Every month throughout the NHL season we’ll be updating you on the development of key Calgary Flames prospects with up-to-date stats, videos, analysis and scouting reports.
Two of the most important factors in the development of young players are patience and consistency, and the Flames organization has plenty of both.
Flames bench boss Bob Hartley and head coach of the team’s AHL affiliate Stockton Heat, Ryan Huska, are on the same page in terms of coaching systems. The hope is that players will be able to transition as seamlessly as possible when the time comes to make the trip north — a crucial process in an organization with a pro-heavy prospect pool.
While there are, of course, multiple exceptions (we see you, Sam Bennett), the growing trend seems to point to an older — and thus, more experienced — group of prospects for the Flames.
Josh Jooris and Michael Ferland, both of whom battled their way onto the roster last season, are proof of that.
Many players are also going the NCAA route — last year’s breakout rookie Johnny Gaudreau being one of them.
There are plenty of noteworthy prospects to monitor in the Flames organization. We’ve highlighted a few in particular that we’re keeping an eye on through the start of the hockey season.
Jon Gillies: G, Stockton Heat (AHL)
Drafted: Third round, 75th overall, 2012
Season to date: 7GP | 3-2-1 | 2.55 | .920
Goaltending has been a sore spot for the Flames and their rotating crease so far this season, which now also includes Joni Ortio. But fear not — help is on the way.
At 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds, Jon Gillies is the biggest goaltender in the Flames’ system and is considered the club’s goalie of the future.
Gillies, 21, got off to a solid start this season, shutting out his opponent in two of his first three pro games and recording a 2.31 goals against average and .920 save percentage while going 2-3-1. However, he has been sidelined all month after sustaining a lower body injury Nov. 6.
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Gillies made a name for himself as the standout NCAA netminder with Providence College for three years, earning himself a 60-34-13 record with a 2.08 goals against average, a .931 save percentage and 13 shutouts. He signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Flames in April, shortly after backstopping Providence to an NCAA championship, during which he received MVP honours as the top player in the Frozen Four tournament.
Oliver Kylington: D, Stockton Heat (AHL)
Drafted: Second round, 60th overall, 2015
Season to date: 8GP | 2G | 1A | 3P | -3
He may be the youngest player on the squad, but Oliver Kylington definitely doesn’t play like it.
Facing a few playing options going into the 2015-16 season (Kylington could have played in Sweden or with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings), Flames brass decided he would best benefit from developing his skills in the pros. It might be too soon to quite determine if that was the best result for the 18-year-old, but the focus on development over wins and losses could greatly benefit this coachable blueliner.
In Kylington, the Flames have a mobile defenceman who can skate and shoot at an NHL level and quarterback a play with poise. When asked by Sportsnet’s Mark Spector which current or retired NHLers he draws inspiration from, the AHL rookie named Bobby Orr (Kylington also wears No. 4), Duncan Keith and fellow Swede Erik Karlsson. He also looks to friend and stay-at-home defenceman Johnny Oduya for help with the details of his defensive game, as well as off-season training.
Kylington’s skating, confidence and offensive instincts earned him plenty of first-round buzz well prior to the 2015 draft, but it was his inconsistency that brought on the free fall to his eventual late second-round selection. The can’t-teach-that skill is there, but it’s that inconsistency that he’ll be targeting now.
Emile Poirier: LW, Stockton Heat (AHL)
Drafted: First round, 22nd overall, 2013
Season to date: 11GP | 0G | 4A | 4P | -4
Poirier ranked second in team scoring in his rookie AHL campaign last year with 19 goals and 42 points in 55 games, but has yet to find the back of the net this year, with four assists in 11 games with the Heat.
Poirier, one of three 2013 first-round draft picks along with Sean Monahan and Morgan Klimchuk, pointed to Flames Centre Josh Jooris as inspiration. Jooris battled his way onto the Flames roster last season, and Poirier had his sights set on doing the same out of camp.
Poirier’s strong play last season earned him a few call-ups in the second half of 2014-15, but the 20-year-old couldn’t crack the roster this year.
The speedy, shifty winger’s next project will be finding consistency in his two-way game.
“He’s starting to understand that he has to play back into our own zone the same way he goes the other way,” said Stockton head coach Ryan Huska. “Now it’s just a matter of him applying it consistently.”
Andrew Mangiapane: LW, Barrie Colts (OHL)
Drafted: Sixth round, 166th overall, 2015
Season to date: 20GP | 15G | 16A | 31P | +1
If you’re going to use one word to describe 19-year-old Andrew Mangiapane, let it be “skill.”
The Bolton, Ont. native recorded 51 points in 2013-14 with the Barrie Colts, then more than doubled that total with 104 in 2014-15. With 31 points in 20 games this season, including three hat tricks and five straight multi-point games to end the month of October, he’s already proving to be a dominant offensive force again.
Not bad for an undrafted kid who earned his spot on the Colts as a walk-on in 2013, and was passed up in 2014’s draft due to his small stature.
The undersized, gritty forward has plenty of pesk-potential and boasts excellent skating skills, using his speed and agility to consistently beat opponents and earn him comparisons to Johnny Hockey.
Here’s what Flames general manager Brad Treliving had to say about Mangiapane at this year’s draft: “High, high-end skill. You look at our game as it’s moving along here. There’s an emphasis on skill. We think we checked a box as we went through the draft in that area, wanting to add skill to our lineup and a competitive guy.”
Rasmus Andersson: Barrie Colts, OHL
Drafted: Second round, 43rd overall, 2015
Season to date: 18GP | 3G | 15A | 18P | Even
Mangiapane isn’t the only reason Flames fans should be paying attention to the Barrie Colts. Defenceman Rasmus Andersson is currently riding a point-per-game wave through his first 18 contests of the season as he looks to top last year’s 64 points to lead the team’s defencemen.
The Swedish defender’s hockey I.Q. and vision are among his finest qualities, and it shows in his ability to handle the puck well and generate smart plays out of the defensive zone. A little more conditioning could go a long way for Andersson to fulfill his tremendous potential as an offensive defenceman. He’s also got a great shot.
Kenny Agostino: LW, Stockton Heat (AHL)
Drafted: Fifth round, 140th overall, 2010 (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Season to date: 11GP | 1G | 6A | 6P | -2
If you’re wondering why Agostino’s name rings familiar, it’s because he was part of the trade that sent longtime captain Jarome Iginla to Pittsburgh. (The Flames also received a first-round pick, which turned out to be Morgan Klimchuk.)
Almost exactly a year after that trade, the New Jersey native — fresh off a four-year college career at Yale that saw him tally 132 points in 136 games and help the team to an NCAA Championship — made his NHL debut. Agostino played eight games with the Flames, earning a goal and an assist.
As an AHL rookie in 2014-15, the winger finished first on the team in points (43) and assists (28). Agostino’s steady two-way skills and smart play-making proved fruitful on the Heat’s penalty kill all last season, tying for second in the league for shorthanded goals with three.
If Agostino can harness that same pace this year, he could be one of the first to get a call-up this season.
Other prospects to watch: Morgan Klimchuk, LW; Markus Granlund, C; Hunter Smith, RW; Austin Carroll, RW; Tyler Wotherspoon, D; Brandon Hickey, D.
