The Calgary Flames have had a few really productive draft classes, both in terms of the sheer number of players they’ve selected and the quality of those players.

And that’s good, because if the Flames are going to progress through their roster revamp process, they’ll need their young players to be the ones that drive the bus and push the team to the next level.. We’ve been looking through some prior draft cohorts to take a look at how players are progressing.

We’ve reached the 2022 NHL Draft cohort, or at least the players that were first eligible for selection in 2022, which are players born between Sept. 16, 2003 and Sept. 15, 2004, and because they didn’t have a ton of draft picks during that stretch it’s a lean bunch. They have three players in this cohort, and all of them are long-term propositions.

The 2024-25 campaign was the third season for this cohort since their first year of draft eligibility. Here’s how they’ve progressed looking at their year-by-year stats and their NHLe (NHL equivalent) scoring rates.

F Parker Bell

A sixth-round pick in 2022, Bell was selected for his sheer potential (as many late-round picks often are). He’s big! He’s put up decent numbers in a good junior league! And the Flames’ scouting and development staff looked at how raw he was and went “Hey, maybe he can find another level if we get him into our system…”

• Draft (2021-22): 49 points in 64 games (Tri-City, WHL; 19.0 NHLe)
• Draft+1 (2022-23): 64 points in 55 games (Tri-City, WHL; 28.8 NHLe), 0 points in 2 games (Calgary, AHL; 0.0 NHLe)
• Draft+2 (2023-24): 64 points in 59 games (Tri-City, WHL; 26.9 NHLe), 0 points in 2 games (Calgary, AHL; 0.0 NHLe)
• Draft+3 (2024-25): 12 points in 61 games (Calgary, AHL; 7.8 NHLe)

We compare Bell often to 2021 draftee Lucas Ciona because they have some similarities. Bell’s eight months younger than Ciona, but they’re both 2003-born players. Ciona spent his 20-year-old season in the AHL (2023-24) but struggled to find a clear role and ended up being a scratch quite often. Bell played his 20-year-old season in the WHL (2023-24) and so he’s older than Ciona was for his first pro season, but it seems to have contributed to Bell having a more consistent AHL introduction.

The first pro season is usually just a player figuring out if they can handle pro hockey. Bell figured out how to be a useful bottom-six AHLer really quickly. Ciona’s game developed an clear identity in his second pro season, so we’re curious to see if Bell can keep progressing as he completes the final year of his entry-level deal in 2025-26.

F Trevor Hoskin

Hoskin was first eligible for selection in the 2022 NHL Draft, but he wasn’t selected. He also went unclaimed in the 2023 draft. He was finally nabbed by the Flames in the fourth round in 2024, on the basis of his progression and a heck of an offensive season as a 20-year-old in the OJHL.

• Draft (2021-22): 29 points in 53 games (Cobourg, OJHL; 1.5 NHLe)
• Draft+1 (2022-23): 61 points in 54 games (Cobourg, OJHL; 3.1 NHLe)
• Draft+2 (2023-24): 100 points in 52 games (Cobourg, OJHL; 5.4 NHLe)
• Draft+3 (2024-25): 39 points in 36 games (Niagara, Atlantic; 17.2 NHLe)

Hoskin’s Draft and Draft+1 seasons didn’t really blow anybody away, but you can’t ignore his progression and you can’t ignore how he keeps taking steps forward each year. He had a really strong first college season in a weaker conference, and we’ll see if he can keep growing and challenging himself when he moves to Merrimack College in 2025-26.

F Cade Littler

Littler is a big, tall forward that can play centre or the wing. His size, versatility and potential caused the Flames to take a chance on him in the seventh round of the 2022 NHL Draft.

• Draft (2021-22): 45 points in 50 games (Wenatchee, BCHL; 5.9 NHLe)
• Draft+1 (2022-23): 68 points in 51 games (Wenatchee, BCHL; 8.7 NHLe)
• Draft+2 (2023-24): 11 points in 14 games (Cedar Rapids, USHL; 18.0 NHLe), 21 points in 24 games (Penticton. BCHL; 5.7 NHLe)
• Draft+3 (2024-25): 9 points in 33 games (North Dakota, NCHC; 9.8 NHLe)

Littler was a long-term project when he was drafted, given how much physical development (e.g., filling out physically) he required as a tall, lanky kid. He bounced around a bit in the two season since being drafted, but he landed at a pretty good college program and had a pretty good freshman season there. We’ll see if he can keep his momentum going in his sophomore year.