Kotalik Clears Waivers, Reportedly Assigned to Abbotsford

Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: According to various reports via Twitter, Ales Kotalik cleared waivers this morning and has been assigned to the Flames’ AHL affiliate in Abbotsford, where he will report after the All-Star Break. With Kotalik on the farm, the Flames will still have to pay him his salary for this season, but now have the option of calling him up on re-entry waivers to test potential interest closer to the trade deadline.

The move leaves the Flames with 12 forwards and eight defencmen on their current roster, and with Feaster’s stated goal of auditioning some of young “talent” in the organization (see what I did there?) there could be more rearranging to come before the Flames hit the ice February 1st. It’s not as if any Heat forward has made an irrefutable case for a call-up to the big club this season, with AHL vet Matt Keith being the team’s leading scorer with 14 goals and 23 points through 47 games and rookie Greg Nemisz coming in second with 11-9-20.

Feaster stated earlier that he wouldn't comment on the situation unless Kotalik was assigned to the Heat, so he should hopefully address the media sometime this afternoon. 

*Belated Update: Kotalik's pending assignment to the AHL was later confirmed by the club 

by Hayley Mutch