CALGARY – If there was ever any doubt the Calgary Flames feel they’re moving in the right direction, consider their off-season approach:
Other than at the draft, not a single forward or defenceman was added to the organization, leaving a roster intact that finished 11-2-3 down the stretch of a 96-point season.
Although they missed the playoffs due to a tiebreaker, significant momentum was built by a club that believes the long-term solution to ending a three-year postseason drought can be found within its mix of veteran leaders and growing list of promising young players.
There is plenty of debate over whether the club will take a step back this season, but what can’t be disputed is that Craig Conroy believes his group has plenty of promise as it builds towards trying to be a contender by the time the city’s new arena is ready in 2027.
32 Thoughts: The Podcast
Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.
Salary Cap Space: $11.63 million US
GM: Craig Conroy
Head coach: Ryan Huska
Assistant coaches: Cail MacLean, Trent Cull, Dave Lowry, Jason Labarbera Unsigned players: None
Key new additions: Ivan Prosvetov
WHAT WE’LL LEARN DURING PRE-SEASON
Will Zayne Parekh prove to be an NHLer?
Something would have to go drastically wrong for the 19-year-old defenceman to start the season back in junior.
There’s nothing left for the team’s ninth pick overall in 2024 to prove in Saginaw, as his back-to-back 30+ goal seasons there can attest.
He’s too young to play in the AHL, so he’ll undoubtedly get at least a 10-game audition with the Flames, which will in all likelihood be extended for a full season in the show.
But will he play every day?
Last year’s camp was “humbling” for Parekh, who later rebounded with a stellar showing in his NHL debut the last game of the season when he scored and finished plus-3.
Unquestionably, the organization’s most exciting prospect, Parekh needs to show his defensive game against hockey’s big boys can keep up with his offensive flair. Who he will pair up with will be interesting.
Parekh was left out of last week’s prospect camp for precautionary reasons, as he’s dealt with a lower-body injury this summer. He has been skating on his own and is expected to be a full participant when main camp opens Thursday.
Who will emerge as Dustin Wolf’s backup?
Mitigating the loss of Dan Vladar signing with Philadelphia will be key to the Flames’ playoff hopes.
Devin Cooley was the AHL’s best goalie in the first half of last season, before a concussion and endless callups from the Wranglers made his second half a challenge.
Cooley, who has just six NHL starts on his resume, is on a one-way contract and seemed to be the logical backup. However, the signing of free agent Ivan Prosvetov out of the KHL has some wondering if he will be the man to spell off Wolf from time to time.
Prosvetov played 32 NHL games, sprinkled over four seasons with Arizona and Colorado, before the 26-year-old fourth-round pick bolted to Russia last year.
Feels like it will be an open competition in camp to see which of the 6-foot-5 stoppers stays and avoids being subjected to waivers on their way to the farm.
Will Connor Zary play centre?
He was drafted in the first round as a centre, and surely at some point he will shift there full-time. Many believe he should be given every opportunity to do so in camp, as the organization’s biggest hole is up the middle.
Management insists the most important thing is that Zary finds a comfortable perch on a line where he can contribute offensively, whether that’s on the wing or at the dot.
Either way, you can bet he’ll be practicing faceoffs all season long, as the team has struggled in that department for several years.
Can a prospect break through to open the season?
Several top-tier prospects fared well enough in the two-game series against Edmonton to suggest they will be given long looks with the main group.
Topping that list are Aydar Suniev (third round, 2024), Matvei Gridin (first round, 2024) and Sam Honzek (first round 2023), who were all prominent players over the last week who can help the team address its scoring issues long-term.
It would take a Honzekian effort to displace any of the lads who finished the season with the club, but as Honzek proved last year, rewards will be given to those who earn it.
Defensively, Parekh is the best bet to push through.
ONE BOLD PREDICTION
Dustin Wolf plays at least 60 games
Wolf was the biggest reason the low-scoring Flames were able to finish in a tie for the final playoff spot last year (they lost the tiebreak), and their franchise goalie will continue to give them their best chance to win nightly.
There will be even more pressure on him to start, given the fact that the two possible backups have a combined 38 games of NHL experience.
The Flames have nine back-to-back games this season, but the first one includes Games 1 & 2, which Wolf is likely to start both.
The only way he doesn’t reach this number is if he is injured or if the team falls out of the playoff race early.
$el.after( unescape("%3Cscript src=\"" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js\" %3E%3C/script%3E") );
$( document ).one( 'ready', function() { $( "#video_container-997829" ).SNPlayer( { bc_account_id: "1704050871", bc_player_id: "JCdte3tMv", //autoplay: true, //is_has_autoplay_switch: false, bc_videos: 6378931989112, is_has_continuous_play: "false", section: "", thumbnail: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/6378931989112-1024x576.jpg", direct_url: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/wolf-a-lot-to-look-forward-to-with-flames-future-secure/" }); });
PROJECTED LINES
Forward lines
Huberdeau – Kadri – Coronato
Coleman – Backlund – Zary
Farabee – Frost – Sharangovich
Lomberg – Kirkland – Pospisil
Klapka
Defence pairings
Bahl – Andersson
Hanley – Weegar
Bean – Parekh
Pachal
Goaltenders
Wolf
Cooley
Bengali (Bangladesh) · 
English (United States) ·