Three games into their 2025-26 season, Daniil Miromanov and Devin Cooley are the only healthy players on the Calgary Flames’ 23-man roster who haven’t seen game time.
They’ll both get into the lineup soon enough, surely, but the extremely early days of the new campaign have already shown us that head coach Ryan Huska is going to be moving guys in and out as he sees necessary.
Rotation keeps guys fresh, and when you’re playing three games in the opening four days of your season and then face another back-to-back just a few days later, a team like the Flames is going to need all its depth.
How the Flames manage playing time during their gruelling opening stretch of the season is already a topic of conversation around Calgary hockey circles. Sitting Zayne Parekh for the first two games of the year caused a mini social media riot. Hopefully, the 19-year-old blueliner casually saying he agreed with the decision will calm that down.
So how exactly are the Flames going to be managing their roster?
“It’s going to depend on how our team is playing and who we’re playing on any given night,” Huska explained after Saturday afternoon’s 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues. “We felt we needed more speed and size, and that’s where Sam Honzek comes in to play.
“(When) a guy gets an opportunity, my hope is they’re going to grab hold of it and not let it go. If they have an off-night, we feel we have the depth to put someone in and give someone else an opportunity to grab hold of.”
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It’s possible that the Flames roster will feel a little more settled once Martin Pospisil and Jonathan Huberdeau return from the injuries that have kept them out the first few games. Pospisil is closer to a return, but both guys are going to be on the team sheet when they’re back.
With them out, though, Huska has had to shuffle the deck. Parekh got in for his first game on Saturday and was partnered with Brayden Pachal, which meant Jake Bean was shuffled to the press box.
Bringing in Honzek meant that Justin Kirkland was given the night off, with Connor Zary getting bumped to the fourth-line centre role and Honzek playing alongside Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman.
With a compressed schedule because of the Olympics, most teams around the NHL are going to need to manage their rosters carefully. The Flames are no exception.
What makes it interesting is the inclusion of young players like Honzek, Parekh and Matvei Gridin – who has appeared in all three games so far and was on the top line next to Nazem Kadri and Matt Coronato against the Blues.
Calgary Flames defenceman Zayne Parekh, defenceman Kevin Bahl, and goaltender Dustin Wolf guard the crease during the third period of the home opener against the St. Louis Blues at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025.
Keeping Parekh out of the lineup for road games against the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks made sense. But what happens Tuesday night, when the Flames host the Vegas Golden Knights at the Saddledome?
The same questions could be asked about Honzek.
The Flames need both guys. The schedule dictates that. Rotation is inevitable when the games are coming as fast and furious as they are this season.
“There is some patience, some,” Huska said when asked about managing his young talent. “There’s a fine line because it’s not a league where you want guys to develop in, because it can cost you points from time to time. I’m not saying any of them did that tonight.
“They’re good players and we want them to be really great players as we move forward. I think it’s our job as coaches to put these young guys in positions to succeed and they each bring something that I feel can help our team win games.”