Aydar Suniev has done the one thing that matters most in a shortened training camp: he’s scored.
With fewer preseason games and less runway to make a case, the Flames winger has wasted almost no time. In just two games - one prospect game and one preseason game - Calgary has scored three total goals, and Suniev has all three of them.
“I was working on my shot all summer and I’m glad it’s paying off,” said Suniev, following a 4-2 loss to open the Flames’ pre-season schedule at the Dome (via Flames TV).
That kind of start is exactly how a player gets noticed when the margins are tight. Suniev is coming off his first full pro season, one that saw him play 57 games for the Calgary Wranglers and finish with 16 goals and 24 points. He also got his first real taste of NHL life at the end of the year, appearing in six games for the Flames and picking up one assist.
That late-season look seems to have left him hungry for more.
The Flames need goals, and that reality gives Suniev a real selling point. If a player can finish, he’ll get attention. He’ll keep getting that chance this preseason, but the bigger question is whether there’s enough time left for him to build a convincing argument to open the season in Calgary.
Head coach Ryan Huska has been saying jobs are available this fall, and Jonathan Huberdeau’s absence to start the year does create one opening. But the left side already has a crowded feel to it. Matvei Gridin, Sam Honzek and Connor Zary are all in position to fill out the top three lines, which leaves the remaining options looking a little less friendly for a young scorer trying to force his way in.
The fourth-line role is still there, but that might not be the ideal landing spot for Suniev. A young player in that kind of role can end up with limited five-on-five time in the NHL, when a heavier workload in the AHL could do more for his development. It’s the same kind of issue Hunter Brustewicz is facing.
Honzek, though, remains the wild card. He has made the team out of camp in each of the last two years, shown well, and then been slowed by injuries.
He may have been Calgary’s best player in the preseason game against Seattle, and he’ll get the chance to log meaningful minutes. The real question is whether he can stay on the ice.
Zary is another name in the mix. He has yet to fully settle in with the Flames, and injuries limited him last season as well. His play after returning didn’t quite match his ability, but he arrived at camp healthy, and the expectation is that he’ll start the year on the third line.
So the door is technically open, but maybe not in the exact place Suniev wants it to be. That’s what makes the challenge so steep with only three preseason games left.
If the schedule were longer, he’d have more time to pile up a case. As it stands, he has a narrow window to keep forcing the issue.
Still, he’s not out of the conversation. Another couple of goals could make things interesting fast and put management in a difficult spot.
If he ends up starting the year with the Wranglers, the Flames will likely want him to keep rolling there. This season in Calgary figures to have its share of injuries and struggles, and chances will come.
For Suniev, the timing feels like a matter of when, not if, he’s back in a Flames uniform.
In Other News...
Kevin Bahl May Be Carrying More Of Calgarys Blue Line Than Ever
Kevin Bahl arrives in camp with a clear assignment in mind, and it goes well beyond simply settling into the Calgary Flames blue line. With Simon Nemec in the fold after the trade from the New Jersey Devils, Bahl is being lined up as the steady, defense-first presence beside a younger partner whose game leans more naturally toward pushing the puck and joining the attack. Head coach Ryan Huska has already framed Bahl as the kind of blueliner who can balance out that style and help give the Flames a more functional look in tough minutes.
The bigger picture for Calgary is how much responsibility Bahl could absorb if this pairing holds. The Flames are counting on him to take on heavy defensive work against opposing top lines, and his role should stretch into special teams as well as the season unfolds. For a team trying to sort out its back end, Bahl may end up being one of the players who quietly carries the most weight in the structure, even if the spotlight naturally follows the more dynamic name next to him. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Fans Finally Get A First Look At Conroys Biggest Additions
The long wait for a first real look at Calgarys offseason overhaul ends Tuesday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome, when the Flames dress Simon Nemec, Jake Middleton and Maxim Tsyplakov for a preseason game against the Vancouver Canucks. All three arrived in separate summer moves, with Nemec and Tsyplakov coming over from the New Jersey Devils in a deal built around draft picks and a prospect, and Middleton landing from the Minnesota Wild, giving fans their first chance to see how the new pieces fit into the roster.
The early alignment offers an immediate hint at how the Flames view the additions. Nemec is slated for the top defensive pairing, Middleton is expected to settle into a second-pair role, and Tsyplakov should get a look on the fourth line, with both Nemec and Tsyplakov also drawing second-unit power-play duty. Preseason lineups are never final, but this one should give Calgary a better sense of just how quickly the new arrivals can settle into the spots the team has mapped out for them. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Preseason Lineup Just Sent A Clear Message To Young Players
Calgarys first preseason game offered a pretty clear hint about where the roster stands heading into the fall. In a 4-2 loss to Seattle, the Flames iced a group with few established NHL regulars, a sign that the club is still sorting through its younger options and trying to see which players can handle bigger responsibilities before the games start to matter.
Ahead of the next matchup with Vancouver, a projected opening-night lineup has started to come into focus, and it includes names like Connor Zary and Samuel Honzek in prominent spots. The Flames have not officially locked anything in yet, but the expectation is that what shows up against the Canucks will look a lot closer to the group that opens the season, giving the younger players one more chance to show they belong in the conversation. [Read more 🡒]