Calgary Herald

Flames ink Swedish prospect

Kylington’s destinatio­n to be decided

- SCOTT CRUICKSHAN­K

Unsigned, but not unmotivate­d, Oliver Kylington and Johnny Oduya had been training together in Spain, getting ready to play for whomever.

Wednesday put a stop to ( some of ) that uncertaint­y.

Oduya — a two- time Stanley Cup winner with the Chicago Blackhawks — agreed to terms with the Dallas Stars, two years’ worth.

And Kylington inked an entry- level deal with the Calgary Flames, the club that selected him 60th overall at the NHL draft last month.

The Swedish defencemen were happy — and handy. ( Each served as witness to the other’s contract signing.)

They celebrated with a little tennis, a little jetskiing.

“It was good fun,” said Kylington, 18. “I wanted to play in the NHL since I was a little boy.” Now what? Great question. The 2015- 16 fate of the youngster has been the topic of recent debate.

For fans and reporters, Brad Treliving tried to clear up the murk concerning Kylington’s immediate future.

“What this allows, it opens up some potential options for us,” the Flames general manager said.

“This isn’t a case where we’re just trying to jam him into Calgary on a fast track.”

Protocol dictates that if the lad doesn’t crack the NHL lineup in the fall, AIK — as the holder of Kylington’s overseas contract — owns the right of first refusal.

Then, if the Swedish club declines Kylington’s services, the Flames have a couple of possible destinatio­ns — Stockton Heat of the AHL, Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL.

“Ultimately, we’ll make the best decision for Oliver,” Treliving said. “The good part, the easy part for him — all he has to worry about is working as hard as he can for the rest of the summer and prepare to go into rookie camp, into training camp.

“We’ll make a decision when a decision needs to be made.”

The kid, of course, insists he can take a legitimate stab at a roster spot.

Anyone who witnessed Kylington’s display during the Flames’ developmen­t camp last week at WinSport is aware of how well he can move.

“Oh, I felt a bit rusty. … I hadn’t been on the ice for, like, two months,” said the Stockholm native, six feet and 180 pounds. “But it felt better and better as the week went on. I just try to play my game and people recognize my skating.”

Said Treliving: “Obviously, the thing that jumps out at you is his skating ability. He skates at an NHL level right now.”

The Flames boss, however, came well short of making any grand declaratio­ns.

“I’m hesitant to start talking about 18- year- old players being ready to jump in and help you win at the NHL level,” he said. “That sets people up for failure in a lot of cases. Let’s remember this is a young guy, a real young player. He doesn’t turn 19 till May of next year.

“I know when we see a player signed, our immediate thought is to start that stopwatch — ‘ OK, how many minutes before he’s in the league?’ Let’s just exhale and enjoy the process.”

C- NOTES: Signing qualifying offers were C Bill Arnold, C Drew Shore, LW Kenny Agostino, LW Bryce Van Brabant. “We checked a couple boxes off,” Treliving said. “Those are good players. They’re all having good summers. Their goal — they want to grab hold of a spot come camp.”… The rest of the Flames’ restricted free agents include the three who filed for salary arbitratio­n ( LW Lance Bouma, C Josh Jooris, C Paul Byron) and LW David Wolf, LW Micheal Ferland, LW Turner Elson … The Heat signed G Kent Simpson, D Dustin Stevenson, C Mitchell Heard to AHL deals.

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