Flames prospect Theo Stockselius selected by Seattle in the 2025 CHL Import Draft

For the second time in less than a week, a Calgary Flames prospect has been selected in a major draft.

On Saturday, the Flames selected centre Theo Stockselius at 54th overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, gaining his North American professional rights. On Tuesday, just as Flames development camp was kicking off at Winsport, Stockselius was selected by the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2025 CHL Import Draft.

A product of Norrtalje, Sweden, Stockselius was one of the youngest players selected in the 2025 draft – he doesn’t turn 18 until July 24. He spent the 2024-25 campaign with Djurgårdens IF, playing primarily with their under-20 team in the J20 Nationell, Sweden’s top junior league. He was one of the top scorers in the J20 Nationell, posting 51 points in 40 games.

We checked in with Stockselius at Flames development camp – at that point, news of his selection in the Import Draft hadn’t circulated – and when discussing his future plans, he indicated that he has one year left on his junior contract with Djurgårdens, which would commit him for the 2025-26 season. He’s aiming to earn some games with Djurgårdens’ senior team, which earned promotion from the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan to the top-tier Swedish Hockey League.

And after that? We’ll see what happens and what options are available to him.

An Import Draft selection joining a CHL club a year after they’re selected isn’t all that rare. Axel Hurtig was selected by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2023 Import Draft, shortly after he had been selected by the Flames in the 2023 NHL Draft. But coming off shoulder surgery, the determination was made that another year in Sweden would be the best for Hurtig. He joined the Hitmen for the 2024-25 season, a year after his Import Draft selection.

The Flames have had several recent draft picks chosen in the Import Draft. 2024 first-round pick Matvei Gridin was selected by Val-d’Or in the 2024 Import Draft, then had his rights traded to Shawinigan at the beginning of that season. Yan Kuznetsov was selected by Saint John in the 2021 Import Draft and joined the Sea Dogs after a brief AHL audition with the Stockton Heat. Sam Honzek (2022) and Artem Grushnikov (2020) were both Import Draft choices prior to their NHL draft years.