It's almost time for the start of the College Hockey season. Teams will be starting their seasons later this week.
The Flames had no graduates from last season. All of the players we followed last year will be entering their sophomore seasons, and the Flames drafted one college-bound player in June.
This year, we'll be tracking four Flames-drafted prospects on three NCAA teams:
EMILIO PETTERSEN -- University of Denver (Sophomore) -- Drafted 2018, Round 6 (No. 167 overall)
Pettersen had a very impressive freshman season at Denver. He finished the season with 30 points in 40 games, leading the team in assists and second in points. Denver is a consistent powerhouse in college hockey, last year qualifying for the Frozen Four. They are expected to have another strong season and Pettersen should be another key contributor to their success.
Pettersen is still young enough to participate in the World Juniors. Unfortunately, Norway failed to earn promotion to the main tournament this year and will again play in the Division I tournament.
DEMETRIOS KOUMONTZIS -- Arizona State University (Sophomore) -- Drafted 2018, Round 4 (No. 108 overall)
ASU surprised everyone last year by emerging as one of the stronger teams in the NCAA despite being an independent team with no conference affiliation. They became the first unaffiliated team to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in decades and had a better overall record than some usual powerhouse teams like Boston College and Boston University.
Koumontzis was a solid member of the Sun Devils team. He scored 20 points in 35 games, which was tied for the team lead in freshman points. His performance put himself on the radar for Team USA at this year's World Jrs.
MITCHELL MATTSON -- Michigan State University (Sophomore) -- Drafted 2016, Round 5 (No. 126 overall)
Mattson and MSU both had disappointing seasons last year. Mattson failed to crack the lineup most nights, only suiting up for 14 of 36 games. He has still yet to collect his first NCAA point.
JOSH NODLER -- Michigan State University (Freshman) -- Drafted 2019, Round 5 (No. 150 overall)
Nodler is the only new addition to the list this year. Drafted by the Flames in the 5th round in June, Nodler will be joining Mattson at MSU. Last season, Nodler played for Fargo in the USHL, scoring 17G/25A in 54 games, which was 3rd on the team for goals, assists, and points (behind two 1998-born players).
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Really looking forward to see how much Pettersen and Koumontzis can progress this season. They definitely impressed me during the Prospect camp earlier in the summer!
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"You must study hard, not just hockey all the time"
Over the summer, Mattson and one of his MSU teammates went to Australia to study abroad...
Also during the summer, ASU took a trip to China to participate in a five-team tournament against the KHL's Kunlun Red Star and three teams from the KHL's equivalent of the AHL.
Koumontzis joined the team mid-trip after participating in the Team USA Summer Showcase.
The Sun Devils also announced this summer that former-Flame, Eddie Lack, will be joining their coaching staff to work with their goaltenders this season. The team lost their primary starting goalie from last season, Joey Daccord, after he signed with the Senators in the spring.
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The NCAA season got underway Saturday night with a couple of late games for the Flames prospects.
Arizona State opened their season with a 3-2 home loss to Mercyhurst. Koumontzis was kept off the scoresheet. Based on their lineup for the game, it looks like Koumontzis will be playing on the Sun Devils' top line this season.
Denver made the trek to Alaska to start their season. The Pioneers won it 4-3 with the GWG coming with just over a minute left. Pettersen had the lone assist on the game winner.
Both teams play the same opponents again on Sunday. MSU will play their first game on Monday with an exhibition game against Western Ontario.
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ASU hung on to win their game 6-4. Koumontzis didn't get any additional points.
Denver played later in Alaska and won 3-0. Pettersen did not get any points in the win.
MSU kicks off their season with an exhibition game tonight. Their regular season gets underway on Friday. ASU and Denver both are also back in action on Friday.
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All three teams with Flames prospects were on the road on Friday.
ASU visited Minnesota State, which is the third-ranked program in the country. Not surprising, the Sun Devils didn't fare so well against one of the powerhouses of college hockey. Minnesota State won 4-1 and Koumontzis didn't have any points in the game.
Denver took their second-ranked program to Lake Superior. The Pioneers won 3-1 to remain undefeated on the season. Pettersen had one goal and one assist in the victory (including scoring the GWG early in the third period).
MSU took a trip to Northern Michigan to open their regular season schedule. The Spartans came away with a 5-3 win. Josh Nodler was able to do something in his first NCAA regular season game that Mitch Mattson wasn't able to do all of last season, he got a point. Nodler had an assist on MSU's first goal of the game. As usual, Mattson was kept off the scoresheet.
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All three teams with Flames prospects were on the road on Friday.
ASU visited Minnesota State, which is the third-ranked program in the country. Not surprising, the Sun Devils didn't fare so well against one of the powerhouses of college hockey. Minnesota State won 4-1 and Koumontzis didn't have any points in the game.
Denver took their second-ranked program to Lake Superior. The Pioneers won 3-1 to remain undefeated on the season. Pettersen had one goal and one assist in the victory (including scoring the GWG early in the third period).
MSU took a trip to Northern Michigan to open their regular season schedule. The Spartans came away with a 5-3 win. Josh Nodler was able to do something in his first NCAA regular season game that Mitch Mattson wasn't able to do all of last season, he got a point. Nodler had an assist on MSU's first goal of the game. As usual, Mattson was kept off the scoresheet.
MEP gonna surprise many who haven’t been following. Love this prospect
Friday was shutout night in Colorado for the Flames' college prospects.
ASU was on the road in Colorado Springs to take on Air Force. The Sun Devils won 3-0. Koumontzis did not have any points.
Denver hosted their home opener against Boston College. The Pioneers won 3-0 to remain undefeated (it was actually 1-0 for most of the game until Denver scored two ENG in the final 30 seconds of the game). Pettersen had an assist on the opening goal of the game.
MSU played an exhibition game against the US Under-18 team. The Spartans won 2-1. Neither Mattson nor Nodler had a point.
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An uneventful weekend in College Hockey this week (at least for the Flames prospects). I don't know if it's midterms or something, but it was generally a lighter schedule than usual.
Both Denver and ASU had the week off, so MSU was the only school of interest in action.
The Spartans were on the road to take on Colorado College. They lost Friday night, 3-1 and won Saturday night, 5-1. Nodler played in both games, Mattson only on Friday. Neither had any points.
Next week, all three teams are back in action. All three are at home. MSU hosts Cornell; ASU hosts Quinnipiac; and Denver hosts Niagara.
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