As expected, the Calgary Flames have signed one of their recently acquired prospects to his entry-level contract. Calgary announced that they’ve signed forward Jonathan Castagna to a three-year, $3.225MM ($1.075MM AAV) entry-level contract beginning next season. Outside of his AAV, the Flames didn’t provide any more contractual details.
Castagna, 20, was drafted with the 70th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft by the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes. He was playing in the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association with St. Andrew’s College at the time, scoring 29 goals and 72 points in 50 games.
The following year, Castagna began his collegiate career at Cornell University. He had a decent showing as a freshman, scoring 11 goals and 25 points in 35 games with a +20 rating. Unfortunately, he took a step back in his sophomore season, registering five goals and 15 points in 32 contests.
He rebounded in a big way this year. Although he only finished 40th in scoring throughout the entire NCAA, Castagna still had a point-per-game year, registering 15 goals and 34 points in 34 games with a +23 rating.
In an interesting way, that made him a more expendable prospect for the Utah Mammoth. The team is already flush with young top-six forwards and has other prospects on the way. Looking to make a splash at the deadline, the Mammoth included Castagna in the package for defenseman MacKenzie Weegar.
In their announcement, the Flames shared that Castagna will begin his professional career on an amateur tryout agreement with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. He’s dealing with a minor lower-body injury at the time being, so it’ll be a few days before he makes his professional debut.