Flames Recall Matvei Gridin
The Flames announced they’ve recalled winger Matvei Gridin from AHL Calgary. With only 11 forwards on their active roster, including the injured Jonathan Huberdeau, it stands to reason he’ll be sticking with the team out of the break, not just for practice purposes this week.
Gridin, still just 19, was the Flames’ second first-round choice in 2024, going 28th overall after they selected defenseman Zayne Parekh ninth overall. Prospect evaluators were split on the pick. He entered the season as Calgary’s No. 10 prospect according to Corey Pronman of The Athletic, but was ranked as high as No. 4 – the second-best forward prospect in the system behind last year’s first-rounder Cole Reschny – by NHL.com.
The difference in projection lies in Gridin’s all-around game. The 6’1″, 190-lb winger’s skill is undeniable, but there were concerns that his offensive game relies too much on perimeter play and he lacks the physicality necessary to create quality scoring chances for himself at the NHL level. After playing in the USHL during his pre-draft season, he moved to a slightly more competitive junior league, the QMJHL, for his post-draft season. Gridin scored 36 goals and 79 points in 56 games for the Shawinigan Cataractes, ranking fifth in the league in points per game (1.41) while being named the league’s rookie of the year.
The Flames saw a more NHL-ready talent in Gridin than some scouts did. He turned a strong training camp into a spot on Calgary’s opening night roster, scoring in the season opener but otherwise going pointless with a -3 rating in four games before the Flames assigned him to the AHL. He was recalled again in mid-January, appearing in nine consecutive games before the break, before Calgary sent him back down to continue playing during the Olympics.
All told, it’s been a smooth transition to pro hockey for the Russian. He was productive on his second call-up and now has three goals and six points through his first 13 NHL appearances. Averaging 14:05 per game, his 0.46 points per game are already good for eighth place on an offensively woeful Flames team. With Huberdeau done for the year thanks to hip surgery, there will be even more opportunity for Gridin to tamp down a top-nine role heading into next season.
Things went similarly well for Gridin in the AHL. He’s scored 10 goals and 29 points in 36 games, including a +1 rating on an offensively dynamic but defensively porous Wranglers squad.
Minor Transactions: 2/5/2026
The NHL has one night of games left before a three-week break for the 2026 Winter Olympics. That has left many teams scrambling to make sure their waiver-exempt players are assigned to the minor leagues, which will allow them to stay on the ice for up to a dozen games on the AHL calendar. Pro Hockey Rumors will capture those transactions, and more, in the latest minor transactions tracker:
- The most notable prospect headed to the minors is Nashville Predators winger Matthew Wood, per a team release. Wood has spent the bulk of the season with the NHL club after a call-up in late October. He has scored nine goals and 17 points in 46 games, enough to rank seventh among all Predators forwards in scoring. Wood also scored one goal in the first two AHL games of his career earlier this season. He joined the Predators’ roster at the end of the 2024-25 campaign after posting 39 points in as many games with the University of Minnesota. Now, the volume-shooter could find a way to rediscover his scoring touch while also buoying the Admirals’ roster.
- The Washington Capitals joined the goalie run, assigning Garin Bjorklund to the AHL in a corresponding move to Logan Thompson‘s activation from injured reserve. Bjorklund has only played in the minors this season, recording four wins and a .879 SV% in 11 AHL games and four wins and a .929 SV% in seven ECHL games. This move will allow him to continue carving out an AHL role after spending the last three seasons in the ECHL.
- Veteran goaltender Jon Gillies is back in the minors as AHL Syracuse announced that they’ve signed him to a PTO deal. It’s his second stint of the season with the Crunch but the first only lasted one game. Gillies has seen action in parts of five NHL seasons but has played exclusively in the minors over the past couple of years. He has a 2.91 GAA and a .905 SV% in 27 games with ECHL Orlando this season.
- Following yesterday’s game against Edmonton, the Flames announced that they’ve returned winger Matvei Gridin and defenceman Hunter Brzustewicz to AHL Calgary to keep them playing during the break. Gridin has three goals and three assists in 13 games with the Flames this season over a pair of stints with them despite not turning 20 until next month. Brzustewicz, meanwhile, picked up his first career NHL goal late last month and has that marker plus an assist in 18 NHL appearances so far.
- After tonight’s game, the Devils announced that forward Lenni Hameenaho and defenseman Colton White were assigned to AHL Utica. Hameenaho impressed in his first taste of NHL action, picking up two goals and two assists in nine games. White, meanwhile, was a healthy scratch tonight and heads back to the Comets with four assists in 23 games in New Jersey so far this season.
Flames Make Several Roster Moves
The Flames have made a series of transactions heading into their game against the Islanders. The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Matvei Gridin has been recalled from AHL Calgary. To make room on the roster, winger William Stromgren was sent back to the Wranglers. Additionally, defenceman Zayne Parekh was also sent down on a conditioning loan.
