The Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars have swapped a pair of minor-league forwards, with Calgary sending Emilio Pettersen to Dallas in exchange for Riley Damiani. Both 23-year-olds have spent the entire season in the minor leagues.
Pettersen has scored more out of the pair, with 30 points in 54 games with the Calgary Wranglers. He’s maintaining a strong scoring pace, though he’s not quite scoring at the 0.72 points-per-game pace he managed last year when he totaled 19 goals and 44 points in 61 games. He has been in the AHL since the 2020-21 season, moving to the league after two seasons with the University of Denver. Pettersen has also represented his home country of Norway on a variety of levels, including the World U18 Championship in 2016 and 2017, the 2019 World Juniors Division A tournament, and at the World Championship in 2021. He was productive in his World Juniors appearances, scoring at a point-per-game pace at minimum in each tournament, but managed just one goal at the World Championship. Pettersen joined the Flames when they drafted him in the sixth-round of the 2018 NHL Draft.
Damiani stands out because, unlike Pettersen, he’s already made his NHL debut – playing in seven games and scoring two points in the 2021-22 season. He’s since spent all of his time in the AHL, recording 13 goals and 31 points in 59 games last season and 23 points in 53 games this year. Damiani went exactly one round before Pettersen in the 2018 Draft, getting selected 137th-overall by Dallas.
Pettersen stands out thanks to head-strong forechecking and not shying away from physicality, despite standing at a 5’10” frame. Damiani, also 5’10”, fits a slightly different style – serving as a burst of speed in the middle lane that creates tempo well. Both players show strong puck control and an ability to command their linemates. A change of scenery could work wonders for both, as they work towards climbing the depth charts of their new team.
Ah, the Tanev encore.
Conroy is really building a future for Calgary. Lol.