October Top Performers – Calgary Wranglers

The Calgary Wranglers have been starting things off a little unexpectedly so far. Many anticipated their dominating Stockton Heat traits from last season to translate, but this team has not come out too hot out of the gates. After completing their first three series and six total games, their record is only 2-4. This puts them ninth in the Pacific Division, which was unheard of for this squad last year.

Despite the slow start, there are some individuals doing their part in contributing to the success they do have. Here are the top three Wranglers performers for the month of October. 

Matthew Phillips 

Matthew Phillips didn’t have much offseason rust to work off this month, if any at all. He looked as if he had not skipped a beat and settled into his much-deserved spot on the top line. He started the season on a line alongside Jakob Pelletier and Connor Zary, but Zary has since been moving around the lineup. 

Phillips has at least a point in every game so far with the exception of one. In half of those games, he has multi-point nights registered. He shows himself as the spark plug of the team and continues to give 100% effort every single night. He also had the game-winning goal in the Wranglers first win of the season (at Colorado on October 22).

Phillips sits at four goals and four assists on the year. I expect his performance to continue to dazzle as the season goes on. 

Connor Zary 

Connor Zary was not super noticeable in the first couple games with the Wranglers, but has since gotten up to speed and has been super influential in some close games for his team. He got an assist in the home opener and then went quiet on the scoring front for the next two games. A drop down to the second line proved to be the right move when he scored two goals in Calgary’s game against the Colorado Eagles on October 22. 

This started Zary’s current three-game point streak. In the game following, he assisted on two goals. In the Wranglers’ last match-up against the Firebirds, he netted one. Six games in, Zary sits at three goals and three assists with an average of a point per game.

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Brett Sutter 

The captain is in and he is making his presence known. Brett Sutter has been spending his time on the third line but mixes into the special teams really well. One of his biggest roles this season has been getting to know his new team, but also conditioning the rookies in the life of a professional hockey player. 

He has taken his leadership duties very seriously on and off the ice. For the on-ice portion, he is averaging a point per game with one goal and five assists on the year so far. His largest effort was in the home opener where not only was he playing in front of a new crowd, but also his dad, Flames Head Coach Darryl Sutter. The veteran forward’s first game as a Wrangler included three assists (vs. Coachella Valley on October 16).

Opportunities 

Now with a record like that, not everything has been sunshine and rainbows. There have been some parts of the Wranglers game that need fine tuning. The glaring issues fall on defence and goaltending as a result.

Both Dustin Wolf and Oscar Dansk are not looking too well in the goaltending standings. Their GAA’s are above 4 and neither of them are breaking a .900 save percentage. Wolf has earned both of the wins this season but has not been as lights out as last year. Not all the blame falls on him; Calgary has played the Firebirds four times this year and they are a very solid team in the Pacific Division. Another factor is the space his d-men are leaving in the zone for highly skilled shooters to beat him on impossible shots. 

Where there is opposing scoring, there needs to be some scoring to at the very least keep pace. Jakob Pelletier has been okay with four points but has very high hopes for the season. With Martin Pospisil joining his line, the hope is they can pick each other up and click as a trio to get more pucks in the back of the net and help their goaltenders out. 

All that being said, it is still early. It was a tough month schedule-wise, especially as a new team with quite a few new bodies. November brings some new challenges and opponents for this team to hopefully start boosting some stat categories and make a climb in their division.