It’s still September, and main camp doesn’t start for a few more days, but the Calgary Flames are 1-0 so far.
The Flames’ prospect-campers cruised and then clung Friday to a 6-5 victory over their hosts in Edmonton.
Hunter Laing, Nathan Brisson, Sam Honzek, Aydar Suniev, Matvei Gridin and Parker Bell did the lamp-lighting in the opener of a home-and-home set against the Oilers’ own rookies. These two NextGen squads will rematch Sunday at the Saddledome.
Here are five Flames hopefuls who made a positive impression Friday …
SAM HONZEK
Sam Honzek added 15 pounds of muscle during his summer training sessions.
With that in mind, it shouldn’t come as a major surprise that he looked at times Friday like a man among boys.
Honzek, who was a first-round selection in 2023, scored his lone goal off the toe of his skate, but he also made several high-end plays that certainly did not go unnoticed by the Flames’ travelling contingent or by fans watching the action via live stream.
The 20-year-old left-winger showed off his strength as he stripped a puck at the offensive blue-line, then plunked the post on that same shift.
He drove wide around Oilers defenceman Parker Von Richter, although he couldn’t cash the backhand as he knifed through the crease.
Just before his power-play marker, he spied Suniev with a gorgeous cross-seam pass.
The expectation is that Honzek should be a force in a prospect game, but it’s still a good sign that he was. (His linemates, Suniev and centre Carter King, also provided plenty of positives in Friday’s matchup. Those two hooked up for a beauty goal in the second period.)
MATVEI GRIDIN
You notice two things when Gridin has the puck on his stick — his speed and his confidence.
That can be a heck of a combo.
There were several occasions Friday where Gridin left a defender in his dust, including one where he ripped a shot off the crossbar. By the end of the night, the Oilers seemed to anticipate that Gridin would use his wheels to burn wide — and yet they still struggled to stop him.
The 19-year-old right-winger was ultimately rewarded with a goal and an assist.
There will be some growing pains as Gridin embarks on his pro career — while he’s eligible to return to junior, we assume he’ll launch with the AHL’s Wranglers — but his skill-set is worth getting excited about and his speed could fast-track his NHL debut.
OWEN SAY
Oilers fans are oh-so-excited about Isaac Howard, who was acquired in a summer swap from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
He seems like a shoo-in to crack Edmonton’s opening-night roster. There has even been some suggestion that he deserves a look alongside Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl.
So there would have been plenty of oohs and ahhhs if Howard scored in Friday’s opening stanza. Except that Flames goalie prospect Owen Say had other ideas, snagging his power-play one-timer with a cool glove save.
The 24-year-old Say was sharp in the visiting crease, showing some of the calmness and athleticism that Calgary coveted when they signed him in the spring as a college free agent.
He didn’t have any help on Edmonton’s first two tallies, including Viljami Marjala’s breakaway bury and Matt Savoie’s penalty-shot snipe. The Oilers scored three in the late stages, but Say still earned the ‘W.’
MACE’O PHILLIPS
There’s a danger for any up-and-comer in trying to do too much.
It makes sense, right? You’re hellbent on getting noticed, and suddenly you’re coughing up the puck or straying from some of what you did best.
Mace’o Phillips kept it relatively simple Friday, and it certainly looked good on him.
With the exception of one tough shift, which came with two minuses, this bruising blue-liner was steady in his own zone and the Oilers certainly learned that it’s hard to outmuscle a dude who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 234 pounds. After throwing a reverse hit in the third, the 18-year-old Phillips also dropped his mitts for a dance with Connor Clattenburg.
A third-round pick this summer, Phillips should benefit from logging major minutes this season with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers. While his NHL ETA is a few years off, he seems to already understand his recipe for success — and that’s a major compliment.
NATHAN BRISSON
The Flames filled out their rookie-camp roster with seven tryout invitees, and Nathan Brisson is not wasting this opportunity to make an impression.
Brisson, who has digested the disappointment of not having his name called in the 2025 NHL Draft, had three points Friday.
The 18-year-old centre won a battle along the end-boards before earning the primary assist on Laing’s first-period strike. He then potted one of his own, redirecting a heads-up feed from Jacob Battaglia, and added another helper on Gridin’s goal.
Brisson will soon be headed back to the QMJHL, where he is captain of the Val-d’Or Foreurs, but there’s no doubt that Calgary’s scouting staff will continue to track his progress.