Calgary Flames prospect and North Dakota Fighting Hawks centre Cole Reschny exited Saturday’s game against the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs after being knocked hard into the boards late in the second period.

The 18-year-old freshman had attempted to skate past Bulldogs defenceman Brady Cleveland, who knocked him down to the ice and into the boards; Cleveland was assessed a minor penalty for slashing on the play. Reschny did not return to the game after the collision, which occurred with 3:51 remaining in the middle frame.

“Positive thing is I don’t think there’s anything major structurally,” Jackson told Schlossman. “It’s early, but I think it looks more like a contusion than ligament damage.

“But we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. Doc did a basic evaluation here. I’m sure we’ll get some images of it. But I think that’s the positive — it didn’t look like there was any ligament damage.”

The Flames have already seen NCAA prospects Henry Mews and Cullen Potter sustain season-ending injuries. Former first-round picks Zayne Parekh and Sam Honzek have also missed substantial time due to injuries this year.

Schlossman noted that Reschny was seen “walking gingerly on his own power,” without a boot or other supports, in the arena after the game — a particularly encouraging sign after he’d been helped off the ice by North Dakota’s athletic trainer.

The Fighting Hawks and Bulldogs were locked in a scoreless tie at the time of Reschny’s departure, but North Dakota — fuelled by a three-assist outing from fellow Flames prospect Abram Wiebe — ultimately won by a 4-1 final score.

“It’s unfortunate. Hope that he can come back soon,” Wiebe told Schlossman. “But I think it kind of sparked something in us to play for him. I think that’s exactly what we did.”

The Flames originally selected Reschny with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, using the first-round selection they acquired from the New Jersey Devils as part of the Jacob Markstrom trade.

Reschny has been a two-way force in his first collegiate season, collecting 25 points in 24 games while winning 55 percent of his face-offs on North Dakota’s top forward line. The 5’11” centre has also played leading roles for the Fighting Hawks on both the power play and penalty kill.

Prior to joining the Fighting Hawks, Reschny spent parts of three seasons with the WHL’s Victoria Royals and served as an alternate captain with the club in his draft year. The Macklin, Sask. product subsequently played for Team Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, scoring four goals and five points in seven games.

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