2026 NHL Draft Thread

[Incogneto]

Sandman, did you have a writeup last year on Ethan Wyttenbach?

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Incogneto

Sandman, did you have a writeup last year on Ethan Wyttenbach?

Embarrassingly, I did not. I was one of the people who thought his skating, size, and pace were going to keep him from being drafted. He didn’t look like a serious prospect to me, and numerous others.

I wouldn’t trade him for anything at this point though.

[Mitch]

I wonder if the flames will start to lean harder into analytics based draft analysis after the success of Wyttenbach in his D+1 year. IIRC Tod Button mentioned that Wyttenbach was targeted because he jumped out to their stats guys.

[Bingo]

New ranking added (McKeen's Brock Otten)

1 Ivar Stenberg 1.67
2 Gavin McKenna 2.00
3 Keaton Verhoeff 3.00
4 Chase Reid 4.78
5 Tynan Lawrence 5.44
6 Alberts Smits 7.44
7 Viggo Björck 8.56
8 Carson Carels 8.89
9 Ethan Belchetz 9.22
10 Caleb Malhotra 10.56
11 Ryan Lin 14.11
12 Daxon Rudolph 15.22
13 Oliver Suvanto 15.56
14 X Villeneuve 16.11
15 Oscar Hemming 16.29
16 Adam Novotný 16.33
17 E Hermansson 17.22
18 M Nordmark 17.67
19 Juho Piiparinen 18.89
20 M Gustafsson 20.38
21 J.P. Hurlbert 21.75
22 Mathis Preston 22.89
23 Will Håkansson 23.25
24 Nikita Klepov 25.14
25 Ilya Morozov 25.22
26 Yegor Shilov 28.25
27 Tomas Chrenko 29.00
28 Ryan Roobroeck 29.80
29 Alex Command 30.00
30 Jack Hextall 30.00
31 Pierce Mbuyi 30.57
32 N Shcherbakov 31.71
33 Adam Valentini 31.80
34 Wyatt Cullen 32.50
35 M Dagenais 32.71
36 Liam Ruck 34.50
37 N Aaram-Olsen 34.67
38 Casey Mutryn 35.33
39 Adam Goljer 35.40
40 Tommy Bleyl 35.67

[Erick Estrada]

At this point I'm not overly concerned if they don't get 1st overall but 3rd overall would be a bit of a bummer as I don't find Verhoeff a sexy top 3 pick.

[TheIronMaiden]

It's looking more and more like there will not be a centre worthy of the top 5 pick.
not super sexy, you're right, but there is a lot to like about the 4 D floating around pick 3-7.

I really worry the Flames are going to reach to grab a forward.

[Calgary4LIfe]

With hot hard the remaining schedule is for the Flames, plus with more possible trades,last place is still not out of the question for me. I think they are likely to finish 2nd last, however. I am more worried about the lottery dropping them to 3rd, than actually finishing at that spot.

[Monahammer]

Joe Iginla has not been good in Vancouver. I still hope the flames snag him but that is really disappointing to see, too.

[Five-hole]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

With hot hard the remaining schedule is for the Flames, plus with more possible trades,last place is still not out of the question for me. I think they are likely to finish 2nd last, however. I am more worried about the lottery dropping them to 3rd, than actually finishing at that spot.

Don't underestimate the Blues, who seem to be destined to just barely out-compete us for whatever spot we're trying to achieve.

Or the Rangers, for that matter, who are in an epic tailspin, and absolutely do not deserve a top 3 pick, but will get one anyway.

[AustinL_NHL]

Umm this should probably be its own thread...

https://twitter.com/user/status/2019165380946870611

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

Quiet confidence can look like arrogance.

I drink wine and i know things.

[cral12]

Originally Posted by Incogneto

Sandman, did you have a writeup last year on Ethan Wyttenbach?

and he admittedly just barely landed in the 7th round in our final rankings at Upside compiled by head rankings guy Eldon MacDonald at 221st.

https://www.upsidehockey.com/nhl-dra...draft-rankings

*Aside: I have our latest rankings to get posted in the next couple of days for the 2026 draft. Stay tuned. Along with our mega spreadsheet, finally have a simpler user-friendly, easy on the eyes version that I'll also get up on our Substack channel.

