Flames sign NCAA free agent Tyson Gross to entry-level contract
The Calgary Flames have signed top NCAA unrestricted free agent Tyson Gross to a two-year contract, the club announced.
SIGNING ALERT! The #Flames have inked hometown product Tyson Gross to a two-year contract! More details: cflam.es/4rvaxmF
Gross, 23, scored 18 goals and 41 points in 36 games as a junior at St. Cloud State University during the 2025-26 season. The 6-foot-3 right-shot center played his final collegiate game on March 7 as the Huskies lost to the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the first round of the NCHC playoffs.
An undrafted player, Gross spent three seasons at St. Cloud State after playing his junior career with the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons and the USHL’s Fargo Force and Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. The Calgary-born forward finished his junior year as the Huskies’ leading point-scorer and made the long list for the Hobey Baker Award.
A product of the Calgary Flames U18 AAA system, Gross announced his commitment to St. Cloud State during his USHL rookie season with Fargo in 2021-22. The Force traded Gross to Cedar Rapids prior to the 2022-23 season, in which he racked up seven goals and 39 points in 54 games.
Gross joined the Huskies as a 21-year-old freshman in 2023-24, collecting seven goals and 20 points in 34 games. He improved to nine goals and 25 points in 36 games the following season before putting himself on the radar of multiple NHL teams with his excellent junior year, in which he broke out offensively and led all of NCAA Division I men’s hockey in faceoff wins.
Gross was considered to be one of the top NCAA UFAs heading into the spring. He recently highlighted Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis’ college free agent chart, citing the Flames as the expected destination.
With NHL teams already looking at NCAA UFAs to add depth, I looked at 10 college free agents worth keeping an eye on this year: dailyfaceoff.com/news/top-colle…
“He’s an excellent skater who consistently creates plays at a high pace,” Ellis said. “Gross generates high-quality chances often and spends a lot of time around the net looking to bag home some rebounds. Gross is physical, smart and always involved, with and without the puck.”