CALGARY FLAMES PROSPECT AYDAR SUNIEV COULD BE POISED FOR A SOPHOMORE SURGE
The day before the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville, the Calgary Flames traded Tyler Toffoli to the New Jersey Devils. Coming back to the Flames in the transaction were pending restricted free agent Yegor Sharangovich and a third-round selection in the stacked 2023 draft.
A year and change after the trade, Sharangovich has fit the Flames’ needs like a glove, and recently signed a contract extension that will keep him in a snazzy red jersey until 2023. But the player the Flames snagged with the third-round pick, winger Aydar Suniev, is worth keeping tabs on as he works his way through the American collegiate ranks.
Simply put: Suniev is kind of fascinating.
Originally from Kazan, Russia, Suniev played his youth hockey in the CSKA Moskva system, but came over to North America in 2019 – prior to his 15th birthday – to play prep school hockey in an effort to pursue his NHL dreams. He bounced around a bit due to a combination of visa issues and the pandemic – this will shock you, but educational visas and youth hockey visas are complicated, and then throw the whole Russia invasion of Ukraine and a pandemic into the mix – before finding a home with the British Columbia Hockey League’s Penticton Vees in the latter part of the 2021-22 season.
After impressing in the last chunk of 2021-22 (with 20 points in 17 games), Suniev thrived with the Vees in his draft year of 2022-23, posting 45 goals and 90 points over 50 games on a powerhouse Penticton squad. He led the league in goals, won a league championship, and was named to both the All-Rookie and All-Star Teams. Ranked 40th among North American skaters by the NHL’s Central Scouting Service, the Flames selected him at 80th overall.
After getting picked by the Flames, Suniev headed to college, joining the University of Massachusetts Minutemen as a freshman. He adjusted to the college game fairly quickly, and he ended up with 12 goals and 25 points over 36 games, good for fourth on his team. He wasn’t quite a dominant freshman player and he didn’t contend for conference awards, but he was a reliable offensive presence throughout the season and the UMass coaching staff leaned on him in the latter portion of the season.
“It was a little of an adjustment, but I think I found my game early,” said Suniev during Flames development camp. “The coaching staff was always there for me, my teammates were always there for me, so that definitely helped me to get to where I wanted it.”
UMass ended up qualifying for the NCAA’s national championship tournament, but they lost in the regional semi-final round in double overtime to the eventual national champions from Denver. But all indications are the majority of the key figures from UMass’ season will be back, including netminder Michael Hrabal and six of their top eight scorers from last season – Ryan Ufko and Scott Morrow went pro, but that’s it.
Given all of this, expectations are high for UMass next season.
“First of all, for our team to win a national championship, that’s a priority,” said Suniev after being asked about his goals. “And we’ll see from there.”
If UMass is going to reach its goals, or even progress from their finish from last season, Suniev will need to take a step forward in his progression. There’s always a healthy skepticism regarding offensive production from the BCHL translating into the more structured college environment, but Suniev seemed to grasp the nuances pretty quickly and adjusted. If he can continue to learn and grow, he could become a really crucial piece of the UMass puzzle… and a really exciting prospect for the Flames.
For his part, Suniev indicated that it’s likely up to the Flames as to how long he stays in college.
“I think I’ve thought about it a little bit,” said Suniev. “But once I feel ready, once I feel I’m ready for the next level to step in, obviously it’s up to Calgary, you know, when they think I’m developed enough to play in the NHL.”
Right now, most Flames fans are referring to the move that led to Toffoli’s departure as “the Sharangovich trade.” Perhaps in the future, it could become “the Suniev trade.”
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2024-07-16T19:59:27Z dg43tfdfdgfd