After completely dominating the minor leagues through the first two months of the season, Matthew Phillips has finally earned a recall. The Calgary Flames announced the call-up today, bringing up the AHL’s leading scorer ahead of a three-game Eastern Conference road trip through Columbus, Toronto, and Montreal.
Phillips, 24, has 15 goals and 30 points in 20 games so far this season, after posting an outstanding season with the Stockton Heat in 2021-22. Despite the 68 points he recorded, he never did earn a game in the NHL last year, and still sits at just one appearance – in 2020-21 – for his career.
Whether he actually gets into a game remains to be seen, but it’s hard to argue against his production to this point. Through 219 AHL games, Phillips has 191 points. The biggest reason for his lack of opportunity at the NHL level is his size, as the 2016 sixth-round pick is listed at just 5’8″ 160 lbs.
Still, the Flames have had some trouble scoring this year, and have just 81 goals in 26 games. While that has resulted in a decent record thanks to some stingy defensive play (nothing new for a Darryl Sutter-coached squad), there have been times when the club needed an offensive boost and couldn’t find it. Perhaps Phillips, should he get into the lineup on a regular basis, can provide some of that necessary secondary scoring.
I’m happy to see Phillips get a call-up. Hopefully, he will get some ice time and stay for a while. There was nothing else for him to prove in the AHL.