NEW YORK — Jonathan Castagna is open to signing with the Calgary Flames as early as this spring, and he’s not alone.

Sportsnet has learned the lone U.S. college free agent the Flames have targeted, Tyson Gross, is days away from inking an NHL contract, and his hometown Flames are on the short list of teams the highly sought-after Calgarian is considering.

The six-foot-three, 195-pound centre, who captains St. Cloud State, is a product of Springbank minor hockey, who sits 15th in the nation in scoring and won more faceoffs than any other player in college hockey.

The 23-year-old just wrapped up his third year in college with 18 goals and 41 points in 36 games.  

It’s an exciting possibility for the Flames, who already own the rights to a handful of other high-end U.S. college players, one or two of whom could also potentially join the club before season’s end.

Castagna was one of the latest to join that list when the third-year centre at Cornell was acquired in last week’s MacKenzie Weegar trade with Utah.

While it was clear the six-foot-two, 198-pound Toronto native wasn’t intending to sign with the Mammoth because of the logjam of centres in their system, he said in a phone call Monday he’s wide open to the possibility of inking with the Flames when his season ends.

“I’m definitely excited because there is a lot more opportunity for myself in Calgary, and I’ve heard such great things about the staff and organization from top down,” said the third-round pick from 2023 out of St. Andrews College high school, who leads the Big Red with 14 goals and 32 points in 29 games.

“It will be nice to stay in Canada.

“I’m not saying anything definite right now, but hopefully I can contribute to the Flames. It’s been my dream. If I get to have that opportunity to play in the NHL, and make an impact in the NHL, I’m going to take it. So we’ll have to see how it all plays out.

“I guess the only thing I can tell you right now is I will not shut it down.”

The Flames have three of their 50 roster spots open, and some of those could be filled by U.S. college stars soon after their respective seasons end.

Gross’s season at St. Cloud State is already over, making his decision on where to sign imminent. 

Collegiate players who make the jump to the NHL often like to do so immediately after the conclusion of their school’s season, so they can burn one year of their entry-level contract.

“I don’t like to get into that, because they’re still playing in the playoffs, but there’s definitely players that we want to sit down with and talk to and figure out what’s best for them,” said Flames GM Craig Conroy, when asked about college kids who could debut with his club before season’s end.

“I don’t want to rush them, even though they are good players and they’re having really good years. But I want to see where their mindsets are at, and what they think is best for them too. We will work together, and if that means going back for another year, or come out and sign, we’re open to that too.

“We’re going to do it the right way — we’re not going to try to just rush something for one year.”

One of the Flames’ most exciting college hotshots is Ethan Wyttenbach, who has been one of the NCAA’s biggest stories of the year, going from a fifth-round pick in 2025 to a Hobey Baker frontrunner. Despite being a freshman, the 19-year-old New York native leads the nation with 24 goals and 57 points in 36 games at Quinnipiac University.

That’s nine points ahead of second-place Gavin McKenna of Penn State, who is projected to go first overall in this summer’s draft.

On Tuesday, Wyttenbach dropped by Madison Square Garden with his advisor to watch the Flames and chat with Conroy, telling Sportsnet that while his breakthrough season has likely sped up his timeline to turn pro, he hinted he’s likely content to stay in school another year.

Same goes for Cole Reschny, the Flames’ first-round pick from last summer, who has also had a brilliant freshman season at the University of North Dakota, where he has 33 points in 32 games, despite being just 18.

Reschny had a stellar showing as an underager at the World Juniors, where the playmaker from Macklin, Sask., had four goals in seven games for Canada.

Abram Wiebe is a six-foot-three, 209-pound left-shot defenceman at North Dakota who has made plenty of headlines of late, being named his conference’s defenceman of the month, following three straight weeks of being named NCHC defenceman of the week.

Acquired from Vegas in the Rasmus Andersson trade, the 22-year-old alternate captain has 27 points in 36 games, and will seriously consider signing with the Flames this spring, given the opportunities that abound with the club’s deadline decision to go into a full rebuild.

Castagna, who was named Ivy League’s First Team on Wednesday, certainly sees it that way.

“To get to be a part of that would be pretty cool,” he said of the team’s youth movement, which could very likely include him, Wiebe and Gross this spring. 

“I’ll always have a soft spot for Utah because they took a chance on a kid from a high school program three years ago. Same goes for Calgary right now, taking a chance on me in a pretty big trade. So I’m flattered and honoured to be part of that deal.”