Anthony Mantha left Tuesday evening’s game in the first period with a lower-body injury and did not return.
On Wednesday in Boston, Sportsnet 960’s Derek Wills was at the Flames’ practice and reported that Mantha did not participate.
If he’s out for a while, the Flames have options.
Mantha has four goals and three assists this season while playing with Jonathan Huberdeau and an assortment of other linemates. His absence has necessitated a shuffle for the Flames, and at Wednesday’s practice the Flames had Huberdeau playing with Yegor Sharangovich at centre and Martin Pospisil on the right wing.
There’s no word on how long Mantha might be out, but if it’s for more than a couple games it will likely result in the Flames calling someone up from the Calgary Wranglers, likely to play in a fourth-line role.
What are their options there? Let’s take a look:
Adam Klapka
At first glance, it would seem like Klapka is the most likely option for a call-up.
The 6-foot-8 behemoth earned a spot on the Flames roster after a strong training camp and has already played in five games this season in a fourth-line role after appearing in six games last season.
The 24-year-old hasn’t picked up any points this season — he did score a goal in the Flames’ final regular season game last year — but has taken great strides over the past couple of seasons in learning to better use his size to make an impact.
The Czech winger was reassigned to the Wranglers last week and has played two AHL games so far, but he’s already begun developing chemistry with Ryan Lomberg and both Kevin Rooney and Justin Kirkland on the fourth line.
Connor Zary, Andrei Kuzmenko and Martin Pospisil have all played fourth-line minutes recently, but they could easily be moved up the lineup into a bigger role if Klapka got the call-up.
Jakob Pelletier
The last 12 months have been tough on Pelletier, who seemed to lose some confidence after a training camp shoulder injury that required surgery and a long rehab stint last summer.
He was placed on waivers at the end of pre-season this year, and after going unclaimed was reassigned to the Wranglers.
The good news is he seems to have taken that demotion in stride and is off to a red-hot start this season in the AHL. Through 11 games, he’s picked up 10 assists, which is the second-highest total in the league.
The 2019 first-round draft pick has shown he can be effective in the NHL and was one of the few good news stories to come out of the 2022-23 season, when he played in 24 games and scored three goals while adding four assists and acting as a beacon of positivity for an underperforming team.
The Flames definitely haven’t given up on Pelletier and he’s absolutely an option if they need a call-up, but you do wonder whether they might feel that he’d be best served getting more ice time and continuing to grow his game for a little while longer in the AHL.
Walker Duehr
Duehr has a somewhat similar story to Pelletier in that he turned a lot of heads when he burst onto the NHL scene with the Flames during the 2022-23 season, scoring seven goals and adding four assists in 27 games.
He hasn’t quite managed to replicate the success he found that season since, although he did play in 40 games last year and scored two goals while adding five assists.
The Flames gave Duehr a long look on their fourth line early in training camp before ultimately deciding to go in another direction, but you’d feel comfortable slotting him back in there if needed.
He’s been productive with the Wranglers so far this season, too, scoring six goals and adding five assists in 11 games.
Dryden Hunt
If NHL experience is what the Flames are looking for, Hunt’s got it in spades, with 230 games in the league to his name.
He’s well-known to fans, too, having appeared in 28 games last season after missing the early part of the year due to injury. He can reliably play minutes on the penalty-kill and also added three goals and five assists last year.
Like Pelletier, Hunt was one of four players named as Wranglers assistant captains and younger players have raved about his leadership and the guidance he’s provided them as they adjust to the pros.
With 10 points in 11 games so far this season for the Wranglers, Hunt’s doing a little bit of everything and his relentlessness on the forecheck means he’ll surely get a call-up at some point this season. Why not now, if the Flames need him?
Clark Bishop
Bishop was named the captain of the Wranglers on Tuesday morning and has low-key been close to a call-up on multiple occasions over the past couple of seasons.
He remarkably scored four-straight game-winning goals last week, but it’s his ability to slot right into a fourth-line role that would make him attractive to the Flames.
He’s got six goals and three assists in 11 games this season in the AHL, and also has 47 games of NHL experience to his name.
Sam Honzek/Rory Kerins
Honzek was just sent down to the Wranglers last week and has already scored a goal in one game of AHL action. The 19-year-old will undoubtedly be called back up soon enough, but the Flames wanted him to get some more ice time and work on a few things in the AHL for a little while. There’s really no rush.
Kerins, meanwhile, has come out of the gates red-hot for the Wranglers, with nine goals and three assists in 11 games. The 22-year-old wasn’t on many peoples’ radar throughout training camp, but he’s definitely there now. As a centre, he doesn’t totally fit what the Flames could need if Mantha’s out for a while, but his play is putting him in the mix.