The Calgary Flames will enter the 2026 NHL Draft with a whopping 11 draft picks, including six in the first two rounds, giving them their largest draft class in years. History can provide some clues about what the Flames’ 2026 draft class will likely look like when it’s all said and done. By examining previous drafts and what players were selected in each of the Flames’ 2026 draft slots, we can create a hypothetical draft class from each year. Let’s take a look.
We’ll start with the 2022 draft as it’s still far too early to look at the 2023, 2024 and 2025 drafts. A reminder that the Vegas Golden Knights will forfeit their second-round pick, meaning the Flames’ picks between the 3-7 rounds will be bumped up by one slot.
2022 draft
| Pick | Player | NHL GP | 2025-26 League |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6th | David Jiricek (D) | 85 | NHL/AHL |
| 30th | Brad Lambert (F) | 31 | NHL/AHL |
| 35th | Jagger Firkus (F) | 0 | AHL |
| 36th | Artyom Duda (D) | 0 | AHL |
| 51st | Jack Hughes (F) | 0 | AHL |
| 55th | Elias Salomonsson (D) | 32 | NHL/AHL |
| 64th | Filip Nordberg (D) | 0 | NCAA |
| 67th | Miko Matikka (F) | 0 | AHL |
| 99th | Garrett Brown (D) | 0 | NCAA |
| 131st | Matthew Morden (D) | 0 | NCAA |
| 163rd | Maksymilian Szuber (D) | 1 | AHL |
Even though the 2022 draft was four years ago, it’s still too early to be super critical of the above draft class. With that said, the early returns aren’t promising. So far, of the 11 players selected, just four have played NHL games, and not a single one was an NHL regular last season. Jiricek has been a massive flop at 6th overall and is already onto his third team, which has killed the above draft class. Lambert, struggling to earn regular NHL minutes after being picked 30th overall, doesn’t help either.
2021 draft
| Pick | Player | NHL GP | 2025-26 League |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6th | Simon Edvinsson (D) | 175 | NHL |
| 30th | Zachary Dean (F) | 9 | AHL |
| 35th | Ryker Evans (D) | 176 | NHL |
| 36th | Shai Buium (D) | 0 | AHL |
| 51st | Ville Koivunen (F) | 47 | AHL |
| 55th | Vincent Iorio (D) | 36 | NHL/AHL |
| 64th | Oliver Kapanen (F) | 100 | NHL |
| 67th | Ryan Winterton (F) | 89 | NHL |
| 99th | Ville Ottavainen (D) | 1 | AHL |
| 131st | Jacob Melanson (F) | 37 | NHL/AHL |
| 163rd | Semyon Vyazovoi (G) | 0 | KHL |
Now we’re talking. If the Calgary Flames can walk out of the 2026 draft with a class like this, I think everyone would be pretty happy. Of the 11 players selected, nine have already played NHL games so far. In fact, four of them were NHL regulars in 2025-26. Getting four NHL regulars out of one draft class is a massive win, no matter how you look at it. Add in a couple of other names who split time between the NHL and AHL last year, and six of the 11 players played NHL games in 2025-26.
Edvinsson and Evans are both everyday NHL defenders, while Koivunen had a superb year in the AHL in 2025-26. Kapanen, meanwhile, looks like a steal at 64th overall after posting 22 goals and 37 points for the Habs in 2025-26.
2020 draft
| Pick | Player | NHL GP | 2025-26 League |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6th | Jamie Drysdale (D) | 295 | NHL |
| 30th | Mavrik Bourque (F) | 156 | NHL |
| 35th | Helge Grans (D) | 6 | AHL |
| 36th | Sam Colangelo (F) | 44 | AHL |
| 51st | Theodor Niederbach (F) | 0 | SHL |
| 55th | Cross Hanas (F) | 0 | AHL |
| 64th | Topi Niemela (D) | 0 | AHL |
| 67th | Ian Moore (D) | 70 | NHL |
| 99th | Jaromir Pytilk (F) | 0 | Czech |
| 131st | Matteo Costantini (F) | 0 | AHL |
| 163rd | Will Cranley (G) | 0 | ECHL |
While 2021 was an example of a good outcome for the Calgary Flames’ 2026 draft class, 2020 was the opposite. This class is highlighted by miss after miss, with just five of the 11 players having played NHL games thus far. Of those five, only three were NHL regulars last season. The class is anchored by Jamie Drysdale, the 2020 6th overall pick. While he had his most promising year yet in 2025-26, he’s yet to prove he was worth the 6th overall selection.
