The Calgary Flames trimmed their camp roster with a pair of moves to start what could be a busy final stretch of roster decisions across the league.
Goaltender Kirill Zarubin and defenceman Abram Wiebe were assigned to the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers, leaving the Flames down to 25 players.
Both players had remained in camp partly because of the new CBA rule that limits players with 100 or more career NHL games from dressing for more than pre-season games. Zarubin was on the bench as Dustin Wolf’s backup Saturday night in Edmonton because Devin Cooley, his usual backup, had already appeared in two pre-season games.
On the blue line, the Flames had been carrying eight defencemen, but Joel Hanley and Brayden Pachal had already played twice. That meant if a player got hurt in warm-up or came down with an illness before a game, the team would not have had another eligible defender available.
Wiebe, who had already been sent to the AHL a few days earlier, was brought back as insurance.
Zarubin, 21, was Calgary’s third-round pick in 2024. He came through the Russian academy system, playing with Mikhailov Academy in Tula, Russia, and drew notice there. With no clear place to play in Russia this season after aging out of junior, and with Mikhailov Academy’s minor-pro team not affiliated with a KHL program, he accepted the Flames’ offer to sign his entry-level deal and come to North America.
Wiebe, 23, was drafted by Vegas in the seventh round in 2022 before being traded to Calgary in the Rasmus Andersson trade in January. He spent three seasons at the University of North Dakota, where he became a key part of the program and wore an A as an alternate captain last season. He signed with the Flames in the spring and appeared in four NHL games late in the season.
As it stands, Calgary’s camp roster is essentially at 25 players. The NHL’s roster list still includes Alex Nylander, who is on waivers for assignment to the AHL, but that move appears to have already been settled.
That leaves two more steps to reach the 23-player limit by p.m. MT on Monday: putting Jonathan Huberdeau on injured reserve and sending either Brennan Othmann or Aydar Suniev to the AHL.
If Othmann is not placed on waivers at noon MT on Sunday, it strongly suggests he will open the season with the Flames.
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There is also a clearer picture of the veterans the Flames trust to help set the tone. Joel Hanley and Brayden Pachal are on the roster, while Aydar Suniev was assigned to the American Hockey League, trimming one more young option from the mix. Jonathan Huberdeau is on injured reserve, which adds another layer to the early-season puzzle as Calgary works through its first lineup decisions without one of its most established names. [Read more 🡒]
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Aydar Suniev and Jonathan Huberdeau were both moved off the active group, which keeps the focus squarely on forward depth and what it means for the team early in the year. Huberdeau is working his way back from hip surgery and is expected to return in seven to nine months, so his absence will linger well beyond opening night. For Calgary, the bigger question now is how the forwards handle the workload while the roster settles into place. [Read more 🡒]
Wranglers Scoreless Debut Raises An Early Concern Up Front
The Calgary Wranglers first pre-season game in team history ended the way no new club wants to start, with a 3-0 loss to the Abbotsford Canucks and an offense that never found a breakthrough. Abbotsford grabbed control early with two first-period goals, while Calgary had to lean on goaltender Arsenii Sergeev, who made several key saves to keep the score from getting worse as the game went on.
Even with the puck spending plenty of time in the Canucks end, the Wranglers could not convert their chances and left the ice looking for answers up front. The late empty-net goal only added to the frustration, but the bigger concern was the same one that lingered from the opening period: Calgary generated looks, yet never managed to turn pressure into a goal. [Read more 🡒]