PENTICTON, British Columbia -- Matt Coronato knows there's a chance he can crack the Calgary Flames roster this season.
The 20-year-old forward prospect also understands it's up to him to seize the opportunity.
"I've got to be at my best and show that I'm always giving 110 percent," Coronato, the No. 13 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, said Friday at the Young Stars Classic. "I think for me, my game when I'm playing my best, I'm doing that anyway. That's going to be the biggest thing I'm ready to do.
"All I can do is go out and try to be at my best and work hard and that's really all I can do."
Coronato (5-foot-10, 195 pounds) will be one of several prospects vying for roster spots in training camp for a Flames team that had a 38-27-17 record and finished two points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference last season.
A youthful injection into the organization is a priority for Calgary, general manager Craig Conroy said.
"I do feel like we need to give opportunity," said Conroy, who was promoted to replace Brad Treliving as GM on May 23. "Not just give it to them, but they need to earn it. That's been the plan since the start.
"Who is going to take the spot? I said it's a competition and there's going to be opportunity for guys. Who's going to be that guy who takes that spot? Everyone says we make the decisions. You make the decisions. The players make the decisions for us. That's what I'm looking for.
"With Matty coming in second in the physical testing ... he's on a mission, which is good. That's what we want him to be. We want all these guys pushing each other and then we want them to go to main camp and push the veteran guys, and just keep going."
Coronato said he understands the challenge ahead as he enters his first season of professional hockey.
"I think for me it just comes back to the same thing," he said. "I've got to go out and prove it and be at my best. I think it definitely maybe helps motivate a little to do that when you hear things like that."
Coronato, who signed his three-year, entry-level contract with Calgary on March 26 and made his NHL debut in the Flames' season finale on April 12, could fit the bill of what Conroy is seeking.
He had 36 points (20 goals, 16 assists) in 34 games at Harvard University last season and finished his collegiate career with 72 points (38 goals, 34 assists) in 68 games. Prior to that, Coronato was the United States Hockey League forward of the year in 2021 after scoring 85 points (48 goals, 37 assists) in 51 games with Chicago.
He also had eight points (three goals, five assists) in 10 games with the United States at the World Championship in May.
"He makes things happen," Conroy said. "He makes people that he plays with better. He makes plays. He's hungry. He's always around the net. He's got a great shot. You watch players and they just know how to get into those quiet areas and if it's on his stick its in the back of the net. Those are the exciting things. It's another level and a bigger step and might take a little time, but he does it so naturally. Some guys have to work, work, work, and other guys know how to work their way into that position.
"Jarome (Iginla) did the same thing. He could play the game any way, but that shot...he just knew how to get into position and it didn't take much, and that's like Matty. He doesn't need a lot of space with him to get the shot off and that's impressive."
It's lofty praise from Conroy, who skated alongside Iginla, a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee and now a special adviser to the general manager, for parts of nine seasons from 2000-2011.
Before he can fulfill the comparison, though, Coronato knows he has to make his mark and earn a spot with the Flames.
"I want to be ready," Coronato said. "I'm going to do everything I can to be ready because that's my goal."
