Calgary Flames 2025 Prospects Rankings: #2 Cole Reschny

Reschny’s development thus far

Stats courtesy of Elite Prospects.

Reschny—the 18-year-old from Macklin, Saskatchewan—has demonstrated considerable promise throughout his junior career. He only played two full seasons in the WHL, and next season he will be making the move to the NCAA to play for the University of North Dakota.

In his first full season, Reschny immediately made his mark in the WHL, registering almost a point-per-game. His play turned heads and landed him a spot on the Canada Red U-17 team for the U-17 World Hockey Championships. At the tournament, he kept up the impressive play with eight points through seven games.

In his draft year, Reschny continued to improve upon his game. He made the U-18 World Junior Championship team, where he won gold. Along with that, he went to the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, where he also won gold. He was easily the best player on the Royals last year, leading the team in scoring as well as having a strong two-way game. He continued that in the playoffs, scoring 25 points in the Royals’ 11 games: nine goals, 16 assists.

Strengths

Hockey IQ

The biggest thing in Reschny’s game is his Hockey IQ. The way he sees the game on the ice is something few others can do. Both on and off the puck, he does all the right things in all three zones and puts his team in a place to succeed. He creates space and, in doing so, creates both shooting and passing lanes to either make the play to his teammate or shoot the puck himself. Lastly, for his IQ, he anticipates the play, especially on defence, allowing him to re-take control of the puck.

Defensive awareness

That anticipation is what creates his extremely strong two-way game. He averaged approximately five takeaways per game, and he will start a breakout the other way. As a centre, you are holding a lot more responsibility on the defensive end. Reschny steps up to that challenge and takes on that responsibility; it’s what makes him such a great leader on the ice. He uses his smarts to quickly turn the play the other way.

Puck control

Lastly, on those counter-attacks, Reschny keeps control of the puck and carries it without fumbling it along the way. His soft and quick hands allow him to deceive defencemen and create space to make a play. When he’s at full speed, he doesn’t sacrifice the puck, and he keeps it on his blade the entire way. It makes him extremely dangerous on the counter-attack or an odd-man rush.

Weaknesses

Strength

While Reschny is an amazing player, it doesn’t mean that he’s perfect. Multiple areas of his game can continue to improve, one of which is his strength. He isn’t afraid to engage in puck battles and take hits; however, he doesn’t bodycheck as much as he should. If he can start bodychecking more, he can become even better.

Turnovers

When you are the main play-driver for your team, turnovers are bound to happen; however, they can still be a cause for concern. Sometimes, making the simple play is the better option instead of taking it all by himself. When he does eventually make the step up, it should be better, as he won’t be driving plays himself. However, seeing him change it up beforehand could help translate his game to the NHL.

Skating

Reschny’s skating isn’t bad by any means. The problem is that his first few steps aren’t where they could be. His start-up speed isn’t at the NHL level and will require quite a bit of work before he makes the jump. He does have a couple of years before then, but it is paramount that he improves on it, otherwise it will be tough for him when he moves up.

What’s next for Reschny

Cole Reschny is already a very solid hockey player and can become even better. Next season, he will be playing for North Dakota in the NCAA. He gets the opportunity to further his development against older competition, where we will see what he is truly made of. His two-way game is already built; if he can work on those few parts that need it, he will most certainly become a long-time NHL player.