CHL notebook: Flames prospect Battaglia could become role model on, off ice

Future NHL stars are developing in the Canadian Hockey League this season. Each week, NHL.com will highlight a few of the top NHL-affiliated prospects in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League.

Jacob Battaglia's breakout season is carrying over off the ice.

The Calgary Flames forward prospect has 76 points (33 goals, 43 assists) in 55 games with Kingston, his best numbers in three OHL seasons.

But he has also taken on a role as spokesperson for the Canadian Mental Health Association's Talk Today program, an initiative that supports mental health awareness and suicide prevention.

"It's from personal experience of just having so many doubts and sometimes not feeling confident in my game and even letting the game of hockey affect the person I am away from the rink," Battaglia said. "Sometimes as athletes, and especially I find in male athletes and men in general, we just kind of bottle it up, just kind of keep it to ourselves. It makes it hard to reach out.

“So that's kind of why I want to do that. I want to kind of make it seem normal, which it is. It's kind of stigmatized ... just how everyone kind of keeps silent and keeps it to themselves, instead of speaking out and being vulnerable and letting people know how you feel and what's going on in your head, and just away from hockey in general as a person."

As part of his role, Battaglia, who will turn 19 on March 17, will be a guest on a podcast with the Talk Today program and handle social media outreach, including the Pass the Puck Challenge, where he asks other OHL players and teams to discuss their positive mental health practices.

Battaglia was named to the role Jan. 30, but said he already has seen positive results.

"What I've found, which is really awesome about our team, is I'm spokesperson in quotations, but even I still struggle, and there's guys on our team that will ask me, like, 'Hey, are you all right? You don't seem normal today,'" Battaglia said. "And I'll tell them like, 'Hey, I'm kind of not feeling great today, don't feel great about my game, and it's kind of affecting who I am.'

"Even away from the rink, I had a fan after one of our home games recently come up to me and say how proud they are that this is a thing, and how they struggle as well, and it's pretty cool to see a player, an active player, take a pretty heavy role in it. So that was super awesome to kind of have that influence away from the game."

The Flames, who selected Battaglia in the second round (No. 62) of the 2024 NHL Draft, have been as impressed with the maturity he has shown off the ice as well as on it.

"He's just an outstanding individual and young man, just does everything the right way," Calgary director of player development Ray Edwards said. "Really good to see Jacob step up and just real proud of him and his willingness to do this."

Battaglia said being in a positive mental health space has helped him feel more confident on the ice. As has a growing commitment to his play away from the puck, he has a plus-10 rating this season after being a minus-15 last season.

"I know that [plus/minus] stat can be iffy,” he said, “but just seeing that change, it is pretty cool to see that, that it looks like it's going in the right direction.

"Just being able to still produce at a pretty high rate, and then as well develop the defensive game, it is pretty awesome to see that both sides of the game are coming along pretty well. What's even cooler about it is that I'm not sacrificing one for the other, not trying to be super offensive and be terrible defensively, or be amazing defensively and be pretty bad offensively. That's pretty cool that they can balance out and can help me become a complete player."

The Flames are excited by Battaglia's growth.

"We're already seeing major changes in the way he plays," Edwards said. "He has way more understanding of how important things are away from the puck, and the details you have to have.

“And the great thing about Jacob is he's 100 percent willing and wants to do it. He's not a player that sort of looks at the end of the night and if he has four points, thinks he's a good player. … So that accountability and that awareness, self-awareness in terms of how you play, is so important. And that's a big step for young players getting better."

OTHERS TO WATCH

Ilya Protas, LW, Windsor: The Washington Capitals prospect had two goals and two assists in a 6-5 overtime loss at Sarnia on Friday to give him 13 points (five goals, eight assists) during a six-game point streak. The 18-year-old, selected in the third round (No. 75) of the 2024 draft, has 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists) and three game-winning goals in his past 14 games, and is tied for fourth in the OHL this season with 90 points (39 goals, 51 assists) in 50 games.

Matyas Melovsky, C, Baie-Comeau: The New Jersey Devils prospect had his best game in three seasons in the QMJHL, with a hat trick and four assists in a 14-0 win against Saint John on Thursday. He scored two goals in 17 seconds midway through the first period, and capped his second hat trick in the league with a goal 16 seconds into the second. The 20-year-old, selected in the sixth round (No. 171) of the 2024 draft, has 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in his past 11 games, and 67 points (22 goals, 45 assists) in 46 games this season.

Brayden Yager, C, Lethbridge: The Winnipeg Jets prospect has 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 11 games this month, including eight multipoint games, and 71 points (23 goals, 48 assists) in 44 games with Moose Jaw and Lethbridge this season. The Jets acquired the 20-year-old in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Aug. 22; Pittsburgh had selected Yager with the No. 14 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.