Left-wing is an area of strength for the Calgary Flames.
At the NHL level, they’ve got established NHL veterans. Their prospect pool is deep, too, with guys who should be pushing for call-ups currently with the Calgary Wranglers and a few more recent draftees with big potential who are on the way.
As we go through our position-by-position evaluations of the state of the Flames roster, left-wing was always highlighted as one of the most exciting areas of the ice. There’s versatility, a bright future and lots of options.
So let’s take a look at where the Flames stand:
THE SURE THINGS
Jonathan Huberdeau is probably never again going to be the 115-point player he was with the Florida Panthers in 2021-22, but his play last season nonetheless earned him a lot of goodwill. It wasn’t just that he scored 28 goals, he also improved his play along the boards and in the defensive end and even played penalty-kill minutes. The $10.5-million he’s getting paid annually until the end of the 2030-31 season is a lot and it means he’s going to be a core piece for the Flames organization for the foreseeable future. The improvement of his game last season makes you feel a lot better about that.
Blake Coleman played on the right-side for large stretches of the season, but spent lots of time at left-wing, too. He’s as reliable a performer as the Flames have. Ryan Lomberg, meanwhile, did exactly what the Flames wanted him to do after re-signing with the team in free-agency last year. He was a leader in the locker-room, a positive voice around the Saddledome and in the community and brought energy to the fourth-line night after night.
Martin Pospisil needs to be included here, too. He’s a leftie, although he primarily played on his off-wing down the stretch this season.
Joel Farabee #86 of the Calgary Flames skates during a break in play against the Detroit Red Wings during first period at the Scotiabank Saddledome on February 01, 2025, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
SOMETHING TO PROVE
We’ve written a fair bit about why it might be smart to continue auditioning Connor Zary at centre, but the 23-year-old has made his mark mostly at left-wing through his first two seasons in the NHL. He’s brimming with potential despite some bad luck with injuries so far in 2025, and if his future does wind up being on the left, that’s not a bad thing at all.
In Yegor Sharangovich and Joel Farabee, though, the Flames have two players who are going to be looking for bounce back years in 2025-26. They’re both at the age where they should be just entering their primes, but saw their numbers decline last year. After being acquired in the trade that sent Jakob Pelletier and Andrei Kuzmenko to the Philadelphia Flyers, Farabee scored only three times and added three helpers in 31 games for the Flames. Sharangovich, meanwhile, scored 17 goals and added 15 assists last season after scoring 31 and assisting on 28 the previous year. He played centre and right-wing this season, too. If either or both of them can have bounce back seasons, it could be huge for the Flames.
PUSHING FOR PLAYING TIME?
The Flames have some intriguing prospects in their system at left-wing, but if you were looking at guys who might be able to step in and make an impact next season, the top-three names would probably be Sam Honzek, William Stromgren and Aydar Suniev.
Since being drafted in the third-round by the Flames in 2023, Suniev’s stock has only risen. He recorded 20 goals and 18 assists for the UMass Minutemen in the NCAA last year and made his NHL debut in the season’s final game for the Flames. It’s likely that he’ll start the year with the Wranglers and probably spend most of the season in the AHL, but his potential is high.
Honzek, meanwhile, will be pushing to make the Flames lineup out of camp. He managed it last fall and even played in five games before being sent to the Wranglers, where injuries disrupted his year and he finished with eight goals and 13 assists in 52 games. The 2023 first-round draft pick has a high ceiling, it just needs to come together.
As for Stromgren, he spoke about having a “pissed-off off-season” after the Wranglers were eliminated from the playoffs last month and needs to add more consistency to his game. Still only 21-years-old, next year can and should be a big one for him.
Andrew Basha takes part in the Calgary Flames 2024 Prospects Training Camp at WinSport on Thursday September 12, 2024.Gavin Young/Postmedia
THE FUTURE
The Flames may have hit it out of the park with their second-round draft picks in 2024. Selected No. 41 overall, Calgary-raised Andrew Basha had ankle surgery in January. He’d been playing injured for a year-or-so and still putting up impressive numbers, but after recovering and returning to the Medicine Hat Tigers in time to help them win the WHL championship – recording two goals and three assists in the five-game series that secured the title – it’s worth wondering just what his potential could be now that he’s back at 100%. He’s eligible to play with the Wranglers next season, so his transition to the pros will start as soon as he gets done with the Memorial Cup.
Jacob Battaglia, meanwhile, was picked a short while later at No. 62 and proceeded to score 40 goals for the Kingston Frontenacs. He’s signed an entry-level deal with the Flames but will be back in major-junior next season and could put up some even-more-massive numbers.
DRAFT INTEREST
As we’ve noted, the Flames have a well-stocked prospect pool when it comes to left-wingers, so most observers are expecting them to use their first-round picks to acquire players who fill areas where they have more of a need. As we noted, though, the Flames’ scouts seemed to do awfully well with their second-round picks last year, and it shouldn’t be a surprise if they take one or two on June 27 and 28. Later this week, we’ll take a look at some of the options like we did last week with some centres we think could be intriguing in the draft.
NHLers
Jonathan Huberdeau (31)
Blake Coleman (33)
Yegor Sharangovich (26)
Ryan Lomberg (30)
Joel Farabee (25)
Martin Pospisil (25)
Connor Zary (23)
In the system
Aydar Suniev (20)
Andrew Basha (19)
Jacob Battaglia (19)
Sam Honzek (20)
William Stromgren (21)
Parker Bell (21)
Lucas Ciona (22)