teenage prospects to their junior clubs.
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