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Using Toffoli’s Rookie Season as a Comparable to Coronato’s Opportunity

March 27, 2023, 3:22 PM ET [15 Comments]
Trevor Neufeld
Calgary Flames Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
With playoff hopes dwindling with each passing day and the collective stench of a season underperformed hanging in the air — it’s nice to have something to look forward to over the next sixteen days.

That being the possible debut of recently signed Matthew Coronato.

The 20-year-old right shot right winger concluded his time in NCAA hockey with a first round loss to Ohio State in the 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey tournament.

Queue the collective sigh of relief upon reading that he’s committing to the Flames organization.

With former Flames American players such as Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk and Adam Fox lighting up the Eastern Conference this season — all under the age of 30 — it’s fair to say that there was a fair amount of speculative doubt among the organization, media, and fanbase.

Coronato’s Style of Play
Coronato, 20, is known for his sharp stick handling and dangerous shot. His speed and size, 5’10” and 183lbs, were the questions during his draft season.

His speed looks to have improved noticeably in two seasons with the Harvard Crimson. He won’t be burning defenders with acceleration too often, but it looks good enough to cause trouble in the AHL.

His size doesn’t seem like too much of an issue either. The 13th overall pick in 2021 has a solid success rate when going into the corners or fighting along the half-wall. Nor does he get knocked around with much frequency.

The easiest comparison would be Tyler Toffoli — a player who Matthew will have an opportunity to watch and emulate over the next two-and-some weeks.

The deceptive shot, the size, and the killer instinct as the play develops are all shared traits in the two player’s games. Also the Italian surnames.

One more thing they may share?

Career Beginnings
The 2012-13 NHL regular season saw rookie Tyler Toffoli get into ten of the final 22 games. Five points in ten games were enough to earn Tyler a call-up when injuries opened up a spot for a right winger.

Darryl may have a reputation for being inclined toward veterans, but in the case of Toffoli, we saw something entirely different. At the age of 20 — the same age as Matthew Coronato currently — Tyler forced his way onto the team and resultingly played in 12 of 18 post-season games that year.

The point here is that it’s possible. If Coronato can put up results early on, he may just carve out a spot on the right side — and may even get an extended look if the Flames somehow find a way to pass Winnipeg with eight games remaining on the schedule.


Tomorrow is a game day against the hottest team in the NHL. That being the 8-0-2 in their last ten LA Kings. The Winnipeg Jets have an easy night against the free-falling San Jose Sharks, so the Flames will need to win to stay within four points.


Trevor Neufeld


@Trevor_Neufeld


Stats via eliteprospects.com and nhl.com.
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