'That's The Goal'

For Flames fans, this coming season of NCAA hockey is going to be must-see TV.

As many as 16 Calgary prospects could be lacing up the skates in the Division I ranks this winter, including each of the club’s last four first-round selections.

And as excited as the likes of Cole Reschny, Carson Carels and Cullen Potter are for another season of NCAA puck, make no mistake, they each have pro aspirations.

And soon.

In fact, when addressing the media, Flames GM Craig Conroy admitted as much, and that the lack of action by his club in the free agent market July 1 was a pre-cursor to what lies ahead.

“I have to save contracts for them,” Conroy smiled Wednesday at WinSport. “They said the same thing to me: ‘We all want to come out (of college hockey) after the year.’ 

“It’s good, it gives them a goal, and we’ll be watching them all year.”

Up front, Reschny and Potter are future centrepieces here. Reschny, the No. 18 pick in the 2025 Draft, has been in town skating with the likes of Flames captain Mikael Backlund for the better part of a month. 

And when asked about how he sees next spring’s signing season going, he was adamant that if the opportunity to sign becomes a reality, he’s ready to jump in with both feet.

“That’s the goal,” the product of Macklin, Sask. said. “I think one more good year at North Dakota, to kind of develop me more as a player, as a person off the ice, my body in the gym, nutrition-wise. 

“That’s the goal is to go win a national championship there, then make the jump at the end of the year and hopefully get a couple games in.”

Potter, selected 14 picks after Reschny at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles two Junes ago, agrees. But the Minnesotan’s journey is set to take a turn this fall as well, and understandably, Potter is looking forward to a strong junior season on a stacked Michigan State squad after his sophomore campaign at Arizona State came to an early close due to injury.

“It’s not up to me. As soon as possible really, I guess,” Potter said of his pro aspirations. “I’ve got to take it one step at a time. I’m looking forward to going to Michigan State and having a really good year there.

“I’m just going to work my hardest and see what happens at the end of the year.”

He’ll have a Flames teammate on his Michigan State squad, too, this year, after Calgary selected incoming freshman Jack Hextall 30th-overall last Friday night in Buffalo.

And in Grand Forks, Reschny will be re-united with World Juniors teammate - and former WHL B.C. Division foe - Carson Carels, after the Manitoban defender became Calgary’s highest-drafted prospect in a decade when his name was called at pick No. 6.

“I think one year at UND is going to be a good step for me, to take a step instead of a leap into this next level,” Carels commented Wednesday. “I think UND is going to shape me to be a more complete player. I’m really happy I’m going there.

“You don’t want a five-year career, you want to get to the 15 or 20 mark. I think that extra year (in) college is going to set my body up right and set my mind up right for a longer career.”

The trio are just three of the headliners in an ever-growing Flames prospect pool, one that also includes Hobey Baker finalist Ethan Wyttenbach, who led the NCAA in scoring thanks to a 59-point season at Quinnipiac last year. Wyttenbach was all smiles Wednesday during a series of small-group drills, his first on-ice excursion in Flames gear after being sidelined due to injury at last year’s Development Camp.

This next generation of prospects, these budding stars, all hold the potential to become household names in these parts in future years.

Peering across the ice, and in the WinSport dressing room, it’s a group Reschny is proud to be a part of. 

And an organization that he and his peers are eager to represent under the bright lights of the NHL stage.

“You look at the last couple draft classes, the last three, there’s a lot of talent coming in, good players,” Reschny said Wednesday. 

“We’re all fighting, we’re all battling to eventually make the team here and earn a spot.”