In the annals of Calgary Flames lore, few teams hold a candle for fans to the magical team that got within a goal of the 2004 Stanley Cup. Was that the most-skilled Flames club ever? Nope. But it was a team that knew exactly how they needed to play to be successful.

Flash forward to today, and the son of one of the 2004 players could be an attractive option for the Flames late in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft: Swedish centre Eric Nilson, son of Marcus.

Scouting report

Nilson was born in Calgary in May 2007 – while his father was a Flame – but he spent much of his formative years in Sweden. He’s a right shot centre listed at 6’0″ and 154 pounds.

Nilson came up through Swedish minor hockey, and bounced around a little bit between HV71, Järfälla HC and Örebro HK before landing with Djurgårdens IF for the 2024-25 season. His nomadic hockey journey looks to continue for 2025-26, too: he’s committed to play at Michigan State University for the upcoming season.

Over at Dobber Prospects, Whittaker Heart evaluated Nilson’s game during April’s Under-18 World Championships:

Nilson has been very impressive for me on Team Sweden. Playing alongside some really high end complementary players, he’s found a niche that can both support and facilitate his play style. He is quick, smart, and evasive, sticking a bit to the perimeter at times, but also showing a killer instinct. His release has surprised me, and I anticipate he will stay in our first round. Nilson headlines the shortlist of players who have brought their “A” game every night.

Our pal Steven Ellis, of Daily Faceoff, wrote up this rundown of Nilson’s game as part of his April draft rankings:

Nilson has hung around the 30-35 range for most of the year for me. I don’t think he has high-end skill and he’s definitely not a play-driver. But he’s a great passer who can also wire home shots, too. He’s been productive in the Swedish U-20 league and has some pro experience with Djurgardens’ Allsvenskan team. I can see Nilson becoming an effective bottom-six forward because he’s so committed to winning every battle while still maintaining his position in his own zone.

The general consensus seems to be that Nilson may not have a ton of high-end attributes, but he works hard and battles, and he doesn’t have much in the way of holes in his game, either. And while it seems pretty obvious, he has the benefit of growing up in a household where he knows the pro lifestyle and how hard his old man had to work to succeed as a pro hockey player. That’s often one of the reasons the kids of NHLers tend to get drafted and can often succeed: they know what they’re getting into.

The numbers

Nilson had a fairly typical Swedish draft year, in that he bounced around a lot. He represented Djurgårdens in Sweden’s under-18 and under-20 leagues, as well as playing a few games with their pro side in Sweden’s second tier league, HockeyAllsvenskan. He also represented Sweden at three international events: the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the Under-18 Worlds, and the World Junior-A Challenge. So he played a lot of hockey, but you could also argue that he didn’t get the type of hockey continuity that some of the North America kids did.

Anyhow, Nilson had 12 goals and 26 assists for 38 points over 37 games in Sweden’s national under-20 league, the J20 Nationell. He holds up well when you compare him to players of similar age who are also eligible for the 2025 NHL Draft:

• He’s 8th in points, behind Jakob Ihs-Wozniak, Theo Stockselius, Max Westergard, Mikkel Eriksen, Milton Gastrin, Viktor Klingsell and Gustav Hillstrom.
• He’s 15th in goals, behind Ihs-Wozniak, Stockselius, Eriksen, Westergard, Eddie Genborg, Gastrin, Arvid Drott, Klingsell, Hillstrom, Leo Sundqvist, Albin Laksonen, Philip Hemmyr, Michal Svrcek and Mads Kongsbak Klyvo.

Nilson’s entire value isn’t offensive production, but he stacks up nicely – and it’s worth noting that many of the guys ahead of him offensively played more games in the J20 than he did.

Availability and fit

On most public draft rankings, Nilson is one of many players that lands at the very edge of the first round. On some rankings he’s a first-rounder, on others he’s just outside of those spots. There’s no guarantee he’ll be available in the late first round when the Flames select using Florida’s pick, but that’s roughly where many draft experts expect him to go.

On paper, Nilson feels like a really Flamesy pick: a Swedish, right-shot centre with bloodlines that connect him to a team that was led by current general manager Craig Conroy (and special advisor Jarome Iginla). It’d be better if Nilson had a bit more size to him – 154 pounds listed weight is pretty lean – but he’s got room to grow and with a college tenure in front of him, he’ll have plenty of opportunity to develop on and off the ice.