SEASON SYNOPSIS
The Calgary Wranglers had an inaugural season that will be hard to top in 2023-24. They had a bit of a shaky start, but once they got going, they really didn’t look back. The Calgary Flames’ newest affiliation team finished up the year best in the Pacific and best in the league with a 51-17-3-1 record. In playoffs, they earned a first-round bye and then were eliminated in the third round by the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
Many players on the Wranglers roster had career years under former head coach Mitch Love. Many others were recognized for their accomplishments. Calgary netminder Dustin Wolf finished the year as a Pacific Division All-Star, the league’s best goaltender, and league MVP. Forward Matthew Phillips was also the team’s other All-Star as one of the league’s best scorers and rookie defenseman Jeremie Poirier was recognized on the All-Rookie Team.
Phillips once again led the team in scoring with 76 points on the year, followed by Connor Zary with 58 and Ben Jones with 54. Wolf’s performance in the regular season ended with him leading the league in most of the major goaltending categories: 55 games played, 2.09 GAA, .932 save percentage, 42 wins, and seven shutouts.
(List accurate as of Dec. 5th, 4:00pm MT)
UNDER CONTRACT AND RE-SIGNINGS
Forwards
- Rory Kerins – Second year of entry-level contract
- Adam Klapka – Last year of entry-level contract
- Mitch McLain – Last year of AHL contract
- Ilya Nikolayev – Second year of entry-level contract
- Jakob Pelletier – Last year of entry-level contract
- Kevin Rooney – Last year of NHL contract
- Cole Schwindt – Last year of entry-level contract
- Connor Zary – Second year of entry-level contract
- William Strömgren – Signed a three-year, entry-level NHL contract* on March 29 (played for AHL Calgary on an ATO and Brynäs IF of the SHL in 2022-23)
- Walker Duehr – Signed a two-year NHL contract on April 23
- Clark Bishop – Signed a two-year, two-way NHL contract on June 14
- Dryden Hunt – Signed two-year, two-way NHL contract on July 2
- Martin Pospisil – Signed a one-year, two-way NHL contract on July 2
- Alex Gallant – Signed a one-year AHL contract on July 5
- Emilio Pettersen – Signed a one-year, two-way NHL contract on July 6
- Ben Jones – Signed a one-year, two-way NHL contract on July 6
- Brett Sutter – Signed a one-year AHL contract extension on July 25
Defensemen
- Nick DeSimone – Last year of two-year, two-way NHL contract
- Yan Kuznetsov – Last year of entry-level contract
- Jeremie Poirier – Second year of entry-level contract
- Ilya Solovyov – Last year of entry-level contract
- Colton Poolman – Signed a one-year, two-way NHL contract on July 2
Goaltenders
- Dustin Wolf – Last year of entry-level contract
- Oscar Dansk – Signed a one-year, two-way NHL contract on June 6
NEW ADDITIONS
Forwards
- Matthew Coronato – Second year of entry-level contract (played for NHL Calgary and Harvard Univ. [NCAA] in 2022-23)
- Lucas Ciona – First year of entry-level contract (played for the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL in 2022-23)
- Mark Duarte – Signed a one-year AHL contract on July 5 (played for the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL in 2022-23)
Defensemen
- Brady Lyle – Signed a one year, two-way NHL contract on July 3 (played for Springfield in 2022-23)
- Jarrod Gourley – Signed a one-year AHL contract on July 5 (played for Utica and ECHL Adirondack in 2022-23)
- Jonathan Aspirot – Signed a one-year AHL contract on October 3 (played for Belleville in 2022-23)
Goaltenders
- Connor Murphy – Signed a one-year AHL contract on July 5 (played for Union College [NCAA] in 2022-23)
- Matt Radomsky – Signed a one-year AHL contract on July 5 (played for the Univ. of Alaska-Fairbanks [NCAA] in 2022-23)
* – Contract includes European Assignment Clause, detailed in Article 11 – 11.19 of the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement — “The SPC of any Player may contain a clause that provides that, in the event his NHL Club Loans the Player to a club outside the NHL, during the period of such Loan, the Player shall have the option to be Loaned to a club of his choice outside North America.”
DEPARTURES
Forwards
- Matthew Phillips – Signed one-year, one-way NHL contract with Washington on July 2
- Calder Brooks – Signed a one-year contract with the Aalborg Pirates of Denmark’s Metal Ligaen on July 18 (played five games for the Wranglers and 47 games for ECHL Rapid City in 2022-23)
Defensemen
- Josh Brook – Signed a one-year contract with Rauman Lukko of Liiga on May 28
- Kristians Rubins – Signed a one-year contract with MoDo Hockey of the SHL on June 6
- Nicolas Meloche – Signed a one-year contract with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the KHL on October 4 (originally signed a PTO with Columbus on August 24; released from PTO on September 29)
Goaltenders
- Daniil Chechelev – Signed a one-year contract with Vityaz Moscow Region of the KHL on November 28; played two games for the Wranglers and 42 games for ECHL Rapid City in 2022-23
(Special thanks to CapFriendly and Elite Prospects for all the contract terms and definitions for this offseason player tracker!)
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Other 2023 AHL Off Season Trackers :
Links will be updated as articles are released.
Central
- Chicago Wolves
- Grand Rapids Griffins
- Iowa Wild
- Manitoba Moose
- Milwaukee Admirals
- Rockford IceHogs
- Texas Stars
Pacific
- Abbotsford Canucks
- Bakersfield Condors
- Calgary Wranglers
- Coachella Valley Firebirds
- Colorado Eagles
- Henderson Silver Knights
- Ontario Reign
- San Diego Gulls
- San Jose Barracuda
- Tucson Roadrunners
Atlantic
- Bridgeport Islanders
- Charlotte Checkers
- Hartford Wolf Pack
- Hershey Bears
- Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Providence Bruins
- Springfield Thunderbirds
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
North