It’s Draft Day! Like the long wait between the first of December and Christmas morning, it’s been a steady countdown to this moment. This could go down as either one of the most important or most underwhelming Calgary Flames drafts in franchise history.
We’ve put together a roundtable asking The Win Column team a number of questions surrounding the team at this year’s draft. Last time around, the Flames went off the board taking Samuel Honzek with their first-round pick, who wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card. Let’s see if our team can get it right this year.
This season’s edition includes picks from James Johnson, Joshua Serafini, Alex Russo, James Williams, and Khalid Keshavjee.
1. Who do you think the Flames select with their first selection this year?
Joshua – I’ll go way off the board here and say Tij Iginla. Everything seems to be lining up perfectly for the Flames to land their second Iginla. I honestly think this selection has been written in the stars as soon as the Flames were locked into ninth overall. I find it hard to believe a team like Columbus or Montreal would reach for him despite the rumours floating around right now.
If he’s there, is Craig Conroy really going to pass on an Iginla? There would be riots in the streets. Perhaps Tij has told the Flames he prefers to go elsewhere and forge his own path, but if not I find it very hard to believe the Flames won’t call his name if he’s available. I don’t think Murray Edwards would let them. Just think of the jersey sales.
James J – I think the Flames go defence with their pick. They haven’t drafted a defenceman in the first round since Juuso Valimaki in 2017. This draft is all over the place after the first selection, so it’s hard to predict who will be available at nine. That being said, I’ll predict that Sam Dickinson is the guy. You just traded Noah Hanifin in March. How about picking Dickinson, who every scout compares directly to Hanifin? Dickinson just looked fantastic at the Memorial Cup, so there’s a high chance he’s selected before ninth.
Alex – I think the Flames could go in a few different directions with their pick at ninth overall. The obvious choice (to most) is going to be Tij Iginla, if he is available at ninth, I don’t see any way the Flames don’t take him, even if he is not positionally what they should be targeting.
I would like to see them take a shot on Berkly Catton, he fits the mould of everything they need right now—a centre who is extremely shifty with the puck and efficient on the offensive end. If I had to ballpark it though, I would imagine they go with Iginla, and if he isn’t available, they might take a defencemen, maybe Zeev Buium if he is there? Who knows, this first round is all over the place after Macklin Celebrini.
James W – If he’s still there, the Flames take Tij Iginla. I think Tij comes off the board a bit earlier, though, and the Flames draft a defenceman with size; likely Carter Yakemchuk. They just traded half of their defence corps in-season and don’t have a lot in the pipeline. We all know the organization’s love of size, plus Yakemchuk is a local kid, so everything about him screams Calgary.
Khalid – Let’s not kid ourselves, unless the Flames trade up, they are not going to get Tij Iginla at ninth overall. Craig Conroy knows that this team needs strength down the middle to compete and adding a centre like Berkly Catton is exactly what this team needs. He put up 116 points in the WHL this year, and looks elite offensively. The Flames have a lot of good complementary forwards in their stables but need an elite forward to round it out. Catton feels like the guy.
2. Who should the Flames take with their second first-round pick?
Joshua – It may be viewed as a bit of a reach, but I would love to see the Flames draft Cole Hutson at 28th. It’ll be a long time until people forget about the organization passing on Cole’s brother Lane a couple of years ago for Toppi Ronni, but drafting Cole would right at least some of that wrong. Just like his brother, Cole is a dynamic defenceman who oozes confidence and skill. I think at 28th overall the Flames are in a prime spot to take a bit of a swing on a player with big-time upside, and Cole fits that profile to a tee.
James J – I’m a big fan of Charlie Elick at 28th overall—if he’s still available. He’s a Calgary kid and a big right-shot defenceman with some bite. Calgary has a massive need for RD prospects, and Elick gives them a skillset that they don’t currently have in their prospect pool. I doubt he’s available at 28th, but he would be a nice grab for Calgary.
Alex – I would be over the moon if the Flames were to grab Cole Hutson with the 28th pick in the draft. We have seen the pedigree of his older brother Lane Hutson, who looks to be a budding star in the league for many years to come, and Cole looks like he could be on that same trajectory. Like his brother, he is a little undersized, but that doesn’t stop him from dominating the game from the backend. The Flames desperately need an extremely dynamic player on the blue line, and they would be getting all of that with Hutson.