[The Fonz]

I remember this tweet jumping off the page on draft day, due to this twitter amateur fancy stats guy having him ranked so highly (it seemed like a model mistake at the time):

https://twitter.com/user/status/1939049153038049657


IIRC, he had to defend this Wyttenbach predraft rank of #41 overall, numerous times.

If Wyttenbach pans out, it might land this guy a job with an NHL team.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

At this point I'm not overly concerned if they don't get 1st overall but 3rd overall would be a bit of a bummer as I don't find Verhoeff a sexy top 3 pick.

I would agree, but to me, Verhoeff is a much safer pick in a way. I have no doubt about his potential, and his ability to fulfill it. The other two are as blue-chip as you can get, but they might be more of a gamble to reach their high-end potential.

[Teroy]

I want Stenberg. If not him, I want a Centre. No Stenberg, and we pick anyone else, we'll still be looking for a Centre. Malhotra, Lawrence, Roobroeck, Rogowski etc. please.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Feb.5th: The Red Deer Rebels have seemingly turned the fortunes around for yet another first-time draft-eligible reclamation project, first with winger Kalder Varga, who was toiling with the Kelowna Rockets (11 points in 34 games), before having his draft season rejuvenated with his move to the Rebels in early January (13 points in 15 games). Another young player who seemingly has a new lease on life in Red Deer is big C Cameron Kuzma (6'3",201lbs), who put up a mere 10 points in 32 contests with the Seattle Thunderbirds, before a pre-deadline deal on Jan.2nd that saw him exchanged (with multiple picks) for 18 year-old C Matthew Gard. With his new team, Kuzma has posted 10 points (3 goals) in 15 games, with a lofty 28 PIM, which is more in line with the expectations he garnered from his production in 2024-25, where he posted 18 points in 46 games as a 16 year-old with one of the WHL's worst teams, the Regina Pats. Those numbers were tied for 22nd-best in the league for U-17 players. He doesn't turn 18 until July 17th, and is #211 for North American Skaters on Central Scouting's Mid-Term List.

Kuzma is a big power-center who plies a mean and gritty physical style, with excellent two-way awareness- he reminds me a bit of the player he was traded for, another big power-center in Matthew Gard- which is actually a big compliment. Kuzma isn't a speed demon, but he skates very well for a guy of his size, with solid maneuverability on his edges, a peppy short-burst, and a good top-speed in straight-lines. One wouldn't expect a player of his ilk to be able to handle the puck as well as he does while in-flight, but Kuzma flashes the ability to turn defenders inside-out once in awhile, and maintains control in traffic while under pressure. He also protects well enough to fend off physical attacks, angling his body away from would-be checkers, with one hand manipulating the puck out of the reach of sticks, and the other arm fending off harassment. He will drop a shoulder and drive the net with power, is an immoveable object in front of the crease, and a load to handle down-low. The St.Albert-native has good hands to finish in-tight, and a hard, accurate shot, but he displays big-time potential in his playmaking- flashing high-end creativity and sublime vision. His game is still raw and developing though, and he's working on putting it all together- to make those "flashes" more of a regular occurence. Kuzma has a high NHL-floor, due to the fact that his defensive game is already fairly advanced, and he takes pride in the performance of these duties, wielding high-end compete, solid details, and a keen awareness in his own zone. He wins battles in the greasy areas, throws his weight around to win pucks, and helps his D below the goal-line. Scouts are concerned about his pace, but centers with his skillset don't grow on trees- look for him in the middle-rounds.

[FlamesAddiction]

Dang, I just noticed that FC Hockey isn't around anymore to do their mock draft simulator. I liked theirs because you could do all 7 rounds.

Besides Tankathon, are there any other good draft simulators out there?

[Two Fivenagame]

Tynan Lawrence with only 1 point in 9 games at the NCAA level so far. Looks like he's starting to drop a little bit in the draft rankings.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

I know a lot of us want to load up on elite forwards (obviously) but if the Flames do end up drafting 3rd I'd draft Verheoff with no hesitation. You can always trade from a position of strength in the future. I wouldn't take a lesser forward instead just because.

[Tbull8]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

I know a lot of us want to load up on elite forwards (obviously) but if the Flames do end up drafting 3rd I'd draft Verheoff with no hesitation. You can always trade from a position of strength in the future. I wouldn't take a lesser forward instead just because.

100%
Unless theres a deal to be made for Misa

But Verhoeff's familiarity with Reschny, as well as the fact he billeted with Jarome would make for a pretty awesome addition to the core