As is their custom, the Calgary Flames are picking sixth overall in the upcoming entry draft. The last two times they landed at the half-dozen mark, they chose Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk, who both turned into core players for the club.
While it is almost impossible that the consensus top pick, Gavin McKenna, will fall to Calgary, there are a number of high-potential prospects who will be available when their turn comes.
Let’s take a look at seven players who will likely be on the Flames’ draft board.
Forwards
Ivar Stenberg, LW
Outside of McKenna, Stenberg is the least likely player to be around when the Flames’ pick comes up. He’s included just in case a Tkachuk-in-2016 miracle happens.
Stenberg is one of the older players in the draft, with a Sept. 30, 2007, birthday. He also isn’t very big at 5-foot-11, 180 pounds and plays perhaps the least-prized position in the league: left wing. Those are a few reasons he might last beyond the top five.
Stenberg’s production in the Swedish Elite League this year is compelling. His 33 points in 43 games (0.76 ppg) for Frolunda HC are superior to those of recent high draft picks William Eklund (0.58), Leo Carlsson (0.57) and Lucas Raymond (0.30). Among modern Swedish NHL stars, only Henrik Sedin’s draft season bests Stenberg’s (42 points in 50 games).
For Calgary, Stenberg plays a position the Flames likely need least (aside from right-handed defence), but he’d almost certainly be the best player available if he somehow dropped into their range.
Caleb Malhotra, C
When the season started, Malhotra was a bit of an unknown commodity, noteworthy because he is the son of longtime NHLer Manny Malhotra. Caleb spent his 17-year-old season playing for the Chilliwack Bruins of the BCHL, where he managed only 26 points in 44 games.
To say he took a step forward as an 18-year-old in the OHL is an understatement. Malhotra stepped onto a stacked Brantford Bulldogs team and rapidly became one of the club’s best players. His 84 points in 67 games were good for second on the team in the regular season, behind only Jake O’Brien (picked eighth overall in 2025).
Malhotra followed that up by being dominant in the playoffs, scoring 13 goals and 26 points in 15 games and cementing himself as perhaps the best centre available in the draft.
Malhotra is relatively young, having turned 18 only on June 2, and still has plenty of room to develop. Already fast, strong and a capable two-way player, his stock has risen due to a paucity of high-impact pivots in this draft.
Halfway through the year, Malhotra would have looked like a big reach at No. 6. Now, it’s probably a 50-50 shot he’ll be available to the Flames at all.
