The Calgary Flames prospects got their first official work of the 2026-27 season on the ice Saturday afternoon at the Scotiabank Saddledome, and the opening session came with plenty of tempo.
A group of 23 players took part in the main practice as Calgary’s prospects started getting ready for Monday night’s NextGen Showcase meeting with their Edmonton Oilers counterparts. Under Calgary Wranglers head coach Brett Sutter, his AHL assistants and members of the Flames’ development staff, the session moved quickly from simple skating-with-the-puck work into one-on-one battles, then into multi-player drills, transition work, and more puck-transport and battle sequences.
The early takeaway from a very limited sample was pretty clear: the Flames appear set on speed and pace. And on the first day, the group seemed to handle that ask well.
The older players in camp stood out, at least from a casual view of the ice. Calgary has five prospects in camp who have already seen NHL action - Matvei Gridin, Tyson Gross, Aydar Suniev, Abram Wiebe and Arsenii Sergeev - and all of them were noticeable Saturday for the way they led drills and held up in them.
Calgary skated with three goaltenders, seven defencemen and 13 forwards, and while the combinations shifted throughout the workout, a few groupings showed up repeatedly. Up front, the most common look was Matvei Gridin between Tyson Gross and Aydar Suniev.
Simon Katolicky skated with Riley Boychuk and Joe Iginla, while Chase Harrington centered Jonathan Castagna and Andrew Basha. Another forward line featured Ryder Boulton, Will Dineen and Carter Wilkie, with Quinn Olson rotating in.
On defence, Axel Hurtig and Abram Wiebe were together, Kyle Walker paired with Kent Anderson, and Mace’o Phillips skated with Bode Laylin. Jakob Leander rotated in on different pairs.
In goal, Arsenii Sergeev, Kirill Zarubin and Semyon Konopsky all rotated through the main group. Owen Say is expected to be available after surgery and joined a goalie session after practice. The plan for camp is to keep three goalies in the main practice groups so each one gets enough shots, with the fourth netminder working in a separate session afterward.
One camp roster name won’t be on the ice at all: forward Landon Amrhein will not participate because of injury.
The Flames are back on the practice ice Sunday as the buildup to Monday’s matchup with the young Oilers continues.
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