The Calgary Wranglers added a local product on Thursday, signing Calgary native Alex Young to a two-way AHL/ECHL contract.
For Young, it’s a return to the organization closest to home after a path that ran from local youth hockey to the AJHL, then through college and into the pro ranks. He grew up in Stampede City and played in the AMBHL and AMMHL before spending three seasons from 2017 to 2020 with the Canmore Eagles. That stretch in the Bow Valley helped put him on the NHL Draft radar, and the San Jose Sharks took him in the seventh round, 196th overall, in 2020.
Young’s production kept climbing in Canmore. He went from 1.60 points per game at the U17 level to 1.20 points per game in the AJHL, and he finished his time with the Eagles with 206 points, including 91 goals and 115 assists, in 172 games. He also played for the league’s Selects team in 2020.
Rather than jump straight to pro hockey, Young headed to Colgate University. There, he became a 20-goal scorer in his third season, earned ECAC All-Rookie Team honors, and later helped win a league championship in 2023 while picking up All-Tournament and First All-Star Team recognition.
He wrapped up his NCAA career at Arizona State University, where he posted nine points in 37 games. In all, he scored 43 goals and 92 points across his college career.
Young has spent the last two seasons in the ECHL after beginning his pro career with the Adirondack Thunder in 2023-24 and then joining the Atlanta Gladiators. In 2025-26, his first full season in professional hockey, he put up 27 goals and 59 points in 72 games and led the Gladiators in scoring.
The 25-year-old now gives the Wranglers another offensive option as they look to rebound from a last-place finish in the AHL’s Pacific Division, where they went 23-34-10-5 last season. If he opens the year with the Rapid City Rush, he’d join a team coming off a 29-36-6-1 record that placed 12th in the ECHL’s Western Conference.
No matter where he starts, Young will be in the Flames organization and positioned to keep building his resume. If an AHL call-up comes his way, the Calgary native could get the chance to skate at the Scotiabank Saddledome during its final season.
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Morgan Frost and Connor Zary are the two names that will draw the most attention, even before the market fully develops. Frost remains one of the more talented centremen in the organization, which gives Calgary a tough decision if the right offer arrives, while Zary has already surfaced in trade chatter and could find himself back in that conversation quickly if his start to the season does not match the teams hopes. [Read more 🡒]
Connor Zary Faces A Defining Flames Season For His Future
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The projection work on Zary points to a meaningful window ahead, with his age and past production weighed against the role uncertainty that has followed him. For the Flames, the question is less about whether there is talent here and more about whether the coming season finally gives him enough consistency to make a real claim on a top-six spot and power-play duty. [Read more 🡒]