Update: All three players have received qualifying offers!
Big day for a few Calgary Wranglers. Ben Jones, Emilio Pettersen and Martin Pospisil all need qualifying offers if the Flames intend on retaining their rights.
A giant Slovakian before the Flames started really digging them up; Martin Pospisil plays a game that many organizations would find attractive. He hits, he slashes, he gets under the skin of the opposition.
Unfortunately, the 6’2… Pospisil has ran into numerous injury problems. You could make the case that maybe the organization shouldn’t have brought him onto the AHL team at the age of 18. Since joining the Stockton Heat in 2019, Martin has played only 107 games over four seasons.
This season underlined that concept. Martin only played 20 games notching ten points in that time. His last game was on December 31. The game before that, he had two assists and dropped the gloves with former Edmonton prospect Noah Philp.
Players like Pospisil don’t come along every day. If you look at his numbers when he plays against players closer to his age, it’s day and night. He finishes the season with penalty minutes in the 100-200 range and sits around a point per game. Against full grown men? He’s far less agressive and that leads to a much less impressive stat sheet.
If the Zvolen, Slovakia native can get healthy and continue to develop physically enough to bring his style to the NHL? Look out.
It is worth noting that the now 23 year old would need to clear waivers if he were to be sent down from the Flames should he make the team.
Ben Jones, 24, has been with the Wranglers for one season. In that time he put up a very respectable 17 goals and 54 points in 71 games. The 6’0… 194lb center plays a reasonably tough game at both ends of the ice.
While his body of work has been solid, the Center configuration of the Wranglers may be getting a shakeup. Center prospects Rory Kerins and Ilya Nikolaev both played primarily for the Rapid City Rush of the ECHL last season. They may be graduating to full time with the Wranglers this year.
The diminutive Mattias Emilio Pettersen, 23, is the last to need a qualifying offer. The 5’10… Norwegian got back on track in the second half of last season and finished with 44 points in 61 games.
Unfortunately, that momentum died down in the playoffs. Mattias recorded one assist in five games and missed four more due to injury. That seems to be a recurring theme for the guy. He’s missed some key moments of his career due to this or that. We are yet to see Mattias Emilio Pettersen finish training camp in full health.
While it’s discouraging to see any of them go, they’re all under 25 and will find a roster spot somewhere. The only question is “Will it be with Calgary?…
Trevor Neufeld
@Trevor_Neufeld
Stats via eliteprospects.com and theahl.com.