Gridin was a first-round pick by Calgary in 2024, going 28th overall. While he had a solid showing last season with QMJHL Shawinigan, he wasn’t expected to realistically contend for a roster spot in training camp. However, after potting three goals in six preseason contests, Gridin broke camp with the Flames and got into four games with them, picking up his first NHL goal before being sent down to the Wranglers a little more than a week into the season.
In the minors, Gridin has been quite impressive. He has 10 goals and 18 assists in 32 games with the Wranglers, good for a share of second overall among all rookies which has helped earn this promotion. Gridin can play up to five more games with the Flames this season without burning the first year of his entry-level contract so it will be interesting to see if the team intends to give him just a quick look or a longer opportunity that officially activates his deal.
As for Stromgren, he received his first NHL promotion earlier this month and was in and out of the lineup, getting into three games with the Flames altogether. The 22-year-old had a very limited role in those outings, playing just 7:17 per game while being held off the scoresheet. Stromgren has been one of the better playmakers for the Wranglers, however, picking up 23 assists in 33 contests. He’ll now get a chance to go back to playing a much more prominent role compared to the fourth-line minutes he was seeing with the big club.
Parekh, meanwhile, has yet to play since returning from playing for Canada at the World Juniors. The 19-year-old isn’t eligible to play full-time for the Wranglers but now that he has been scratched long enough, he is eligible for this conditioning stint which can last for up to two weeks. It seems likely that management will want him to play the full two weeks in the minors, meaning he won’t likely rejoin the Flames until the end of the month. Parekh, a top performer with OHL Saginaw to the tune of 203 points over his last two seasons, has one assist in 11 NHL contests while playing a little under 15 minutes per night of playing time.
Should The Flames Make Room For Matvei Gridin?
It’s safe to say the 2025-26 season has been disappointing for the Calgary Flames. One season after finishing one regulation win outside of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, the Flames are one of two teams that haven’t managed a .400 win percentage through the first quarter of the 2025-26 campaign.
However, it’s relatively easy to find the problem. Calgary is in second-to-last place in total offense, averaging 2.38 GF/G. Additionally, the team’s power play is also the second worst with a 13.41% success rate. The Flames have scored one or fewer goals in seven games this season.
When they do score, the usual suspects are contributing. Nazem Kadri and Rasmus Andersson lead their respective positions in scoring, followed by Matthew Coronato, Mikael Backlund, Morgan Frost, and Jonathan Huberdeau at the top of the table. Still, with the likes of Yegor Sharangovich and MacKenzie Weegar struggling to live up to their typical standards, would it make sense for Calgary to inject more offense into its lineup?
Fortunately, the Flames have an in-house candidate in the wings. The 28th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, Matvei Gridin, who’s already appeared in four games with Calgary this season, is off to an exceptional start with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers.
Currently in his first professional season in North America, Gridin is second on the Wranglers in scoring with eight goals and 20 points in 17 games, one point off veteran Martin Frk for the team lead.
Furthermore, Gridin is the highest-scoring rookie in the AHL up to this point, managing a two-point lead over the Chicago Blackhawks’ prospect, Nick Lardis. Not only is Gridin sitting first amongst rookies, but he’s tied for third in the entire league.
Despite the dreadful start to the season, the Flames are only six points back of the last playoff spot in the Western Conference, giving them plenty of time to catch up. Although he shouldn’t be considered a cure-all, Gridin could provide the necessary offense, both at even strength and with a man advantage, to make Calgary much more competitive on the offensive side of the puck.
Still, there are other things to consider outside of salvaging this season. Given his age, Gridin is eligible to have his entry-level contract slide should he appear in nine or fewer games with the Flames this season. If Calgary has already decided to punt on the 2025-26 campaign, it wouldn’t make sense to recall Gridin this season.
Flames Assign Matvei Gridin, Activate Jonathan Huberdeau
The Calgary Flames have assigned winger Matvei Gridin to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers to make room to activate Jonathan Huberdeau off of injured reserve. Huberdeau has been sidelined since sustaining an undisclosed injury in a preseason matchup against the Vancouver Canucks on October 1st. He missed the first seven games of Calgary’s season.
Gridin played in the first four games of his NHL career to start the season, but found his way to the press box after posting one goal and a minus-three. He is among Calgary’s top prospects, and is set to become one of just six 19-year-olds in the AHL. A taste of NHL minutes, and continued pro challenge in the minors, could be exactly what Gridin needs to grow his game.
He looked fast and flashy in the QMJHL last year, posting 96 points in 72 games over the course of the Shawinigan Cataractes’ full season. That performance earned him the QMJHL’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ award. The 2024 first-round pick spent two seasons in the USHL prior to his draft. He scored 99 points in 108 total games in the league. That includes a league-leading 83-point season in 2023-24, the second-highest scoring season in Muskegon Lumberjacks history.
