The 2026 Calgary Flames Prospect Rankings are now complete, and all of our profiles are out in the world. Now, here’s the opportunity to peek behind the curtain at how our writers voted and how the results were tabulated.
How the Calgary Flames’ 2026 Prospect Rankings shook out
A total of 16 writers voted on who they thought the Flames’ top prospects were. Certainly a sign of how exciting the organization’s current prospect pool is. Each writer voted for their top 15 prospects and gave out two honourable mentions. The average ranks were compiled, with ties being decided by the prospect with the higher total rank, then by the player who appeared on the most total lists if there was a tie. Here’s how the top 15 looked this season:
| Ranking | Name | 2025 Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zayne Parekh | 1 |
| 2 | Carson Carels | NEW |
| 3 | Cole Reschny | 2 |
| 4 | Matvei Gridin | 5 |
| 5 | Cullen Potter | 4 |
| 6 | Hunter Brzustewicz | 3 |
| 7 | Ethan Wyttenbach | NEW |
| 8 | Jack Hextall | NEW |
| 9 | Sam Honzek | HM |
| 10 | Tobias Trejbal | NEW |
| 11 | Andrew Basha | 6 |
| 12 | Aydar Suniev | 8 |
| 13 | Henry Mews | 10 |
| 14 | Theo Stockselius | NEW |
| 15 | Mace’o Phillips | NEW |
| HM | Alan Shaikhilislamov | NEW |
| HM | Kirill Zarubin | NEW |
Changes from our 2025 list
There were quite a few changes from our 2025 list, including some big fallers, some big risers, and plenty of newcomers.
The top five remain very similar
Unsurprisingly, Zayne Parekh retained the top spot on our rankings after also finishing first in 2025. Cole Reschny, Matvei Gridin, and Cullen Potter all landed in the top five for the second year in a row. The main difference to the top five is, of course, Carels, the Flames’ 2026 6th overall selection. The big defenceman was ranked in the top two by 15 of 16 writers. He even garnered three first-place votes over Parekh.
Gridin and Potter swapped places, with Gridin moving to four and Potter moving down to five. Both forwards had remarkable 2025-26 campaigns in their respective leagues. Gridin actually received six top-three votes and one second-place vote.
Plenty of newcomers
Our 2026 list features a ton of newcomers. In fact, the top 10 alone includes five new names. Unsurprisingly, three of the five are 2026 draft picks. We’ve already touched on Carels, but fellow 2026 first-rounder Jack Hextall also landed a top-10 spot, finishing eighth and landing in the top 10 on all 16 writers’ lists. 2026 2nd-rounder Tobias Trejbal meanwhile earned the number 10 spot.
Ethan Wyttenbach was also a newcomer following his incredible 2025-26 season in the NCAA. Wyttenbach failed to crack our top 10 last summer after his selection in the fifth round of the 2025 draft. What a difference a year makes. Wyttenbach dominated the NCAA and landed in the top 10 on all 16 writers’ lists, even earning two top five votes.
Our last newcomer to the top 10 was Sam Honzek, who, despite playing just 18 NHL games last season, jumped up from an honourable mention to number nine on our 2026 list. It appears Honzek’s strong start to the season before injury impressed our writers and made them more optimistic about his potential.
Some big fallers
There were also plenty of names who fell, some completely off our 2026 list. Names featured on the 2025 list but not on the 2026 version were Etienne Morin, Jacob Battaglia, and Luke Misa. Morin and Battaglia both struggled in 2025-26 despite optimism heading into the year, and both ended up traded. Misa, meanwhile, failed to impress at the NCAA level and was ranked by just one writer.
Some major fallers from 2025 who remained ranked were Hunter Brzustewicz, Andrew Basha, Aydar Suniev, and Henry Mews. Brzustewicz is an interesting one. The 21-year-old actually had a strong 2025-26 season, earning 34 NHL games. But more impressive seasons from Gridin and Potter knocked him down, as did the addition of Carels.
Basha and Suniev, meanwhile, both had just okay seasons, failing to impress at the AHL level. As such, Basha dropped five spots to 11th, and Suniev dropped four spots to 12th. Lastly, Henry Mews dropped three spots to 13th. After a strong start to the year, a season-ending knee injury hurt Mews’ rank, as did newcomers like Hextall, Carels, and Trejbal.
