Jonathan Castagna’s road to the Flames has already included plenty of detours, and that might be exactly why Calgary likes what it sees.
The 2023 draft pick, now in the organization after arriving from Arizona and then being moved to the Flames in early March as part of the MacKenzie Weegar trade, spent his final college season at Cornell navigating more than just the usual grind. There were strong stretches, some bumps along the way, a mid-season trade in the pro pipeline, and even a strange ice delay at one of college hockey’s most historic buildings.
Castagna, a Toronto-area product, is a left-shot forward who can line up at centre or on the wing. He came up through two seasons at St.
Andrew’s College in Aurora before heading to Cornell, where he played three seasons and developed into one of college hockey’s better two-way centres. His rights changed hands when the Coyotes relocated to Utah, then changed again when Calgary acquired him.
After Cornell’s NCAA tournament run ended near the end of March, Castagna signed with the Flames a few days later. Because he was reportedly banged up at the end of the playoff stretch, he agreed to a deal that would not start until this fall. Even so, he stayed around the Flames and Wranglers late in the season, using that time to get familiar with the people and the routine.
“When I got the chance to come in, I basically met everyone,” said Castagna, during Flames training camp. “I met all the coaching staff, all the equipment guys, therapists.
It was fantastic for me to be able to get that groundwork in before I come in this year and have to try to make a name for myself. So it helped me for sure, yeah.”
That final college year still had plenty to offer on its own. Castagna finished it by earning first-team conference all-star honors and being named the conference’s top defensive forward. He said the experience, even without a pro debut at the end of last season, gave him something useful to carry forward.
“Yeah, I mean, funny you ask, because I would think that I didn’t have the best luck at the end of last season to not be able to get in any games,” said Castagna. “But I would also think of that as sort of a blessing, because, as I mentioned before, I got to experience everything and be around it before I kind of get thrown into the fire.
So it helped to also be an older guy on a college team and have a little bit bigger of a role and play in all situations. Not that I’m going to be playing in all situations here, but just have that versatility to be able to hopefully take hold of an opportunity when I get one.”
One of the stranger moments from that season came on Nov. 15, when Cornell’s home game against Yale was paused for an hour between the second and third periods because of ice issues at Lynah Rink.
Not long after Castagna signed with Calgary, the Flames found themselves dealing with a similar delay because of ice issues at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas.
“Yeah, it was interesting,” said Castagna. “We actually might have had a couple now that you mention it, and it was funny because when I was watching Calgary play Vegas last year, they actually had an ice delay as well, so I sent a video to my coach.
I was like, don’t worry, it happens in the National League as well. But, yeah, it was kind of funny.
You know, we had a rink guy out there with a fire extinguisher blowing it on the ice, and all the students were yelling, and everyone was getting rowdy. But it is tough to stay in the game at that point when you have an hour delay before you play again.
But it was all good fun, yeah.”
Castagna played his first pro game on Sunday, a preseason NHL contest against Seattle at home. He is expected to begin the regular season with the Wranglers, though his mix of versatility and experience gives him a path to climb the Flames’ depth chart.
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