The Calgary Flames’ new jersey numbers might be telling a bigger story than they first appear to. After an offseason that brought in Simon Nemec, Jacob Middleton and Maxim Tsyplakov, the numbers each player landed on also seem to narrow the path for a handful of incoming college prospects who could be in line for pro careers after their NCAA seasons end.
Nemec is the clearest example of how these things can work. He has worn #17 with the Devils, Utica and the Slovak national team, and #7 with HK Nitra in Slovakia.
But those options were off the table in Calgary because Yegor Sharangovich already has #17 and Kevin Bahl owns #7. So Nemec flipped his usual choice and settled on #71.
Middleton followed a similar route after arriving from Minnesota in the deal that sent Olli Maatta, Blake Coleman and three draft picks the other way. He wore #67 and #21 with San Jose, then #5 with the Wild. Since the Flames have not issued #5 to anyone since Mark Giordano left in the Seattle expansion draft, Middleton doubled his number and took #55.
Tsyplakov’s number also fits the same pattern. Calgary got him from New Jersey in the Nemec trade, and he had worn #7 with the Islanders and #42 with the Devils. With #7 already taken by Bahl and #42 apparently unavailable as well, Tsyplakov merged the two and came out at #72.
That’s where the college group enters the picture. At development camp, the Flames had jersey numbers set aside for four prospects who could turn pro after their seasons end: Carson Carels wore #55, Ethan Wyttenbach had #91, Cole Reschny was in #77 and Cullen Potter had #42.
A few of those assignments make immediate sense. Reschny wore #7 in the WHL with Victoria and now wears #17 at North Dakota, so #77 is just a clean variation.
Potter’s history is a little more layered - #54 with the U.S. National Development Program, #12 at Arizona State and #21 at Michigan State - but #42 still fits the same combination-and-variation theme.
Wyttenbach’s number is easier to decode, too. He wears #19 at Quinnipiac, and with Zayne Parekh holding #19 for Calgary, the Flames gave Wyttenbach the reversed version at #91.
Carels is the one to watch now. Middleton’s arrival and assignment to #55 came after development camp, which leaves Carels without a number at the moment, at least in theory. Still, he has worn #4 before, including stops with Prince George and North Dakota, and the Flames have already shown they are willing to hand out numbers after the fact, as they did when Abram Wiebe received #52 a few weeks after MacKenzie Weegar departed.
If Calgary does keep following that pattern, Carels could wind up with a low number that once belonged to a longtime Flame. Rasmus Andersson left #4 behind, and Carels, whose nickname is C4, would seem to fit it perfectly.
We’ll see in the spring whether that theory holds up.
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Canadiens Suddenly Face A Huge Test Without Nick Suzuki
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