Mace'o Phillips Makes a Physical Impression in Flames' NextGen Loss

Mace'o Phillips did not wait long to make Monday night his.

Late in the first period of the NextGen prospects game against the Oilers at the Saddledome, with Calgary down 1-0, the 19-year-old defenceman took exception to Weston Cameron's work and called him out. Seven straight rights buckled the Oiler, and roughly 9,000 fans came out of their seats. Phillips skated straight at the Flames bench afterward for a fist-pumping flyby.

"It was pretty electric tonight, the juices are flowing, and I'm just trying to get a spark for the boys, feeding off the crowd," Phillips said. "That's something that's part of my game, and I just want to do whatever the team needs from me."

He did something similar a year earlier, dropping the gloves with Connor Clattenburg. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound Minnesotan, a third-round pick in 2025, piled up 187 penalty minutes in 44 games as an 18-year-old rookie with Green Bay in the USHL last season.

"There's so many things that he brings to the table that we don't have a ton of, and most guys don't have a ton of, so it's exciting that way," said Flames director of player development Ray Edwards, who compared Phillips' skating and physicality to Darnell Nurse's.

Phillips was originally set for college hockey this season. He chose junior instead. Medicine Hat acquired his rights, and Phillips later signed with the Tigers, placing him near Calgary under head coach Willie Desjardins.

"We don't necessarily want him fighting all the time, but we've got to help him with that too, with techniques, so he can be a better fighter, because it's going to happen," Edwards said.

The game itself went Edmonton's way, 6-1. Aydar Suniev scored Calgary's only goal, walking in and roofing it, on a line with Matvei Gridin and Tyson Gross, a group Sportsnet identified as Calgary's best of the night. Sportsnet's Eric Francis reported that Gridin, Calgary's leading scorer over the final quarter of last season, is expected to open the year on the Flames' top line. Gross, a 23-year-old Calgarian, played top-line centre and killed penalties.

Ryder Boulton, son of former NHL tough guy Eric Boulton, finished every check available. Second-rounder Chase Harrington was into everything, including a bump on the Edmonton goalie and a backhand to a defender's face. Edwards called him a throwback who can drag a team into a fight, comparing him to Matthew Tkachuk.