The highlight of this class is finding Mavrik Bourque at 30th overall. The 24-year-old is coming off a 41-point season in 2025-26 and looks like a big-time steal at 30th. After him, this class is one gigantic whiff.
2019 draft
| Pick | Player | NHL GP | 2025-26 League |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6th | Moritz Seider (D) | 410 | NHL |
| 30th | John Beecher (F) | 165 | NHL |
| 35th | Antti Tuomisto (D) | 0 | AHL |
| 36th | Pyotr Kochetkov (G) | 125 | NHL/AHL |
| 51st | Simon Lundmark (D) | 1 | AHL |
| 55th | Dillon Hamaliuk (F) | 0 | ECHL |
| 64th | Mattias Norlinder (D) | 6 | SHL |
| 67th | Erik Portillo (G) | 1 | AHL |
| 99th | Cade Webber (D) | 0 | AHL |
| 131st | Rhett Pitlick (F) | 0 | AHL |
| 163rd | Will Francis (D) | 0 | ECHL |
The 2019 class is the definition of top-heavy. At 6th overall, you hit a homerun with a true Norris-level defenceman, and then the next 10 picks get ugly. Beecher is a fringe NHL player at least, and Kochetkov has been a decent backup, but after those two, there’s absolutely no value in this class. You have a combined eight NHL games among the eight other players. It begs the question: Would you take landing an all-star level player at 6th if it meant the next 10 picks amounted to virtually nothing of value?
2018 draft
| Pick | Player | NHL GP | 2025-26 League |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6th | Filip Zadina (F) | 262 | Swiss-A |
| 30th | Joe Veleno (F) | 367 | NHL |
| 35th | Jesse Ylonen (F) | 111 | SHL |
| 36th | Jared McIsaac (D) | 0 | Slovak Extraliga |
| 51st | Akil Thomas (F) | 32 | AHL |
| 55th | Kevin Bahl (D) | 297 | NHL |
| 64th | Justus Annunen (G) | 80 | NHL |
| 67th | Alec Regula (D) | 51 | NHL/AHL |
| 99th | Slava Demin (D) | 0 | ECHL |
| 131st | Spencer Stastney (D) | 117 | NHL |
| 163rd | Simon Kjellberg (D) | 0 | Retired |
This draft class is pretty underwhelming. It’s more about quantity instead of quality. Sure, there are five NHL regulars from the class, but none of them are impact players. Kevin Bahl is probably the best name from the entire class, and while he’s been a good piece for the Flames, his ceiling is a serviceable second-pairing defender and nothing more. Otherwise, you have a few bottom-of-the-lineup NHLers in Veleno, Regula, Stastney, and a backup goalie in Annunen.
For 11 picks, this is a pretty dreadful return eight years later.
The best-case scenario
Going back through every draft this century, what has been the absolute best class taken with the Flames’ 2026 draft slots? Flames fans will likely remember it.
2013 draft
| Pick | Player | NHL GP | 2025-26 League |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6th | Sean Monahan (F) | 896 | NHL |
| 30th | Ryan Hartman (F) | 725 | NHL |
| 35th | J.T. Compher (F) | 658 | NHL |
| 36th | Zach Fucale (G) | 4 | KHL |
| 51st | Carl Dahlstrom (D) | 67 | Swiss-A |
| 55th | Artturi Lehkonen (F) | 660 | NHL |
| 64th | Jonathan-Ismael Diaby (D) | 0 | Retired (Shoresy) |
| 67th | Keegan Kanzig (D) | 0 | Retired |
| 99th | Juuse Saros (D) | 467 | NHL |
| 131st | Cole Ully (F) | 0 | EIHL |
| 163rd | Brendan Burke (G) | 0 | Retired |
This class has it all. A number one centre in Monahan, a second-line centre in Hartman, a top-six winger in Lehkonen, a depth forward in Compher, and a Vezina-calibre starting goaltender in Saros. You can’t ask for much more. While there aren’t any bona fide superstars here, Saros was pretty close during his prime, and at his peak, Monahan was a point-per-game centre.
If the Flames can walk away from the 2026 draft with a class like this, it will be a massive win for the future of the organization.
