When it comes to the Calgary Flames and the 2025 NHL Draft, a lot of the discourse has revolved around centres. The Flames’ NHL centres are on the wrong side of 30 and their current reserve list is chock full of good wingers, but few centres. As such, we’re all expecting the Flames to emphasize pivots over the seven rounds of the 2025 draft.

When it comes to centres that look to be available late in the first round, American centre Cole McKinney could really fit the Flames’ needs.

Scouting report

A product of Chicago, Illinois, McKinney was born in March 2007. He’s a right shot centre listed at 6’0″ and 198 pounds.

He played his minor hockey in the Chicago area, most recently playing for the Chicago Mission elite team before joining the U.S. National Development Program, playing on their National Under-17 Team in 2023-24 and their National Under-18 Team in 2024-25. He played almost exclusively centre during this past season.

Whittaker Heart of Dobber Prospects compiled this scouting report back in January:

Cole McKinney is a polished 2 way centre out of the USNTDP with a detail-oriented, professional play style. He’s a mature player, often staying under the puck and rarely cheating for offence. McKinney has shown commitment at both ends of the ice and is a player coaches may appreciate more than GM’s. Due to his lack of production, it’s easy to grow weary of his offensive upside at the next level. McKinney’s raw shooting talent is there, but he’s been a product of a very weak NTDP class that has struggled to score goals and win games. Nonetheless, McKinney has looked good in isolation and will have time to develop at NCAA Michigan.

Over at Daily Faceoff, our pal Steven Ellis included this assessment in his recent rankings:

McKinney was one of the USNTDP’s top forwards all year long, and he was also one of the most aggressive. McKinney is a mid-sized, two-way center who can play on the penalty kill, block shots and win a ton of faceoffs. He’s not going to be a play driver in the NHL, but he’s detail-oriented and astute. McKinney is also not afraid to land a big hit to channel some energy. I hope he gets stronger when he heads to college to really maximize his pure power, but the overall package right now is a solid base to build around.

Is McKinney an elite, no-doubt, top-six centre? Probably not. But he’s got some offensive upside and a ton of smarts, hustle and attention to detail. And he’s headed to the University of Michigan in the fall, so he’ll be in a great environment to keep growing his game.

The numbers

In 60 games with the National Development Program’s Under-18 Team, McKinney had 27 goals and 34 assists for 61 points. He led the team in points and was second in goals behind Richard Gallant.

In the Under-18 Team’s games against USHL opponents, he had 15 goals and 11 assists for 26 points in 23 games. He didn’t play in every game against USHL opponents, but he was still second in goals and third in points – and the guys with more goals and points all played more games than he did.

Even in an admittedly weak year for the National Development Program, McKinney had some strong offensive numbers.

Availability and fit

On public draft rankings, McKinney generally shows up as a late first-rounder or early second-rounder. He’s shown up as early as 20th on public rankings, but usually he appears between 26th or early in the second round.

In terms of fit: he’s a right shot centre, lauded for his details and he’s headed to college where he can keep developing physically. Oh, and as a bonus he’s off to Michigan, somewhere the Flames’ development staff will be visiting often because Henry Mews is headed to school there next season. By definition there’s no such thing as a “perfect” player late in the first round, but for what the Flames need, McKinney ticks an awful lot of their boxes.