This will be fun, I think.
The standard practice for a beat reporter is a morning email to the boss — this is what I’m planning to write about, and this is roughly how many words it will be.
So what am I writing about today? Not really sure.
And how long will it be? I guess we’re about to find out.
The Calgary Flames capped an eight-game pre-season with a seven-round shootout, a long goodbye to the NHL’s last extended exhibition session. Under the new CBA, teams will play only four tuneups per fall.
The good news is that, as the Flames enjoy a weekend off the ice, there are a lot of random quotes, notes and tidbits in this notebook of mine.
So here goes, a recap-of-sorts of what I’ve heard, witnessed and surmised over the past couple of weeks …
Calgary Flames prospect Matvei Gridin celebrates his goal against the Winnipeg Jets during pre-season action at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025.
Matvei’s road map
Let’s start with the biggest story of Flames’ camp — 19-year-old winger Matvei Gridin.
As I was driving away from the Saddledome on Friday night, yet to reach the speed that Gridin seems to fly around the rink, I was thinking back to an interview in June, shortly after he wrapped a playoff run with the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes and returned home to Russia for the off-season.
“I’ve just gotta show that I compete hard and can make plays,” Gridin told me then, already looking ahead to this tryout. “Sam Honzek is a great example — what he did last year at the main camp. So what’s the problem for me to do the same thing?”
No problem, apparently.
A year ago, Honzek forced the Flames into an extended audition. Gridin, who was undoubtedly pencilled in to start the season with the Wranglers, did the same.
A year ago, Honzek led the Flames in pre-season points. With three goals, Gridin finished atop the team charts in another very important category.
A year ago, Honzek was rewarded with an opening-night job.
And Gridin? Well, that’s the part we’re not sure of yet.
I absolutely believe the speedy forward has earned a spot on Calgary’s initial roster. It wouldn’t make much sense to me to demote him so you can keep an eighth defencemen, a guy who seems unlikely to fetch a waiver claim.
I certainly think it’s a good sign that Flames coach Ryan Huska has gone out of his way to point out that Gridin isn’t just all offence or all speed.
“Even though he’s 19 years old, the lower frame on him, he’s thick,” Huska said earlier this week, praising the No. 28 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. “He’s big and strong and powerful. So if he’s in a situation against a bigger defenceman, he is — at this age — going to be able to hold them off and he’s going to be able to make plays. He has the ability to protect pucks, and I think he can play a big man’s game, even as a younger player.”
He should be playing a big-league game on Wednesday at Edmonton.
Calgary Flames forward Morgan Frost battles the Seattle Kraken in pre-season action at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Sept. 23, 2025.
Whose stock is rising?
Everybody loves a list of training-camp risers. At least that’s what they tell me.
So beyond Gridin, here’s a few more Flames with arrows aimed up …
Morgan Frost — His pre-season stat-line was anything but frosty. Seven points in six games is a pretty good jump-off. What I find most encouraging is that Huska is clearly committed to ensuring that the 26-year-old Frost has serious talent on his wings. There seems to be some chemistry building between him and Matt Coronato, and that could be a significant development for a squad that needs more production from its pivots. While Nazem Kadri buried 35 goals last winter, the rest of Calgary’s regular middle-men combined for just 24. That won’t cut it.
Justin Kirkland — This might seem like a surprise pick, since it appears to me that Kirkland isn’t quite up to full speed as he works his way back from major knee surgery. But one of the big things that I noticed Friday was Kirkland’s spot on the second penalty-kill unit, a sure sign that the 29-year-old centre is pegged for an every-night role.
Zayne Parekh — I’m not sure Parekh necessarily boosted his already-sky-high stock during camp, but I’m also more convinced than ever that the 19-year-old blue-liner needs to spend this season in the NHL. The Flames can’t even be considering their only alternate option, which would be to return him to his junior club. While everybody should be braced for some humbling nights and extended shifts in his defensive zone, Parekh will benefit from those tough lessons that come when you get burned or bulldozed by a guy who has played several hundred games in ‘The Show.’ Even if he sometimes sits against top teams in road rinks, it’s an important investment in a bright future.
Yan Kuznetsov — I thought Kuznetsov, who has already been reassigned to the Wranglers, was steady in his four exhibition outings. But he really owes his rise to something beyond his control. With his buddy Ilya Solovyov claimed off waivers by the Colorado Avalanche, Kuznetsov is now the obvious call-up candidate when the Flames need a left-shot rearguard. That remains a thin spot on the depth chart, so it’s only a matter of time before this 23-year-old tower gets a look.
Jorts — Taking full advantage of the relaxed dress code, Adam Klapka showed up for Friday’s game in jean shorts. They may have been jeans on me, but not on this 6-foot-8 forward. What happened next? Klapka notched a pair of assists, including a beauty to Kadri, and also flattened Jets defenceman Neal Pionk. Hockey players are a superstitious lot, so Klapka has to stick with the jorts for the opener, no?
Flames forward Yegor Sharangovich battles the Kraken on Sept. 23, 2025.
Where does ’Sharky’ slot?
Huska said something Friday that really got me thinking.
With forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Martin Pospisil not dressing for the final dress rehearsal, Huska mentioned “you’re missing a couple guys out of your lineup that would be in your opening-night roster.”
That’s good news for Pospisil, who seemed to be a scratch possibility.
But then who becomes the odd man out?
Could it be Yegor Sharangovich? Has a guy ever been benched for the first official game of a five-year, US$28.75-million contract extension?
We know that Huska wants an ‘identity line,’ which presumably would feature Kirkland at centre and then two of Klapka, Ryan Lomberg and Pospisil on the wing.
In the early stages of Friday’s shootout loss to the Jets, Sharangovich skated with Kirkland and Lomberg. While he was boosted up later in the night, drawing a pair of penalties and recording four shot attempts, I do wonder if the coach currently sees an opening for ‘Sharky’ among his top-nine forwards. Even if Gridin goes to the Wranglers, that spot would be saved for Huberdeau, who is officially considered day-to-day.
Something to keep an eye on, for sure.
Ryan Lomberg, a Forever-The-Fittest-Flame?
To good not to share
Let’s wrap with my favourite quote of training camp.
In what will be the final instalment of fall fitness testing, something the players were keen to scrap in CBA negotiations, Lomberg posted the best results among Calgary’s campers.
‘The Lomberghini’ is the last Fittest Flame. Does that make him a Forever-The-Fittest-Flame?
“I’ll hold the title forever, man,” Lomberg grinned. “I was telling them, instead of the plaque, I should get a statue.”