Tuesday’s Hot Coals: Prospect Edition

I was looking forward to tonight’s Calgary Hitmen game for some time. The Portland Winterhawks are in town for the first time in a couple years and I was pumped to watch the Flames top prospect, Sven Bartschi – and also, Airdrie native, Blues 2nd-round pick and Team Canada World Junior hopeful Ty Rattie.

Rattie will be in the lineup, but, unfortunately Bartschi has an injury and will not dress.  It doesn't appear to be anything serious but Flames fans will have to wait until the World Juniors in December to get another look at the Swiss prospect in Calgary.  Group 'A', including Switzerland, will play their round-robin games in Calgary.

After the jump, a series of Calgary Flames prospect links for you to peruse at your leisure.

Let's start in Abbotsford, where the Heat are off to a 4-2 start.  The team doesn't appear to be an offensive dynamo, much like last year, but it's safe to say they're a better team. Kent Wilson posted some notes on Abbotsford from an Insider a couple days ago, and the second link takes you to the teams stats. [Wilson – FlamesNation] [Heat Statistics]

Flames.com has a rookie report on Flames 4th-rounder John Gaudreau. [Rookie Report: John Gaudreau]

Boston College is also home to another Flames prospect, Bill Arnold. Another 4th-round pick of the Flames (2010), Arnold leads Boston College in scoring and was named Co-Player of the Week for the Hockey East Association. The second link takes you to Boston College’s stats. [Arnold Co-POW] [Boston College Stats]

In Portland – the Winterhawks are off to a slow-ish start at 6-5-1-1. But, Bartschi is out of the gates hot and Tyler Wotherspoon (2011 2nd-round) is putting up respectable numbers as well. [Winterhawks Stats]

For news and notes on the Kootenay Ice, featuring Max Reinhart and Joey Leach (2011 and 2010 3rd-rounders), check out The Ice Report. Kootenay is looking to build off their Mem Cup appearance and are leading the WHL’s Eastern Conference. And, you’ll be a little surprised to see who follows Reinhart in scoring for the Ice. [The Ice Report] [Ice Stats]

In the United States portion of the ‘dub – the Tri-City Americans are atop of the Western Conference standings and Patrick Holland (2010 7th-rounder) is putting together a solid season early. [Americans Stats]

Hockey's Future is a great place to go and check in on Flames prospects and where the crop sits amongst the rest of the NHL.  HF ranks the Flames 30th (of 30, hasn't been updated in a while) in terms of organizational prospect depth; but, they have a nice depth chart and rankings of the team's prospects as well. [Hockey's Future- Flames 30th] [Calgary Flames Page – HF]

by Scott