Flames assign top prospect Jakob Pelletier, two others to AHL

Calgary’s roster was full for Friday night’s victory over Seattle, but it’s considerably smaller now. The Flames announced that they’ve assigned forwards Walker Duehr and Jakob Pelletier plus defenseman Dennis Gilbert to Calgary of the AHL. No corresponding recalls were made.

Duehr and Pelletier were both recalled three weeks ago with Duehr seeing regular action while Pelletier was more limited. Duehr got into eight games with the Flames, picking up his first two NHL goals while averaging a little over nine minutes a night. This season at the AHL level, the 25-year-old has 10 goals with the Wranglers, just one shy of his output from a year ago in 28 fewer games. Duehr is in his second full professional campaign after signing a two-year entry-level deal with Calgary as an undrafted college free agent in 2021.

Pelletier is widely considered to be one of Calgary’s top prospects, so when he was brought up, there was some excitement to see how he’d fare against top competition. However, he was a regular scratch early and got into only four contests in which he logged less than 11 minutes a night. That’s not necessarily the most optimal usage for a player who had 34 points in 31 games in the minors this season, but he at least now has a taste of what things are like at the NHL level.

As for Gilbert, this NHL stint was short-lived, as he’s going down just two days after being recalled. The 26-year-old has played in nine games for the Flames this season, collecting an assist along with 19 hits and 20 penalty minutes while averaging 10:35 per contest. He also has five points in 24 AHL contests.

The Flames are off until Feb. 6, so these three assignments are likely being done to bank some cap space. The demotions will free up a little over $13K per day and add to their cap room heading into the deadline. However, it remains to be seen if these three will be back with the big club when the Flames resume play or if someone else will get an opportunity.