James W – There are a handful of players I’d love to see the Flames select with the 28th pick: Cole Hutson, Aron Kiviharju, Henry Mews, Michael Hage, and Cole Beaudoin are all very exciting players. This all depends on what the team does with the first pick, though, as I want them to grab a forward and a defenceman in the first round. If they come away from ninth with Zeev Buium or Zayne Parekh, I think it would be smart to take a forward 28th. If they grab a forward at #9, then I absolutely want them to select one of those defencemen at #28.
Khalid – Leo Sahlin Wallenius is a name that intrigues me. A strong puck-moving defenceman out of Sweden just screams Flames. He was just shy of a point-per-game this year in the Swedish J20 as a defenceman and has tons of potential to grow into a top-four NHL defenceman in a few years. I’d love to see the Flames take a chance on him with their second pick in round one.
3. Who should the Flames should stay away from in the first round?
Joshua – Carter Yakemchuk. This pick screams Calgary Flames. A big, gritty defenceman who plays for the Hitmen? I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see the team go this route at nine if Tij isn’t an option, but I think they’d be making a big mistake. There will almost certainly be much higher upside and/or safer picks available at nine such as Berkely Catton, Konsta Helenius, or maybe even one of Zeev Buium or Zayne Parekh.
To me, these players are much more worthy of being taken ninth overall than Yakemchuk. The Flames love drafting for size first which is almost never a good idea. Just take a look at their first-round pick from last year. I fear taking Yakemchuk would be repeating that same mistake again, only this time with a top 10 pick.
James J – The guy for me is probably Cole Eiserman. Wicked shot, but not much else to his game. His work ethic is something that really concerns me. He can be a very frustrating watch. The Flames have an abundance of left-shot left wingers in their organization already. I’d rather take a shot on someone else. See what I did there?
Alex R – Carter Yakemchuk would be the one guy I stay away from. There is no doubt in my mind that one day he will be an NHL player, he may even be a good one, but picking Yakemchuk over the other defencemen that could be available is exactly like last year when the Flames selected Samuel Honzek. Picking a low-ceiling player when other mega talent will be on the board is a move I would stay away from at all costs.
James W – I expect the Flames are seriously considering Carter Yakemchuk ninth, and I think that’s too early for him. I think there will be better players with higher ceilings available, and it would be foolish to pass on them for Yakemchuk. This isn’t a knock on Yakemchuk, who I do quite like; I just think they’d be leaving a lot on the table by picking him ninth.
Khalid – The Flames have not had good luck bringing Russian players over to Canada to the NHL this century, and even the ones that are in the organization don’t inspire much confidence. I would be hesitant to go down this route with a first-round pick unless the Flames already have an agreement in place to bring them here this summer. The team cannot afford to miss with this pick, and trying to navigate global geopolitics to bring a franchise saviour to Canada seems like more risk than it’s worth.
4. Who is one player that the Flames should take in the later rounds of the draft?
Joshua – I think Spencer Gill would be an intriguing selection in the third or fourth round. He carries some impressive NHL size at 6’4”, but also showed this past season he can contribute offensively with 51 points in the QMJHL. He’s a bit of a project as he’s yet to fully fill into his frame and only recently started upping his offence, but there’s some real upside there if he can continue to improve and get stronger. Given the Flames hold multiple third and fourth round picks, I think taking a stab at Gill is more than worth than the gamble.
James J – A guy that interests me in later rounds is Simon Zether. He’s a 6’3″ right-shot centreman from Sweden. He has the skill set that leads me to believe he’ll be an effective bottom-six forward in the NHL. His skating is the reason he’s not ranked higher. The Flames have a recent history of drafting guys who need to improve their skating. Connor Zary showed this season that his skating isn’t going to deflate him at the NHL level. The Flames always seem to take the stereotypical defensive centreman around the third round. Maybe Zether is that guy this year?
Alex – I don’t know how far this player may slip due to his size, but it is entirely possible he does so let’s just go with it. I would like to see the Flames take a flyer on Justin Poirer, the younger brother of top Flames prospect Jeremie. He ripped up the QMJHL this year but there are major concerns about his height and if that game can translate to the NHL level. If Poirer begins to slip to the fourth or fifth round, I think that is the kind of shot the Flames need to take, if he pans out, great; if not then you tried and move on.
