In the midst of his red-hot start to his season, the Calgary Flames have signed prospect Lucas Ciona to a three-year, entry-level deal, the team announced. According to CapFriendly, the deal carries an AAV of $925,000, which includes a base salary of $832,500 and signing bonuses of $92,500 each season. Ciona will make $80,000 in the minors.
A sixth-round selection by the Flames in the 2019 NHL Draft, Ciona had not been among the top prospects in Calgary’s system until very recently. The forward had registered modest point totals in his first four seasons as a member of the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL, which included career-bests of 17 goals and 18 assists over 53 games last season. Now at 19 years of age, and in his fifth junior season (fourth full season), Ciona is off to a blistering start, scoring seven goals to go with 10 assists in a mere nine games to date.
It may be too early to mark Ciona as a blue-chip prospect considering this new-found dynamic offense is just nine games old, preceded by several years of solid but modest production, however the performance is intriguing. Ciona is currently tied for 11th in scoring in the WHL, which is lead by presumed first-overall pick in the 2023 draft, Connor Bedard, who has 24 points in 14 games. Signing Ciona now gives the Flames 46 out of a maximum of 50 contracts in their system; plenty of room to work and worth securing a prospect with newly-found value.