The Flames recalled forward Martin Pospisil from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers on Friday, a team release states. To make room on the 23-man roster, the team assigned rookie winger Matthew Coronato to the Wranglers.
This is the first NHL call-up for the 23-year-old Pospisil. The Slovak winger could make his NHL debut Saturday against the Kraken if Dillon Dubé is not ready to return from an undisclosed injury. Dubé, who missed Monday’s game against the Stars, has a goal and two assists through nine games and has a -10 rating, the third-worst on the team.
For Pospisil, this is an excellent opportunity after a solid start to his season in the minors. Selected 105th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, Pospisil currently ranks second on the Wranglers in goals with three and has added a trio of assists for six points in six games. Injuries sidelined him for most of last season, as he only got into 20 games with the Wranglers, recording ten points. Since turning pro in 2019, the bruising, 6-foot-2 winger has notched 22 goals and 40 assists for 62 points in 113 AHL games.
Pospisil signed a one-year, two-way deal worth $775K in the NHL and $90K in the AHL to remain a Flame in July. He’s on his second consecutive one-year deal after his entry-level contract expired in 2022. He’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer and will be due a qualifying offer of $813,750.
Meanwhile, Coronato gets a shot to play significant minutes in the AHL after seeing his minutes dwindle throughout the first ten games of the season. Calgary’s first-round pick in 2021 has a goal and an assist in 13:53 of ice time per game, which should increase to nearly 20 minutes with the Wranglers.
At even strength, the numbers weren’t pretty for Coronato – he was on the ice for just one goal for and nine goals against. That doesn’t tell the whole story, though – his teammates’ on-ice shooting percentage was just 1.9%, and his on-ice save percentage was just .858% – numbers well below the team averages of 5.2% and .887%, respectively.