FN’s 2025 Flames summer prospect rankings – #2: Cole Reschny

The Calgary Flames entered the 2025 NHL Draft with a lack of high-end centres in their prospect base. They left that event with a slew of promising young pivots on their reserve list. The most exciting among that group may be 18th overall pick Cole Reschny.

A product of the Western Hockey League’s Victoria Royals, Reschny had a superb draft year, winning gold medals with Canada at two major events, and in-between those tournaments he emerged as one of the most impressive young prospects in the Dub.

The college-bound Reschny debuts in second spot in FlamesNation’s 2025 summer prospect rankings.

Cole Reschny

Centre, Shoots Left
Born Apr. 6, 2007 (age 18) in Macklin, SK
5’11”, 183 pounds
Drafted in the first round (18th overall) by Calgary in the 2025 NHL Draft

Raised on a goat farm in Macklin, Saskatchewan, Reschny worked his way up through local minor hockey before moving onto prep school hockey in Alberta in his teens. He impressed, and was the third overall selection in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft – the two players taken ahead of him were Gavin McKenna and Jackson Smith.

Reschny spent his 2022-23 season in AAA midget in Saskatchewan, but he played his first four WHL games that season sprinkled through October and November. He made the Royals out of camp in 2023-24 and immediately carved out a spot for himself on the club’s top lines. He posted 59 points over 61 games, finishing top five among WHL rookies and third among all Victoria skaters. He took more face-offs than any other Royals centre, but won just 44.3% of his draws.

In 2024-25, his draft eligible year, Reschny found another level to his game. He increased his production to 92 points over 62 games, leading Victoria and ranking 10th in the entire WHL. He took way more face-offs than any other Royals player, and won 56.4% of them – a big improvement over his prior season. He found another level to his game in the post-season, posting 25 points over 11 games. And that impressive WHL season was sandwiched by gold-medal performances at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the Under-18 World Championships.

Following the U18s, Reschny took the plunge and committed to the University of North Dakota for the 2025-26 season, where he’ll face a lighter playing schedule but be pitted against more mature players – and several college teams which are also getting an influx of young talent from Canadian major junior for the first time. He was selected by the Flames in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft.

Our pal at McKeen’s Hockey, Derek Neumeier, described Reschny’s season as such:

“The newest top prospect in the organization’s pipeline, Reschny made all kinds of sense as Calgary’s target with their first pick in the 2025 draft. They needed a talented center who fits the team’s identity and culture, and the fact that he’s from Western Canada and also played here was icing on the cake. After two impressive seasons in the WHL it’s a smart choice by him to now be heading to the NCAA, especially when you consider that all the extra training time should help him improve his skating ability, which would then in turn allow him to unlock another level to his game. There’s a lot to like about Reschny, and he should be a core piece of the Flames roster in due time.”

Expectations for 2025-26

Reschny’s headed into somewhat uncharted waters this coming season, as he’s part of an initial recruiting class of Canadian junior talent into college hockey – something that’s never happened before. On paper, he’ll be battling a lot of really talented teams boasting more physically and mentally mature players than he’s ever faced. But he’ll have some strong teammates himself, and he’ll be joining a Fighting Hawks team that has built up a really strong program over the past while. As a first-round NHL draft choice, expectations will be high both for Reschny and North Dakota as a team.

The goal, most likely, is for Reschny to keep progressing, and carve out a spot for himself as a top player at North Dakota in the same way he did so with the Royals in his rookie season. If Reschny can keep building up his mind and body, he could be a really impressive college player. And that could chart the path for him to keep progressing to become a really impressive pro player in short order.