Calgary Flames send down Matt Coronato to AHL, call up Martin Pospisil

One of the NHL’s top rookies from the preseason has been sent down to the minors.

The Calgary Flames have announced that forward Matt Coronato has been sent down to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, and have called up rookie Martin Pospisil ahead of the team’s games this weekend.

Coronato had seven points in the preseason, but has struggled with just one goal and two points after 10 games with the big club when it counts. The small, but speedy winger had some solid moments along the way, but at 20, there’s no reason to rush him if he’s not fully ready.

Coronato signed his NHL entry-level contract last spring after a great two-year run with Harvard University. Drafted 13th overall in 2021, Coronato had a pair of 36-point campaigns, which included an ECAC championship and MVP honor as a freshman in 2022. Coronato got into one NHL game to close out the year before scoring three goals and eight points in 10 World Championship games with USA. With the Wranglers, the young winger will get more ice time and opportunity to grow and learn as a pro player – perhaps the move the Flames should have considered from the get-go.

Born in Zvolen, Slovakia, Pospisil will get his first taste of NHL hockey after an impressive start to the AHL season. He had six points in six games, putting him on pace for the best start of his five-year pro career. Drafted 105th overall in 2018, Pospisil went straight from the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers to the Stockton Heat in 2019-20, where, despite missing singificant time throughout most of his pro career due to injuries, has managed to still be a solid AHLer. Earning a call-up, even on a short-term basis, is a nice reward for the 23-year-old’s early season work.

The Flames currently sit seventh in the Pacific Division with five points, tying them with Albertan rivals Edmonton. Calgary is riding a six-game losing streak, but will look to change that against Seattle on Saturday.