The Flames announced (Twitter link) a trio of roster moves today in advance of their five-game road trip. They’ve recalled wingers Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr from AHL Calgary and to make room on the active roster, they’ve transferred winger Brett Ritchie on injured reserve.
Pelletier is one of Calgary’s top prospects and will get his first chance at making his NHL debut. The 21-year-old was a first-round pick (26th overall) back in 2019 and has been quite productive at both the junior and AHL level since then. This season, Pelletier sits second on the Wranglers in scoring with 15 goals and 19 assists in 31 games. The only player that he’s behind is Matthew Phillips but the Flames opted to sit the winger for most of the games he was up with the big club for so it’s not surprising that they’re trying Pelletier now instead.
As for Duehr, the 25-year-old has one career NHL appearance under his belt which came in November 2021. This season at the AHL level, he’s tied for third on the Wranglers in goals with ten, just one shy of his output from a year ago in 28 fewer games. This is only his second full professional campaign after signing a two-year entry-level deal with Calgary as a college free agent in 2021.
Meanwhile, Ritchie suffered what appeared to be a wrist injury last weekend against Vancouver and hasn’t played since then. Technically, that means that Calgary could back-date the placement to then, effectively making him eligible to be activated as soon as Sunday’s game in Chicago. The fact they’ve placed him on IR means he’ll be out longer than that but there is no timetable for his return. The 29-year-old has six goals and two assists in 30 games with the Flames so far this season.