The 2026 entry draft was Craig Conroy’s fourth as the Calgary Flames GM. The team has made 33 picks under his watch, enough to refill a prospect pipeline that was dwindling when he took over.
It’s too soon to fully evaluate the work at the draft table, but prospect tiers are beginning to become clear. Understanding who they have in the works, where they project and how it may impact roster decisions in the near future is important.
Star Tier
Zayne Parekh, RD
Carson Carels, LD
Calgary’s two blue-chip kids were both top-10 picks. Zayne Parekh broke scoring records as a defender in the OHL, while Carels scored at the same point-per-game pace as third overall pick centre Caleb Malhotra last year.
Parekh is undersized and more focused on the offensive side of the game, but has the potential to become an Erik Karlsson-type player in the NHL. Carels is bigger, meaner, and plays a more complete game. If both players fulfill their promise, they will anchor the Flames’ d-corps for a decade.
Top of the Rotation
Matvei Gridin, RW/LW
Cole Reschny, C
Simon Nemec, RD
Henry Mews, RD
Hunter Brzustewicz, RD
Ethan Wyttenbach, C/RW
Calgary’s future top-six/top-four tier includes another three right-handed defenders after the addition of Simon Nemec. It’s an embarrassment of riches that represents a nice insurance policy should any of the guys not turn out. It also presages a future logjam at the position if everything goes right.
Henry Mews is a bit of a forgotten man after losing most of his season to injury, but his nine assists in 10 games was a great start to his college career.
Up front, things are less crowded. Matvei Gridin established himself as one of Calgary’s best prospects by making the NHL at 19 years old. If he takes another step forward, he may join the star tier. Hunter Brzustewicz joined Gridin as an NHL graduate and started to look like a top-four defender by year’s end.
Cole Reschny made Canada’s U20 world junior team as one of the youngest players and scored at a near point-per-game pace as a freshman in college. He’s almost certainly going to be a quality NHLer. The question (for now) is his offensive ceiling.
Ethan Wyttenbach is probably the biggest dark horse in the organization. A fifth-round pick leading the NCAA in scoring as a freshman is unprecedented. If he does it again, or anything close, the Flames might have another Johnny Gaudreau on their hands.
Support Tier
Samuel Honzek, LW
Cullen Potter, C
Andrew Basha, C
Aydar Suniev, LW
Jack Hextall, C
Axel Hurtig, LD
This list could be longer, including recent acquisitions like Abram Wiebe (LD), Max Curran (C), and Jonathan Castagna (C), but the guys listed arguably represent the top of the pile currently.
