Max Curran was continuing his recovery from a season-ending injury, when he got some surprising news.
It was NHL Trade Deadline day this past March, and Curran had just been dealt from the Colorado Avalanche to the Flames, part of a multi-piece return engineered by General Manager Craig Conroy in exchange for Nazem Kadri.
But this week, at his first Flames Development Camp, the 6-foot-3 Czech forward has settled right into his new digs, even if his acquisition by Calgary came a bit unexpectedly.
“It was a shock for sure,” Curran recalled of the trade. “I didn't see it coming, nobody told me anything that anything's gonna happen. So it was a bit of a shock at first.
“But after that, I realized what a great opportunity it is for me here in Calgary and I was very excited about it.”
A fifth-round pick by the Avalanche in the 2024 Draft, Curran had a career year in 2024-25 with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, leading the squad with 52 assists and 74 points.
This past season had its ups and downs. Curran saw his WHL rights traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings and even though he put up 41 points in 31 games and earned a second straight Czech World Juniors nod, his season was cut short due to an injury that required surgery.
“I got injured, so that was not great, but apart from that, I thought I had a really good season,” he said. “World Juniors (where the Czechs claimed a silver medal) was probably the best experience I ever had in hockey so far, and Edmonton's been awesome too.
“Great, great coaches, great teammates. So, a really good season.”
Curran turns 20 in August, meaning he could have returned to the WHL for one last junior hockey campaign. But over the course of the winter, he plotted out his NCAA future and this fall, he’ll suit up at the same University of Massachusetts campus that helped develop fellow Flames prospect Aydar Suniev.
“I'm so excited about it,” he said of committing to the Minutemen. “I had a video call with Greg Carvel, the head coach at UMass, and after the video call, you know, I thought ’It’s an amazing school and hockey team to be a part of.’
“Not long after that, I decided to commit.”
He’ll have Flames company there, too. Goaltender Tobias Trejbal and forward Egor Barabanov - selected in the second and fourth round of this year’s Draft, respectively - are also committed to UMass.
Curran is already making inroads with his Flames - and college - teammates.
“When I saw they got drafted, I thought it was awesome,” said Curran. “We talked about it, we hang out together.
”I’m going to be probably living with Tobias, so it's great.”
Curran, who during his time in Tri-City was named the WHL Scholastic Player of the Year, is ready to start a few new chapters.
A clean bill of health, a new school, and a new NHL organization to be a part of.
And days into his first Flames camp, he’s eager to Max-imize his time here.
“It feels great,” he said of his arrival in Calgary. “Really good organization.
“I feel very welcomed and the group is great, too.”
