Grading the Calgary Flames’ 2026 NHL Draft Class

I’ll give the Flames an A- pick, only reason I can’t go higher, in my draft targets article before the draft, I said the Flames need to take Reid if he’s still on the board in that spot. I don’t think there was a bad option among the five defensemen that went in the top 10, and the Flames’ trade for Simon Necec probably solidified the need for a left-handed defenseman.

It will be an interesting story to follow to see which of these teams ends up hitting on this handful of players, all of whom have similar potential.

30th Overall: Jack Hextall

Jack Hextall may have been a little bit of a reach in the late first round, as I had him in my second round draft targets piece for the Flames, but with how the draft played out, I can’t confidently say I would have taken any of the forwards taken in the second round behind him.

He feels like the perfect fit for the Flames’ culture and is the type of player they need. Hextall is a play driver. He uses his speed and crafty hands to create plays for himself and teammates. In 59 games in the United States Hockey League (USHL), he had 20 goals and 38 assists for 58 points. He was lethal on the power play, with eight of his goals and 22 of his assists coming on the man advantage.

To go along with the skill, he works incredibly hard and isn’t afraid of playing in the dirty areas of the ice. It’ll take a couple of seasons before he challenges for an NHL roster spot, but I see the fit with the Flames and how he could help the team if his game continues to translate as he transitions into the higher levels. I’ll give this pick an A.

36th Overall: Chase Harrington

This was the first head-scratcher of the draft for the Flames. Chase Harrington just completed his third full season in the WHL with the Spokane Chiefs. His numbers have improved season over season and are coming off junior career highs of 28 goals and 57 points in 61 games.

Fairly impressive numbers considering nobody in this Chiefs team averaged over a point per game. However, the offensive skill isn’t the selling point here; he’s another physical energy forward with limited offensive upside. I understand opting for a higher-floor prospect rather than a boom-or-bust option in this spot, but there were too many good options on the board.

I’ll give this pick a D+. I think some better options for the Flames would have been William Hakansson, Mathis Preston, Alexander Bilecki, Egor Shilov or even Markus Ruck, who were all selected after Harrington.

42nd Overall: Tobias Trejbal

With their second selection in the second round, the Flames took the first goalie off the board, which started a string of seven goaltenders to be selected between the second and third rounds. Tobias Trejbal had a phenomenal season with the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL, posting a 2.12 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage in 42 regular-season games.

At 6-foot-4, he is the prototypical goaltender NHL teams are looking for, and hailing from Czechia, going to the USHL and now to the University of Massachusetts, he is following in the footsteps of fellow Czechian Michael Hrabel, who is now one of the top goaltending prospects in hockey for the Utah Mammoth.

I’ll give this pick a C+, purely because I didn’t have goaltending on my list of things the Flames should be looking for when they have Dustin Wolf locked up long-term, recently extended Devin Cooley this season and are now just signing Kirill Zarubin, a goaltending prospect the Flames drafted in the third round of 2024.

55th Overall: Alan Shaikhilislamov

I can’t say this is a name I had on my radar at all going into draft night. As a Russian playing in the MHL for Tolpar Ufa, he did not get much international exposure. However, his 18 goals and 17 assists for 35 points in 31 games were a big improvement over his 20 goals and 13 assists for 33 points in 42 games the previous season.

He is another big forward who does not shy away from physicality, has an excellent shot, and loves to play in the dirty areas of the ice. My only knocks on this pick are that his skill set is fairly similar to Harrington and Hextall, whom the Flames took in the late first and early second. I would have loved to see some diversity in skill set, but I think the floor is fairly high for Alan Shaikhilislamov. I’ll give this pick a B.

65th Overall: Joe Iginla

Not much time to waste on this one… Joe Iginla, son of NHL and Flames legend Jerome, was ranked 200th by NHL Central Scouting in just the North American skater rankings. At 5-foot-10, 170 pounds and only totalling 31 points in 59 games in the WHL, this was a pick that likely could have been made in the sixth or seventh round. This pick is an F for me; the nostalgia does not move the needle at all.

100th Overall: Egor Barabanov

Between the two prospects I suggested the Flames take in the third round before the draft, only one was left on the board: Egor Barabanov. He is a bit of a late bloomer and one of the few prospects to be selected who is already 20 years old. The age may concern some, but if he were your type of prospect in his first year of eligibility, putting up 28 goals, 63 assists, and 91 points in the OHL, he would have been a surefire first-round pick.

Barabanov is the exact type of player the Flames need offensively; he creates controlled zone entries with quick cuts and crafty hands to avoid pressure and can set himself up or others up to score.

I thought Barabonov was the Saginaw Spirit’s most effective player in their playoff series against the Kitchener Rangers, who were phenomenal defensively. I think this is a sneaky-good selection; I’ll get more positive again here and go with an A for the grade.

132nd Overall: Simon Katolicky

Standing at 6-foot-4 and 198 pounds, Simon Katolicky is another interesting power forward prospect. He was born in Czechia but has played his last couple of seasons in Finland at their top U18 and U20 junior levels. In 2024-25, he dominated the U18 ranks with 52 points in 30 games, which translated to 17 points in 29 games at the U20 level this season. He also hasn’t produced much with Czechia in the international competition, having one goal in nine games and two trips to the U18 World Junior Championships.

I see the fit as a physical depth forward who could add some offensive upside. You’re not gonna find much else late in the draft. This selection is a B for me.

165th Overall: Bode Laylin

With their last selection in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, the Flames selected Bode Laylin, who has spent two full seasons in the USHL and will be headed north to the WHL for the 2026-27 season to play with the Everett Silvertips, who lost in the Memorial Cup final this season.

Laylin has been effective at the junior level largely due to his ability to contribute in all three zones. He moves pucks well, takes away space and can make plays that land him on the stat sheet. However, I don’t think there is anything special about his game or his size.

You can’t expect much out of a sixth-round pick, but even then, I don’t really see Laylin ever getting the development priority to reach the NHL. The Flames just have so many other interesting prospects and will only add to that over the next couple of drafts. Laylin will likely get lost in the shuffle, which is perfectly normal for this late of a selection. I’ll give it a C, and maybe he can surprise us.

Draft Recap

It is an excellent crop of prospects that the Flames are bringing in from this draft. They got the guy viewed as the best left-handed defenseman and the best goaltender. They also got a bunch of interesting options with their mid-round picks. I’m not as high on their draft as some others covering it, but overall, I’ll give the Flames a B+.

My wish would have been for them to target much more offensive upside, as that’s the biggest need in their organization right now. But hey, maybe they can address that when free agency opens on July 1.