FN’s 2026 Flames summer prospect rankings – #3: Ethan Wyttenbach

It appears that the Calgary Flames have struck gold in the latter rounds of the draft.

There are breakout seasons, and then there is whatever the heck Ethan Wyttenbach just did with Quinnipiac University. Drafted in the fifth round in 2025, the winger went from a flier to our third-best prospect in the Flames organization.

I personally voted the 19-year-old as my second-best prospect entering the 2026-27 season, with the Roslyn, New York product not ranking any lower than fourth by any of our writers.

Ethan Wyttenbach

Forward; shoots right
Born Feb. 10, 2007 (age 19) in Roslyn, New York
5’10″, 185 pounds
Drafted in the fifth round (144th overall) by Calgary in the 2025 NHL Draft

Wyttenbach played one season with the United States Hockey League’s Sioux Falls Stampede. Over 44 games, he scored 24 goals and 51 points, with his goals ranking tied for the 14th-most and his points tied for 22nd-most.

Among players that started the season 17 years old or younger, his 51 points ranked third and his goals were the most, so it was a rather productive season for the draft-eligible prospect. That begs the question, why’d he drop? Well, the simple answer is his size.

Wyttenbach stands at just 5’10”, 185 lbs, which is considered undersized in hockey. That didn’t stop the winger from having a Hobey Baker-calibre season in his freshman season with Quinnipiac, scoring 25 goals and 59 points. 

Those 59 points led not just Quinnipiac, but all of NCAA hockey, two ahead of 24-year-old T.J. Hughes and seven more than the Hobey Baker-winning Max Plante. Only one player, Hayden Stavroff, scored more than Wyttenbach, though he was a five-way tie for second-most goals in the NCAA.

I had a chance to watch a few Quinnipiac games this past season. What Wyttenbach lacks in size, he makes up for in speed and intelligence. He’s a playdriver, highly skilled and has excellent play-making abilities. Wyttenbach is the real deal, stature be damned.

Daily Faceoff’s resident prospect guru, Steven Ellis, shared his thoughts on Wyttenbach with us:

Wyttenbach is an undersized forward but always moving, carving his way through the ice to get into scoring situations. He has never been a high-end producer at any level – he was more productive as a freshman NCAA forward than he has been at any other point. We’ll see if Wyttenbach can sustain that, but he might end up becoming the biggest steal from the 2025 NHL Draft. He was one of USA’s top players at the World Junior Summer Showcase and should play key minutes there after getting passed over a year ago. As long as he continues to get quicker, he has a legit path to a middle-six role in the NHL, even as an undersized forward. There’s been a lot of Johnny Gaudreau comparisons, and while I hate using any comparisons for players… it’s hard not to see the similarities, both in their game, but their rise up the ranks, too.

Expectations for 2026-27

Wyttenbach is set to return to Hamden, Connecticut for the 2026-27 season, which could very well be his last in the NCAA. 

Last season, Quinnipiac finished first in the ECAC Hockey Conference, going 17-4-1 in the conference and 27-9-3 overall. The thing is, they’re an even better team on paper this coming season. They’re set to have nine drafted players as opposed to five in 2025-26.

If Wyttenbach can repeat his 2025-26 season, it’s not hard to envision the Roslyn, New York product signing his entry-level contract after the conclusion of his NCAA season – heck, it’s what he’s mentioned as one of his goals for the year. If he does return to college for another season, a good 2026-27 season could see him move to a bigger school for his junior year.

To put it into layman’s terms, Wyttenbach needs to equal or even one-up his 2025-26 season to remain near the top of the Flames’ prospect pool. He’s now a year older, has more experience, and is still playing in one of the NCAA’s weaker conferences.

2026 prospect rankings

Chechelev/Benning/Littler/Lipinski [HM] | Misa/Matveiko/Leander [HM] | Lane/Laylin/Katolicky [HM] | Hurtig [HM] | Iginla [HM] | Kerins [HM] | Wiebe [HM] | Hoskin [HM] | Yegorov [HM] | Stromgren [HM] | Barabanov [HM] | Curran [20] | Sergeev [T18] | Jamieson [T18] | Zarubin [17] | Shaikhlislamov [16] | Phillips [15] | Castagna [14] | Gross [13] | Harrington [12] | Basha [11] | Stockselius [10] | Trejbal [9] | Suniev [8] | Mews [7] | Hextall [6] | Honzek [T4] | Potter [T4]