How all of The Win Column’s writers voted
Here is the full voting order for the top 10.
| Josh | Tyler | Drew | Quentin | Samay | Cody | Mac | John | Joseph | Jashan | Matt | Gurpal | Alex R | Karim | Khalid | James J |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zayne Parekh | Zayne Parekh | Zayne Parekh | Zayne Parekh | Zayne Parekh | Zayne Parekh | Carson Carels | Zayne Parekh | Zayne Parekh | Zayne Parekh | Zayne Parekh | Carson Carels | Zayne Parekh | Zayne Parekh | Zayne Parekh | Carson Carels |
| Carson Carels | Carson Carels | Carson Carels | Carson Carels | Carson Carels | Carson Carels | Zayne Parekh | Carson Carels | Carson Carels | Carson Carels | Matvei Gridin | Zayne Parekh | Carson Carels | Carson Carels | Carson Carels | Zayne Parekh |
| Cole Reschny | Cole Reschny | Cole Reschny | Cole Reschny | Cole Reschny | Matvei Gridin | Matvei Gridin | Cole Reschny | Matvei Gridin | Matvei Gridin | Carson Carels | Matvei Gridin | Cole Reschny | Cole Reschny | Cole Reschny | Cole Reschny |
| Matvei Gridin | Matvei Gridin | Matvei Gridin | Matvei Gridin | Matvei Gridin | Cole Reschny | Cole Reschny | Matvei Gridin | Cole Reschny | Cole Reschny | Cole Reschny | Cole Reschny | Matvei Gridin | Matvei Gridin | Matvei Gridin | Cullen Potter |
| Cullen Potter | Hunter Brzustewicz | Cullen Potter | Hunter Brzustewicz | Hunter Brzustewicz | Cullen Potter | Ethan Wyttenbach | Hunter Brzustewicz | Cullen Potter | Cullen Potter | Ethan Wyttenbach | Cullen Potter | Cullen Potter | Cullen Potter | Hunter Brzustewicz | Hunter Brzustewicz |
| Hunter Brzustewicz | Cullen Potter | Ethan Wyttenbach | Ethan Wyttenbach | Ethan Wyttenbach | Ethan Wyttenbach | Cullen Potter | Ethan Wyttenbach | Ethan Wyttenbach | Ethan Wyttenbach | Cullen Potter | Hunter Brzustewicz | Ethan Wyttenbach | Hunter Brzustewicz | Jack Hextall | Matvei Gridin |
| Jack Hextall | Jack Hextall | Hunter Brzustewicz | Jack Hextall | Jack Hextall | Jack Hextall | Jack Hextall | Cullen Potter | Jack Hextall | Hunter Brzustewicz | Hunter Brzustewicz | Jack Hextall | Hunter Brzustewicz | Ethan Wyttenbach | Cullen Potter | Ethan Wyttenbach |
| Ethan Wyttenbach | Samuel Honzek | Jack Hextall | Samuel Honzek | Cullen Potter | Hunter Brzustewicz | Hunter Brzustewicz | Jack Hextall | Hunter Brzustewicz | Jack Hextall | Jack Hextall | Ethan Wyttenbach | Jack Hextall | Samuel Honzek | Tobias Trejbal | Jack Hextall |
| Henry Mews | Jonathan Castagna | Samuel Honzek | Cullen Potter | Samuel Honzek | Tobias Trejbal | Aydar Suniev | Samuel Honzek | Samuel Honzek | Egor Barbanov | Aydar Suniev | Henry Mews | Henry Mews | Jack Hextall | Ethan Wyttenbach | Tobias Trejbal |
| Tobias Trejbal | Egor Barbanov | Tobias Trejbal | Tobias Trejbal | Tobias Trejbal | Aydar Suniev | Samuel Honzek | Tobias Trejbal | Tobias Trejbal | Tobias Trejbal | Andrew Basha | Andrew Basha | Andrew Basha | Tobias Trejbal | Samuel Honzek | Samuel Honzek |
A bright future
Do you agree or disagree with our writing team? Confused about why one prospect was rated higher by one writer versus another? Let us know below in the comments, and check out the links to read in-depth profiles on every prospect.
