Calgary Flames Pre-Camp Defense and Goalie Projections 2025

After previewing the forwards earlier this week, we are jumping into our pre-training camp roster projections for the defense and goaltenders on the Flames.

While there may be less total players to cover among these positions, the questions and discussions are much more prevalent with key decisions needing to be made in the coming weeks.

Building the DefenseRasmus Andersson Tier

We really can’t get into this article at all without addressing the elephant in the room for the Flames. Andersson continues to be a member of the Flames as training camp kick off despite rumors of moves persisting throughout the draft and summer months. With nothing seeming imminent with an Andersson trade, we will move forward with this article assuming he is a member of the Flames on opening night.

NHL Definite Locks

Weegar continues to take on a leadership role on the Flames and will be the key factor in the Flames finding success this season. His roles and responsibility will only grow if Andersson is traded. He has brought a stellar attitude to Calgary and should be the odds-on favourite to be the franchise’s next captain when the time comes. The vibes are immaculate.

Bahl was a relative unknown heading into last season after being acquired for Jacob Markstrom. He quickly propelled himself into the Top 4 to become arguably the team’s most consistent defenceman. Flames management rewarded Bahl’s strong play with a six year, $5.35M AAV extension over the summer.

Pachal has gone from a waiver claim to a stalwart on the Flames blue line, dressing in 76 games in his first full season in Calgary. His glimpse on the left side also adds intrigue as the Flames currently line up to be a team fairly heavy with RHD. You need guys like Pachal to have a winning team.

NHL Probable Locks

Hanley, much like Pachal, has evolved from a waiver claim to a guy who became one of the most consistent players on the Flames blue line. His role elevated from being a press box guy, to being the most common partner alongside Mackenzie Weegar by the end of the season. He was rewarded with a two year, $1.75M AAV extension. While Hanley is never going to be the most noticeable player, he is a guy you can move almost anywhere in the lineup and know what to expect from him.

Parekh’s situation is going to be the 2nd most interesting to follow behind Andersson during the fall. The biggest question right now is actually out of his control as negotiations between the CHL and NHL continue about AHL eligibility for 19 year olds this season. If the loophole does not open for 2025-26, Parekh will almost certainly spend the year in the NHL as there is no benefit in returning him to the OHL. If the Flames can send Parekh to the AHL, I would imagine we see more of a split of his time for his first professional season.

Bubble Players

It is tough to evaluate the bubble players on the blue line as there could only be one spot available or perhaps as many as three or four depending on how the Andersson and Parekh situations shake out.

Bean and Miromanov are in a similar position in that they both seemed to fall out of favour as last season continued. There are a lot of prospects pushing from the system right now and quite frankly, they weren’t good enough last season to stay in the “Probable” tier. They will both need good camps to ensure they don’t hit the waiver wire.

Brzustewicz is a very interesting prospect after really picking things up towards the end of his first professional season. His strong finish culminated in his first NHL game in Los Angeles at the end of the season. Brz will be turning 21 in November so there is still a lot of time for him to continue developing so it is very likely he begins his season in the AHL but will be a guy to watch for a first call-up potentially.

Solovyov is another case of a guy who’s clock is ticking on becoming a full-time NHLer. He saw his NHL GP drop from 10 in 2023-24 to just 5 in 24-25. Can he show that’s he’s anything more than a 7/8 this season or is he destined to be a career AHLer. He may be the biggest question mark of this bubble group as he requires waivers to return to the AHL.

Kuznetsov is a guy who I personally feel may close to cracking the roster in the coming seasons. The 2020 second round pick took another step forward with the Wranglers last season but may be a victim of the Flames organization having way too many defensemen. For the first time, the Flames will have to expose Kuznetsov to waivers to return him to the AHL. Can he do enough to stick around this year?

At the moment it doesn’t make a ton of sense to project lineups for the defense until some of these questions are answered but here’s an early guess/how I would make up the defense assuming no trades are made.

Weegar – Andersson

Bahl – Parekh

Hanley – Pachal

Kuznetsov

Goaltending

Dustin Wolf has been long called the future of the franchise, and that future is now as he moves into his 2nd NHL season fresh off a seven-year extension. Unlike last season, Wolf will not have an NHL experienced safety net as a backup with the departure of Dan Vladar. There will be a lot of pressure on the sophomore netminder to continue his brilliant performances we had become accustomed to last year.

Wolf continues to lead the way for the team, and has worked hard to continue changing the narrative in Calgary.

The Backups

Cooley and Prosvetov will be in a battle throughout the pre-season for the backup role to Dustin Wolf.

Cooley seemed like the natural successor to Vladar over the first half of last season but had his numbers fall off a cliff during the second half of the season. In his first 24 games, he allowed more than three goals just twice. In his final 22 games, he allowed 4+ goals in 13 outings.

Prosvetov returns to North America after a season back in Russia. He posted a 20-16-2 record with a .920 SV% with CSKA Moscow which put him roughly in the middle of KHL goaltending statistics. He has 24 games of NHL experience split between the Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche, most recently dressing in 11 games with Colorado in 2023-24. In those 11 games he was 4-3-1 with a .895 SV%.

There really isn’t too much we can read into this battle heading into training camp but it seems like it will shake itself out fairly quickly. If I had to take an early guess on who gets the backup job, I’d be betting on Prosvetov due to more NHL experience and a better season in 2024-25.

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Calgary Flames Pre-Camp Defense and Goalie Projections 2025

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