The Calgary Flames might not be super deep at right-wing, but at the NHL level, you can’t exactly argue that they are low on potential.
That storyline is still taking shape, but the emergence of a few young talents and the ever-reliable presence of Blake Coleman meant that by season’s end, the Flames had to be feeling pretty darn good about the way their wingers on the right were looking.
We’re going through the Flames roster position-by-position this spring and taking a look at where they’re deep and where they could use some help. This week, we’re looking at the right-wing.
To kick things off, let’s take a look at the Flames’ organization depth chart at the position:
Is this area in better shape than we realized?
A year ago, it was generally understood that the Flames were short on right-wingers — or right-shot wingers, at least. Today, though, the situation looks a little different. It’s not like they’re super deep, but Matt Coronato had a breakout season with 24 goals and 23 assists and was rewarded with a seven-year contract. Adam Klapka emerged in the back-half, too, and was playing first-line minutes in the season’s final weeks. Both guys are right-shots, and Martin Pospisil has mostly played on the right-side, too. All three are 25 or under and there’s at least one high-end prospect in the pipeline, in Matvei Gridin, so the right-wing could actually be emerging as an area of strength for the organization.
The veterans
Given what we mentioned above, it seems unlikely that the Flames will look to keep Anthony Mantha around for another year. The 30-year-old was dealt a rough hand this season, signing a prove-it deal with the Flames in free agency and starting well before a knee injury ended his campaign in November. The signing made sense for the Flames and it’s no fault of his own, but with the younger talent that’s broken through, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to block their progress and development. As far as other veterans go, we mentioned Blake Coleman in last week’s breakdown of left-wingers, but he’s played more on the right in recent seasons and his on-ice partnership with Mikael Backlund has been oh-so-reliable. With only two seasons left on his contract, it’s inevitable that trade rumours will start to swirl around Coleman’s name in the coming months, but his leadership and experience have been invaluable to the organization.
RelatedOn the cusp?
While the Flames would appear to be in decent shape at the NHL level at right-wing, there aren’t many guys who were playing with the Wranglers who would be obvious call-ups if needed. Martin Frk has a wicked shot and scored 27 goals for the Wranglers in 2024-25, but he’s 31. After that, Parker Bell played on the right for the Wranglers this season but it’s pretty slim pickings. Fortunately, there are a few guys on the Flames roster who can shift over to the right-hand side if needed, even if they’re more naturally suited to the left. That list includes both Joel Farabee and Yegor Sharangovich.
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.
Gridin’s coming
Picked by the Flames at No. 28 overall in last year’s draft, Matvei Gridin quickly became one of the most exciting prospects in the team’s system. He’s eligible to play with the Wranglers next season, so Calgary hockey fans will be able to get a closer look at him soon, but he has the potential to be exactly the sort of crafty, high-scoring offensive driver the Flames could use — hopefully, sooner rather than later. In his first year in the QMJHL with the Shawinigan Cataractes this season, he scored 36 goals and added 43 assists in 56 games. Gridin is someone Flames fans should be very excited about, and it feels like he might not be that far off from lighting the lamp at the NHL level, even if it’s not this year.
Draft potential
We’ve said before and we’ll say again that we expect the Flames to use their 18th overall pick on a centre if there’s one available, but after that? You could absolutely see them picking a right wing with the second of their first-round picks or any time after that. Would Vaclav Nestrasil be of interest? The Czech behemoth plays for the same Muskegon Lumberjacks team as Gridin did and at 6-foot-5 would add some serious size to the lineup down the road. Calgary’s own Nathan Behm is projected to go in the second or third round and who doesn’t love a local kid getting a chance to play for his hometown team, while Cameron Schmidt would know Sam Honzek well from their time with the Vancouver Giants and put up great numbers in the WHL this season.
NHLers
Matt Coronato (22)
Anthony Mantha (30)
Blake Coleman (33)
Martin Pospisil (25)
Adam Klapka (24)
In the system
Matvei Gridin (19)
Martin Frk (31)