Calgary Flames 2025-26 Report Cards: Aydar Suniev – The Hockey Writers – Calgary Flames

It was an ugly season on the ice for the Calgary Flames, finishing 29th in the NHL, posting a 34-39-9 record. There is reason for optimism, with many young prospects getting comfortable or making their NHL debuts. However, there is still a long way to go before this organization can compete for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

With the season in the books, it’s time to take a look at each player who suited up for the Flames this season (excluding Nazem Kadri, MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson, who were traded mid-season) and evaluate their play this season, how it compares to prior seasons, look at younger players’ development and assess what their futures could look like in Calgary before giving them a final grade.

We started alphabetically by first name. On Thursday (April 23), we talked about Adam Klapka. Now, let’s move on to another promising rookie, Aydar Suniev, who saw a handful of games late in the season after making his NHL debut back at the end of 2024-25.

Suniev’s Development

The Kazan, Russia, native’s focus has been nothing but hockey for a long time. Although born outside North America, Suniev had a strong foundation leading up to his junior hockey years, developing his game at The Hill Academy and St. Andrew’s College, two Ontario prep schools focused on athletics.

After making the transition to junior hockey, he went out west to play with the Penticton Vees in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). After finishing his high school hockey season, he went on to put up 20 points in 17 games as a rookie. Then, he scored 45 goals and totalled 90 points with the Vees, which led to his selection in the third round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft by the Flames.

After being drafted, he headed off to college to play for the University of Massachusetts in the NCAA. As a freshman, he had a productive season, posting 25 points in 36 games. As a sophomore, he broke out, scoring 20 goals and tallying 38 points in 35 games.

This led him to sign his entry-level contract and make his NHL debut at the end of the 2024-25 season, when he didn’t have an especially notable night individually, failing to register a point. He did look the part, being on the ice for two of the Flames’ goals for and none against in a game against the Los Angeles Kings.

This Season

To start the season, he got a couple of looks with the Flames in preseason. In two exhibition contests, he played 25 minutes, but didn’t have much of an impact, only registering three shot attempts, failing to hit the net on all three. While Suniev was on the ice for the Flames in preseason, they were only getting 28.49% of the expected goals.

It was pretty clear that the talent is there, but still needed time to adjust to the professional game. He then spent the regular season with the Calgary Wranglers in the American Hockey League (AHL), where he scored 15 goals and recorded 23 points in 55 games.

While it needs to be taken with a major grain of salt, Suniev’s Wrangler team-low, minus-26 rating is the concerning standout among his numbers this season, combined with poor defensive numbers from the preseason.

However, once he was recalled to the Flames late in the season, he was much more prepared to play at the NHL level. He looked more impactful individually, recording 15 shot attempts, nine shots, and eight scoring chances. He finally broke through, tallying his first NHL point in his third game of the season against the Utah Mammoth, getting a primary assist. The on-ice numbers were also much improved, with his expected goal share while on the ice sitting 4.31% better than the Flames’ percentage as a team.

Future Outlook & Final Grade

It’s a bit tougher to judge Suniev’s game, as he’s always been a dynamic dual-threat offensively at lower levels, a great playmaker and goal scorer. He plays very well off his teammates, making the right play which opens lanes on the ice. However, he doesn’t seem to be a play driver who will carry the offensive load on a depth line.

His skill set feels better suited to playing alongside other impactful offensive options than to a depth role, with guys less capable of creating space and maintaining puck possession. The problem with that is, chances to play with guys like that are hard to come by if he can’t produce in the limited minutes he has been getting at the NHL level.

That said, with more time to adjust to the speed, he certainly has the potential to be a productive middle-six forward, with his skill and size, standing at 6-foot-2. However, it is crunch time for him to make his mark at the NHL level, as the Flames will be adding plenty of prospects to their pipeline over the next two drafts.

If he can’t carve out a consistent role with the Flames over the next two seasons, he’ll likely run out of chances with plenty of guys already coming through the pipeline behind him. For this season, I’ll give him a ‘C’ for his short stint with the Flames; perfectly average, not a ton to write home about, but also not a lot of bad things to note.