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On Ryan Huska's expected promotion to the Calgary Flames |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
For weeks it's been rumored, if not assumed, Stockton bench boss Ryan Huska would be promoted onto Bill Peters' coaching staff in Calgary.
It appears this will be a case of where there's smoke, there's fire.
In the latest edition of 31 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman added some credence to the speculation.
13. As teams look to fill out their coaching staffs over the next few weeks, here are some names to watch:
• Rikard Gronborg, who led Sweden to gold at the World Championships, will have interest. He’s expressed a desire to move back to North America, where he played at NCAA St. Cloud State. Buffalo, Dallas and the Rangers all make sense as a possibility for him.
• The Athletic’s Craig Custance has reported Dallas, Detroit and St. Louis have interest in Todd Nelson from AHL Grand Rapids. Nelson has power-play expertise, and all three teams need help. The Stars were 19th, the Red Wings 24th and the Blues 30th this year.
• I could see Calgary promoting AHL Stockton’s Ryan Huska.
To me, promoting Huska makes a lot of sense.
For one, he's done a nice job at the AHL level. He's 14 games above .500 in his three years with Stockton and the worst they've finished is .500.
He's also familiar with the organization and has experience coaching several of the players in it.
At the NHL level, Mark Jankowski, Garnet Hathaway, Brett Kulak, David Rittich and Jon Gillies have all spent time on Huska coached teams.
Several of the Flames' top prospects – highlighted by Rasmus Andersson and Oliver Kylington – have also played, and excelled, under Huska. They're not far from graduating so having him around could only be a positive.
Huska has paid his dues and deserves a shot. And it looks like he'll get it.
Recent posts:
Contract projections for the Flames' pending free agents
Revisiting my 2017-18 Western Conference predictions
The Flames should avoid Jay Beagle in free agency
Dynamite U21 seasons from Andersson + Kylington put them in good company
The Brodie - Hamonic pairing was a disaster in Year 1
The Flames should not trade Dougie Hamilton
The Flames should make a play for Ilya Kovalchuk
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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