Breaking down the Flames’ best young options waiting in AHL wings

Victoria Royals forward Matthew Phillips. (Jonathon Howe/Victoria Royals)

Half a decade ago, scoring depth was the Flames’ Achilles’ heel.

It was down to Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan to keep Calgary’s offence alive, a gaping hole emerging on their right side following the departure of Jiri Hudler. Then came Matthew Tkachuk to spark a second line that for a spell, reigned as one of the game’s best. And then Elias Lindholm, pushing the club’s top-line duo from great to flat-out elite.

At this point in Calgary’s timeline, the top six is unquestionable, even if GM Brad Treliving has swung for the fences on a few occasions to try to bolster it further. And a recent shift in thinking that’s swapped Lindholm for Mikael Backlund between the top-line wing and second-line centre hole adds another interesting wrinkle of versatility to the mix.

The bottom six, though, remains a work in progress.

Veteran Derek Ryan and the club’s long-term project, Mark Jankowski, have held down the fort. Depth options like Sam Bennett and Michael Frolik continue to contribute, but overall the bottom-six unit seems to lack the cohesive promise of the game’s truly elite teams, with a couple stalwarts who seem far from genuine long-term options (read: Lucic, Milan).

But one promising trend has emerged — the kids beginning to climb the organizational ladder and claw their way to roster spots.

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Over the sterling seven-game win streak that kicked off interim head coach Geoff Ward’s tenure behind the Flames bench, it was 21-year-old Dillon Dube pushing his way through the door, tying for the second-most points on the team with six over that seven-game stretch. As of late, it’s been 23-year-old Andrew Managiapane, who’s put up five points in as many games, including a banner three-point night during the most recent iteration of the Battle of Alberta.

Establishing their names as everyday contributors is still on the to-do list, but it’s clear the kids are part of the Flames’ near future — especially with four of their top nine highest-scoring forwards over the age of 30 already.

So, who’s next up after Mangiapane and Dube? With the Flames since taking just two of seven since that win streak, we’ve already seen some line juggling in Calgary and some trips between Alberta and AHL Stockton for depth players like Austin Czarnik and Zac Rinaldo.

Whether Treliving opts to dip into his AHL pool again this season or waits until 2020-21, it’s worth checking in on the names knocking at the door for the Flames. Luckily for the Calgary faithful, the team’s AHL club has been thriving, their top stars progressing in leaps and bounds this season, giving Treliving some intriguing options to consider.

That said, here’s an overview of what’s waiting in Stockton:

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Matthew Phillips

Twenty-one-year-old Matthew Phillips might just be the most intriguing name on the Heat’s roster at the moment. The five-foot-seven, 155-pound forward has taken a monstrous step forward in his second year among the pro ranks, pacing his club in goals with 14 already through 28 appearances, while sitting second in points with 30 to his name.

As an AHL rookie in 2018-19, Phillips put up 13 goals and 38 points through 65 games. In 37 fewer games this time around, he’s already topped that goals mark and sits just eight shy of topping last year’s point total.

All told, at his current pace, the sixth-round (166th-overall) 2016 draft pick is on pace for 73 points over a full AHL campaign, which would nearly double his output last year.

That’s a good sign, mostly because that rapid offensive uptick seems mostly to be the result of Phillips simply adjusting to life at the pro level.

“That first month or two, it’s a big shock off the ice,” Phillips said of his rookie year recently to StocktonHeat.com’s Brandon Weiss. “I found out big time, as soon as you can get everything settled and organized you’re a lot more dialled in at the rink.”

In his coach’s eyes, that greater comfort level has led to an ability to expand his approach, too.

“He’s always been good with his (hockey) sense,” coach Cail MacLean told Weiss. “There’s more strength in battles, but there’s also more confidence in those battles. He was relying more on his sneakiness last year. He’s still got sneakiness now, but he’s also got slipperiness.

“He can squeeze through holes whereas before he was stealing pucks. Now he’s getting in there and making it to the other side.”

Glenn Gawdin

It’s been a similar story for 22-year-old Glenn Gawdin.

The versatile centre currently reigns as the Heat’s leading scorer, besting linemate Phillips by one point, albeit with one more game under his belt. And just like Phillips, Gawdin is obliterating the production he showed during his first go-round in the pros.

As a rookie, the Richmond, B.C., native put up 11 goals and 38 points for Stockton in 2018-19, that coming fresh off a dominant final season in juniors in which he amassed 56 goals and 125 points in just 67 games for the Swift Current Broncos.

Through 29 games, Gawdin’s already up to 10 goals and 31 points, just a hair shy of both of last season’s marks, in 38 fewer appearances. Similar to Phillips, his current pace puts him on track for 73 points by the year’s end.

Originally drafted in the fourth round (116th overall) by St. Louis in 2015, Gawdin’s prolific start to 2019-20 has put himself and Phillips among the top talents in the AHL, with the two Heat forwards ranking fifth and seventh, respectively, in the league scoring race. That offensive has helped the Heat ice elite special-teams units this season, pushing the club up to third-best in its conference.

Buddy Robinson

Unlike the two young guns above him here, Buddy Robinson has some more miles under his belt, the 27-year-old having logged time in the Senators organization and with three other AHL clubs before arriving in Stockton.

But the Bellmawr, N.J., native — who grew up alongside Johnny Gaudreau, and got a shot with the Flames via a nudge to the Flames’ front office from the star winger — is similarly on track for a career year for the Heat.

Through 29 games, Robinson’s posted 13 goals and 25 points, the first mark tied for second-best on the roster and the points mark ranking him third. He’s already just one goal shy of his 2018-19 goal total — seemingly a team-wide trend among the surging Heat scorers — and on pace for 58 points overall, which would best last season’s 42.

Standing six-foot-six and weighing in at 225 pounds, Robinson brings a different element compared to the shifty Phillips and Gawdin. But if the Flames eventually move on from Milan Lucic and want to retain the element they sought when they acquired the big-bodied winger, Robinson’s among the best, most cost-effective in-house options.

Luke Philp

Buried lower down on the Heat’s scoring charts is another intriguing young name — 24-year-old AHL rookie Luke Philp, an undrafted Canmore, Alta., native who’s begun to take the league by storm.

Playing out his first season as a pro following three years with the University of Alberta and a long WHL career, Philp started off his AHL tenure quietly, going pointless through his first 10 games.

Since potting his first in Game 11, though, he’s been a force for Stockton, scoring 13 goals in 14 games and 18 points through his past 17 tilts overall.

That’s rocketed him up to second in the Heat’s goal-scoring department, ranking him among the top snipers in the league over that 17-game span.

“He’s a hard-working guy with good hockey sense,” Philps’ coach told StocktonHeat.com earlier this month, 10 games into that hot streak. “He’s very shifty in terms of his feet and his hands, being able to move quickly. It’s sort of a graduation of him figuring the league out.

“…No one is going to put pressure on him to keep that up, but if he can continue to score on a consistent basis that’s really good. It’s not by mistake, let’s say that.”

His overall pace puts him on track for 33 goals by the year’s end. Though, taking into account his absurd pace over his past 14 games, if Philp managed to continue to score anywhere near that 0.93 goals-per-game rate, he’d rack up more than 30 goals between now and the end of the season alone, on top of the 13 already in the bag.

Whether that translates to the big leagues is another question altogether, but there’s no denying Philp is emerging as an interesting piece for both Stockton and Calgary, and with the big club looking for answers offensively as of late, and the experimentation bound to pick up as the year moves forward, Philp’s establishing himself as a dark horse contender for a big-league shot down the line.

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