For the past several years, the Calgary Flames have participated in the Penticton Young Stars Classic. This event, hosted by the Vancouver Canucks, was a mini tournament between the prospect groups of Western Canadian NHL teams, and was a great event for these up-and-coming players to showcase their talents against their peers.
This year, the Young Stars Classic will not be held. Instead, the Flames and Edmonton Oilers will play a set of two games, one in each city, between the rookies of their respective clubs. This home-and-home event has been dubbed the Next Gen Showcase.
Game 1 will be held in Edmonton on Friday, September 12 at 7 p.m. MT. Game 2 will be held in Calgary on Sunday, September 14 at 4 p.m. MT.
The Flames have just announced their roster for the Next Gen Showcase:
Sept. 14: Battle Of Alberta NextGen Showcase 🔥
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) September 5, 2025
Notable players
Most notably, the blueline features the top two defence prospects in the organization: Zayne Parekh and Hunter Brzustewicz. Parekh will almost surely make the Flames out of training camp. Brzustewicz likely won’t, but he will definitely play NHL games this season after making his debut in Game 82 last season.
Also on defence is top prospect Etienne Morin who will be playing his first professional season, and 2025 third round pick Mace’o Phillips.
On forward, there are several top prospects drafted in the past few years, including Calgary-born Andrew Basha. Jacob Battaglia, Matvei Gridin, and Sam Honzek round out the top-two round picks on the forward ranks.
Carter King will be an intriguing player to watch as well, who signed with his hometown team following a successful NCAA career with the University of Denver.
Between the pipes, Arsenii Sergeev is the top player to watch, also signing with the Flames after completing his NCAA career last year. He’s joined by fellow NCAA alum Owen Say.
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