While Gridin develops in the minors, Huberdeau will look to keep up his momentum from last season. He scored 16 points in 18 games to finish the 2024-25 season, pushing him to 28 goals and 62 points in 81 games on the year. It was Huberdeau’s highest-scoring season since he posted 115 points with the Florida Panthers in 2021-22. His dip in scoring with the Flames has shadowed his last three seasons, but he showed a click next to Morgan Frost and Matthew Coronato that could propel the Flames’ offense this season. Coronato currently leads Calgary in scoring, with three points in five games. Frost has two points.
West Notes: Blueger, Gridin, Blackhawks
Vancouver Canucks center Teddy Blueger made an appearance at training camp today (as per Noah Strang of the Daily Hive). The 30-year-old wore a no-contact jersey today after undergoing minor surgery recently to repair a lower-body injury. Blueger wasn’t listed on the team’s camp roster but appears to be ramping up to become a full participant.
Blueger had a good first year in Vancouver last year, dressing in 68 games and matching a career-high with 28 points. The former Stanley Cup champion has never offered a ton offensively but is more than serviceable in a bottom-six role and will be a welcome addition for the Canucks when he gets back to full health.
In other Western Conference notes:
- Calgary Flames prospect Matvei Gridin was involved in a QMJHL trade today as he was dealt by the Val-d’Or Foreurs to the Shawinigan Cataractes (as per team release). The move has been rumored for quite some time since the CHL annual Import Draft in July. Gridin had yet to come to an agreement with Val-d’Or on his QMJHL Scholarship and Development Agreement and was not part of the team’s training camp. Calgary selected Gridin with the 28th overall pick in this year’s NHL entry draft and has unusual eligibility this season because he was drafted out of the USHL and never played a CHL game. Gridin can start the season in the NHL, AHL or CHL.
- The Chicago Blackhawks aren’t expected to make the playoffs this season but there is pressure on the team this season to look like a structured NHL team once again (as per Mark Lazerus of The Athletic). The Blackhawks haven’t won a playoff series since 2015 and won’t likely win one this season, but the expectations are that the team will be competitive and superstar Connor Bedard will take the next step towards being a megastar. On top of that, there will be pressure on third-year head coach Luke Richardson who finally has an NHL lineup to coach and will be expected to implement a system and structure that utilizes the talent that the team has brought in over the last two summers.
Flames Sign Zayne Parekh, Two Others To Entry-Level Deals
The Flames have simultaneously signed a trio of prospects to three-year, entry-level contracts, including 2024 ninth-overall pick Zayne Parekh (as relayed by Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson). Right winger Matvei Gridin, who they took with the 28th overall pick last week, and 2023 second-rounder Étienne Morin also signed their rookie deals.
Parekh, 18, stands the greatest chance out of the trio to be on the opening night roster in October, although it would still be a surprise. The right-shot defenseman has arguably the highest offensive ceiling of any blue liner in this year’s class, even ahead of the Blackhawks’ second-overall pick, Artyom Levshunov. He was electric for the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit last season, leading them across the board with 33 goals, 63 assists and 96 points in 66 games with a +39 rating. It would be an impressive feat for any draft-eligible skater, but especially from the back end.
He went a bit later than most people expected him to go, too, so there’s a fair bit of steal potential with the pick. Elite Prospects ranked him as the No. 5 prospect in the class, while TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s polling of NHL scouts yielded him at No. 8. He was the third defenseman off the board after Chicago took Levshunov and the Senators selected Carter Yakemchuk.
If Parekh does make the NHL squad out of camp, it’ll likely be on a nine-game trial to avoid burning the first year of his entry-level deal. At such a young age, another year with Saginaw would be beneficial to round out his two-way game. His ELC is eligible to slide twice, and he won’t be eligible for a full-time AHL assignment until 2026-27.
The 18-year-old Gridin also put pen to paper on his ELC, confirming he won’t be attending the University of Michigan in the fall as previously expected. Instead, the Flames will loan him to his junior club. The QMJHL’s Val-d’Or Foreurs took him first overall in the CHL Import Draft later this week, but they’re expected to deal him to the Rimouski Océanic before training camp begins, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler reports. That would mean he’d play in the 2025 Memorial Cup, with Rimouski hosting the event. Only a few scouting sites pegged him as a late first-round pick – many more had him going in the second round. He was ranked 37th in McKenzie’s year-end polling. Gridin, a native of Kurgan, Russia, had 38 goals and 83 points in 60 games for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL last season.
Morin, 19, is a left-shot defenseman who went 48th overall in the 2023 draft. He’s a physically involved two-way threat who had a bit of a step back in his post-draft season, posting 12 goals and 37 assists for 49 points with a -9 rating in 58 games for the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL. He’d posted better offensive and defensive results the year prior, with 72 points in 67 games with a +29 rating. Calgary is expected to loan Morin back to Moncton for his final season of junior hockey this season, sliding the beginning of his ELC to 2025-26.