The Calgary Flames will most likely have a new face in net for one of their two games remaining on the regular season schedule.
Highly-rated goalie prospect Jon Gillies was called up on an emergency basis from AHL affiliate Stockton Heat on Wednesday, and is expected make his NHL debut this week against either the Los Angeles Kings (Thursday) or San Jose Sharks (Saturday).
“It will be a pretty cool day for my family,” Gillies told reporters on Wednesday. “They’ve sacrificed a lot to get me to where I am so I think that will be the most special for me.”
Backup goalie Chad Johnson went down with an injury early in the Flames’ loss to the Anaheim Ducks Tuesday night and has returned to Calgary for further assessment. Starter Brian Elliott stepped in in relief, and the Flames are now hoping to give him some rest before the post-season.
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While head coach Glen Gulutzan didn’t specify which night the prospect will be hitting NHL ice, he did indicate that a start is in store for the 23-year-old.
“If I was a betting guy, I’d say Jon will go one of these two games,” he said.
Gillies is the biggest goaltending prospect in the Flames system—both in size and promise—and has rebounded nicely after missing almost all of the 2015-16 season following hip surgery.
Though the six-foot-four, 223-pound netminder has struggled to find consistency at times this year, he has still claimed the top spot in the Heat’s net with 38 starts on the season — 10 more than crease counterpart David Rittich. The AHL rookie has a 17-4-4 record in 2016-17, with a 2.95 goals against average and .909 save percentage.
While a probable start will be good experience for the budding goalie, GM Brad Treliving—known for his patient approach with prospects—told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman last week that he’s in no rush to make Gillies an NHL mainstay.
“Gillies and Rittich are getting closer to playing in the NHL, but I’d rather cook them for another year if we have to than jam them in,” Treliving told Friedman, via 30 Thoughts.
The Flames have stocked up on goalies, with Rittich, Tyler Parsons, Mason McDonald and Nick Schneider all in the system at various levels.
Calgary clinched a post-season berth on March 31 and are sitting in the West’s first wild card spot with 92 points going into Thursday’s game.
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