There have been a lot of statement-sorta nights during this breakout season for Calgary Flames right-winger Matt Coronato.
was among the most impressive of all.
Before you scramble to check the scoring summaries, a couple things you should know …
Coronato was, on that particular day, demoted for what turned out to be a brief return to the American Hockey League.
You will find him listed as a healthy scratch that evening for the Wranglers. In fact, the Flames’ brass told him he wasn’t required to report to the rink until the next morning.
“When guys get sent down, it’s up to you, with the attitude that you go down with,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska earlier this season. “The night he got sent down, he didn’t play for the Wranglers, but he went to their game and was in the locker-room after the game after a win, when he could have easily just stayed at home because we didn’t ask him to go.
“That just shows you about the type of person that he is.”
Coronato was recalled a few days later after two twirls with the farm club and continues to show what type of player he is, too.
The type that won’t be going back in the minors.
The type that was, for Saturday’s late date with the Seattle Kraken, skating with Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri on the top line.
It’s a combination many Flames fans have been clamouring to see, and understandably so. Huberdeau, Kadri and Coronato are 1-2-3 on the team scoring charts.
“I’m excited,” said the 22-year-old Coronato after Saturday’s morning skate at the Saddledome. “It’s a good opportunity for me to just go out and try to keep playing the same way and help the team win.”
Coronato has, ever since he was selected in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft, been one of those names bolded on the Flames’ future plan.
Still the youngest dude on the roster, this sophomore pro has already emerged as a key ingredient for the recipe to win games right now. Saturday’s promotion is just the latest proof of that.
The Flames likely would have tried it sooner, except that Coronato has been such a nice fit with Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman on what has been Calgary’s most consistent and reliable forward trio.
“With the more games that he’s played and the roles that he’s earned along the way, because he’s deserved to be playing the minutes that he’s playing right now, I think he’s gained a lot of belief in his ability at this level,” Huska said of Coronato’s top-line look. “At the beginning of the year, if we would have thrown him with guys like that, it maybe wouldn’t have gone all that well. He needed the time to build his resume, I think, for himself at this level, and now he’s there.
“I think he fully understands, ‘Yeah, I’m playing with two pretty good players. But if I have a chance to shoot the puck, I’m shooting the puck.’ So I’m not going to worry too much about him on that line right now. I think he’s going to do a really good job.”
Heading into Saturday’s clash against the Kraken, his 50th appearance this season at the NHL level, Coronato had so far cranked out 14 goals and 30 points.
He’s on pace to pot 20. With his wicked release, he should make an annual habit of that.
“I think every day, you’re more and more comfortable at this level. I’ve said that before,” Coronato told Postmedia in a recent interview. “But you never take a day for granted, either. It’s all about continuing to get better and continuing to prove yourself. For me, I just want to help this team win, because it’s a lot of fun when we’re winning. Hopefully, we can make the push we need.
“It’s a lot of fun, being in this position,” he continued, steering the conversation to the Flames’ quest for a wild-card invite. “Every night, every game, matters so much and I think that’s really all you can ask for — to be in the battle. And I know we have a lot of belief that we can keep winning games and get there.”
However the Flames’ playoff push ultimately turns out, Coronato’s major leap will be considered one of the most encouraging and important storylines of the season around the Saddledome. (As a rookie in 2023-24, he registered three goals and six assists in 34 games and also landed a spot at the AHL’s all-star showcase.)
Coaching call-up Trent Cull, who is typically at the helm for the Wranglers but is currently helping Huska’s staff as an interim assistant, put it best when bragging about a development pipeline that has been such a positive for the organization.
“Who would have thought Matt Coronato spent a couple games in the American Hockey League this year?” Cull asked. “You’d never think, right? You come to a game now and watch him play, why would he be there?”
Coronato didn’t need to be there on Oct. 25 as the Wranglers hosted the Colorado Eagles.
He showed up anyway, which didn’t go unnoticed.
“And his game, since he’s been back here, has continued to get better and better,” Huska said.