The Calgary Flames recently passed Connor Zary and Brayden Pachal through waivers.
With both of those players off the NHL roster, the Flames then had some room to work with.
On Wednesday, they made the decision of who will be coming up to the big club to replace Zary and Pachal.
Flames Add 2 Players
The Flames are calling up a pair of forwards from the AHL Calgary Wranglers.
Aydar Suniev is one of the players being promoted.
The other is Jonathan Castagna.
Forwards Aydar Suniev and Jonathan Castagna have been recalled from the @AHLWranglers. https://t.co/1jbbt6NjP8
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) October 7, 2026
Who is Aydar Suniev?
Aydar Suniev is a 21-year old Russian left winger.
He stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 198 pounds. The Flames took him in the third round in the 2023 NHL Draft at No. 80 overall.
At the time he was drafted, Suniev had just finished playing for the Penticton Vees in the BCHL — that season, he scored 45 goals and had 45 assists in 50 games played.
Suniev then spent the next two seasons in the NCAA ranks at UMass-Amherst. In his second and final season there, Suniev scored 20 goals with 18 assists in 35 games.
The Flames gave Suniev his debut with one game at the end of the 2024-25 season.
He then spent the majority of last season with the Wranglers in the AHL, putting up 16 goals and eight assists in 57 games.
Suniev also got six NHL games in 2025-26 and tallied an assist.
This season, Suniev had actually already been up and down. He appeared in two of the Flames’ first three games and had an assist.
Who is Jonathan Castagna?
Jonathan Castagna is a 21-year old center from Toronto. He stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 183 pounds and is a lefty shot.
He was the No. 70 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, just 10 spots before Suniev. The Coyotes chose him, and he came to the Flames’ organization last year in the MacKenzie Weegar trade.
At the time of his draft selection, Castagna had just had a brief tenure with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens in the OJHL.
After he was drafted, he played three NCAA seasons for Ivy League school Cornell University.
Castagna had 25, then 15, then 34 points in his three college campaigns for the Big Red. That includes 15 goals and 19 assists in 34 games in his final year there.
The Flames had Castagna in their overview for the first time this season, and they started him down at the AHL level with the Wranglers. In two games there, he has already scored two total goals.
With the Flames having been outscored 16-3 through their first three games, they’ll be hoping that Castagna can help provide them a spark in the goals department.
Flames Add 2 Players To Replace Connor Zary