James W – Alexander Zetterberg has been crushing it in Sweden. He’s ranked as high as 70th and as low as 120th. The main knock on him seems to be his size, but—at age 18—natural development will help with his size and strength. I don’t think that should be a reason to shy away from selecting him, especially in the middle rounds of the draft. I’ve also read that his transition and defensive game need work, but who doesn’t need some form of development at that point of the draft? This could be a low-risk, high-reward pick if he develops well.
Khalid – The Flames don’t have many netminders in the organization beyond Dustin Wolf, and will likely want to add another in the late rounds. I’d like to see them take a chance on Eemil Vinni out of Finland. An explosive goalie who is good on his feet and unafraid to challenge skaters, is poised in the net, and inspires confidence in his teammates, Vinni has the talent that the Flames need in their goalie stables.
5. How many picks do the Flames make in the draft this year?
Joshua – Given the team currently has nine picks going into the draft, I’m going to predict the final total of picks comes in slightly lower than that when it’s all said and done. The Flames are in a prime position to move up in the draft to target players they covet, or to add more picks in the first two rounds and I think they’d be foolish to not try to package some picks to move up.
James J – I predict they end up making eight selections this draft. I think they’ll grab a few more picks via trades for players or trading back. But I also think they might trade a few picks in 2024 in exchange for picks in the 2025 NHL Draft. Their trades have accumulated picks for 2024 and a few for 2026, but nothing for 2025. Teams love having an equal spread in their draft years.
Alex – I am going to say that the Flames make all nine of their picks at the draft. Hopefully, they can use the Vancouver pick and a player they have on the trade market to move up into the middle half of the first round. I don’t think after moving Mangiapane to the Capitals that the Flames will be doing a lot of wheeling and dealing, so I think they will make their picks and call it a day.
James W – I think the Flames make 10 picks in the draft. Craig Conroy seems committed to stocking the cupboard with draft picks, but he’s also shown dedication to adding roster players. I think he grabs additional picks while also having to trade some away with a net plus-one. With Jacob Markstrom and Mangiapane out now, the Flames could look to move more players with one year left on their contracts, such as Andrei Kuzmenko, Yegor Sharangovich, and Dan Vladar. Any of these players would be appealing to other teams, and it’ll depend on their intent to re-up with the Flames.
Khalid – The Flames will make eight picks in the draft, taking one of their later picks and packaging it to move up somewhere in the draft beyond the first round. I don’t see them making any major moves between now and the draft.
6. Do you think this is going to be a memorable or regrettable draft for the Flames?
Joshua – Given how many picks the Flames have going into the draft, we better hope this is a memorable draft year or it will be a disaster. With their highest pick since 2016 and Jarome Iginla’s son available, this year’s draft has all the makings of a big one for the Flames on that fact alone. Add on that the team is set to pick twice in the first round for the first time since 2013 as well as twice in the second, third, and fourth rounds and there’s no reason this shouldn’t be a franchise-altering draft for the Flames.
James J – You would hope it would be a memorable draft. Right now, it’s the first time the Flames have had multiple first-round picks since 2013 and only the second time in team history. I’ll say the draft will be memorable in the fact they’ll grab a couple of future NHLers in this draft. They should get a very good player at ninth overall. But afterwards, the problems of zero elite talent in the organization will still be prevalent.
Alex – With the accumulation of picks throughout the season and the youth finally emerging on the roster, I hope this will be a memorable draft for the Flames. The first round of the draft is very solid, so unless the Flames go completely off the board they will be getting a good player at ninth overall. They have a bunch of picks and a few trade assets that could be moved at the draft for younger talent or more picks. Let’s just hope they can hit on a majority of their selections.
James W – I think this will be a memorable draft, but not in the way we’d hope for. Much like the 2013 draft—when the Flames draft Emile Poirier and Morgan Klimchuk with picks they acquired in the Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester trades, I fully expect them to whiff on some pretty important picks. Maybe that’s just me being cynical, but it’s what I’ve been conditioned to expect from this organization.
Khalid – With the Flames’ history at the draft, odds are this will be a perfectly whelming draft—neither overwhelmingly good nor overwhelmingly bad. They will probably make safe, decent gambles through the draft, taking players that have decent upside but not taking a chance on many high-ceiling players. Hopefully, I’m wrong.
Drafting up the results
We’re just hours away from the draft, and assuming nothing changes between now and then, the Flames will hold the ninth overall selection in the draft. Whether they take one of these players or go off the board completely is anyone’s guess, but here’s hoping whoever they select develops into an impact NHLer for this team.
