Top 25 Under 25: #11 Mark Jankowski

#11: Mark Jankowski

Position: C/F

Age: 21

Team: Stockton Heat

Drafted: 2012 #21 (1st Round)

Since being drafted Mark Jankowski has had his detractors. Consensus in 2012 was that the Flames drafted the Hamilton Ontario product way too early. Those doubters continued to be vocal even as Jankowski was leading his Providence College Friars to an NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship in 2014-15. Jankowski’s time at PC was productive and he managed to improve upon his numbers every season, finishing his senior season as a little over a point per game player.

The Flames signed Jankowski in March of 2016 after he finished his career at Providence. The detractors were once again vocal as the 21 year old and the Flames inked a 2 year, ELC for $1.85 million dollars. Jankowski immediately went to Stockton to finish out the final 8 games of the season. In that short amount of time Jankowski scored 2 goals and added 4 helpers, which put him ahead of 3 other Heat players who played significantly more games.

Jankowski could possibly have outside shot of making the Flames roster for this coming season, but more time in Stockton would probably benefit him the most. However, he isn’t that far away from knocking on the door. Jankowski isn’t the fleetest of foot, but if he learns to use his body more and keep up the scoring touch he displayed in his 38 NCAA games and 8 AHL games last season, he could be a very important cog in the Flames machine for years to come.

by Mark Parkinson