2026 NHL Draft Thread

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I don't know about 'this good' but Schaefer was the consensus #1 OA through his entire draft season. He didn't have the question marks about his game that persist around McKenna. The only questions about Schaefer was the limited gamed he played due to injury.

Had McKenna (who had a higher point total in his D -1 season than Bedard or McDavid) stayed in the WHL I have little doubt he would have been a start to finish top pick in the draft especially with how good the Tigers are this season they would have cruised to top of the league with McKenna on the roster. He puts up similar or better numbers on the top team in the league he is never questioned.

He chased the NIL cash and went for the biggest payday. He got off to a slowish start. He is over 2 ppg since coming back from the world junior and is at a clean 1.5ppg average over the whole year.

There certainly has been a decent amount of articles and opinions that state he is not a clear cut number 1 but personally I think McKenna is closer to the last 3 1st overall picks in terms of potential and upside (Bedard, Celebrini, Schafer) than he is the 3 that went before (Slafkovsky, Power, Lafreniere) who are all very meh compared to the 3 that followed.

[YyjFlames]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Not that it matters - but there was about 0 scouts who thought Schafer was going to be this good. If anything last year's draft was talked about as weaker at the top than this one.

Less so than Schafer but very few had Celebrini as a Bedard level prospect either at the time of the draft.

Schaefer was expected to be VERY good before last year's draft.

This Athletic article is a good example, as it was posted just before the 2025 draft.

The authors surveyed GMs and scouts and asked them to rank how they felt about Schaefer compared to how they had felt about the first overall picks from the last 10 years:

1. Auston Matthews
2. Macklin Celebrini
3. Connor Bedard
4. Jack Hughes
5. Matthew Schaefer
6. Rasmus Dahlin
7. Owen Power
8. Nico Hischier
9. Alexis Lafrenier
10. Juraj Slafkovsky

Before he was drafted, he surveyed scouts/GMs expected him to be the best defender drafted in the previous 10 years -- even better than Dahlin, who was very well liked in his draft year.

EDIT: You are right about Celebrini, though. Folks thought he was a step behind Bedard in his draft year. There's a bit of revisionist thinking going on in this poll, putting him up at second (and the author comments about that in the piece). But since this poll was released before the draft, they clearly thought very highly of Schaefer.

[dammage79]

I'm still of the mindset the Flames need top end FW more than defense. Yeah the prospect pool is shelved a little bit on D but you can count on 3 fingers how many top 6 potential fed they have developing. (Reschny, Potter, Gridin) Whereas the d prospects the Flames have are still around 6.


If we don't get mcKenna or Stenberg I'm happy "reaching" for Malhotra, Lawrence or Bjorck ( Give me Bjorck or give me death!)

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by YyjFlames

Schaefer was expected to be VERY good before last year's draft.

This Athletic article is a good example, as it was posted just before the 2025 draft.

The authors surveyed GMs and scouts and asked them to rank how they felt about Schaefer compared to how they had felt about the first overall picks from the last 10 years:

1. Auston Matthews
2. Macklin Celebrini
3. Connor Bedard
4. Jack Hughes
5. Matthew Schaefer
6. Rasmus Dahlin
7. Owen Power
8. Nico Hischier
9. Alexis Lafrenier
10. Juraj Slafkovsky

Before he was drafted, he surveyed scouts/GMs expected him to be the best defender drafted in the previous 10 years -- even better than Dahlin, who was very well liked in his draft year.

That's a good list. I feel like i'd move him in behind Celebrini and ahead of Bedard and Hughes now. I'd also move Slafkovsky up. Ahead of Hischier even? Perhaps.

[HighLifeMan]

Carson Carels has the highest point per game average (1.30) of any draft eligible WHL defensemen since Scott Niedermayer in 1990-91.

He checks all the boxes with his younger age, skating, size, and all around ability. Being a left handed defensemen is also appealing for this franchise.

I am also heavily questioning if Verhoeff isn't in fact the 4th or 5th best defensemen in the class at this point.

[YyjFlames]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

That's a good list. I feel like i'd move him in behind Celebrini and ahead of Bedard and Hughes now. I'd also move Slafkovsky up. Ahead of Hischier even? Perhaps.

Yeah, the list is supposed to be how teams felt about the player at the time of his draft, not currently, but there's some obvious actual performance bias going into these rankings.

Celebrini is the guy that really stands out, as in the piece done on his draft year, he was ranked 5th, behind Bedard, but he moved up to 2nd this year.

[JurassicTunga12]

Originally Posted by HighLifeMan

Carson Carels has the highest point per game average (1.30) of any draft eligible WHL defensemen since Scott Niedermayer in 1990-91.

He checks all the boxes with his younger age, skating, size, and all around ability. Being a left handed defensemen is also appealing for this franchise.

I am also heavily questioning if Verhoeff isn't in fact the 4th or 5th best defensemen in the class at this point.

Can't remember where I read it, here or otherwise, but someone seemingly in the know said that the Flames really liked Carson Carels. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the pick in the top 5, if we don't get McKenna or Stenberg.

[Tbull8]

Verhoeff may go early like Levshunov though. Big body, all around top pairing guy. Still solidifies any d core for a decade. But maybe not the upside of Carels or Reid

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by HighLifeMan

Carson Carels has the highest point per game average (1.30) of any draft eligible WHL defensemen since Scott Niedermayer in 1990-91.

He checks all the boxes with his younger age, skating, size, and all around ability. Being a left handed defensemen is also appealing for this franchise.

I am also heavily questioning if Verhoeff isn't in fact the 4th or 5th best defensemen in the class at this point.

Jonas Woo is 1.53 this season. Flames should consider drafting him with one of their 2nd rounders if he's still available by then. (Or maybe even consider using the Vegas pick to get him, though I'd rather use it on a Ruck twin if possible.)

I like Carels - I can see the case of him possibly being a better choice than Verhoeff (even though Carels is much smaller). That said, I'd take either of those guys before I'd take Chase Reid. His numbers don't jump off the page, and based on where he was born, there's a decent chance he's MAGA.

Seriously, just take Verhoeff or Carels, we don't need another Tkachuk situation here thanks.

[Bingo]

Not much sucks (aside from having a terrible season) about being at the top of the draft, but if there's one thing it's that you can only draft one of these guys.

You focus on say 7 players for so long you tend to want all of them.

[HighLifeMan]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

Jonas Woo is 1.53 this season. Flames should consider drafting him with one of their 2nd rounders if he's still available by then. (Or maybe even consider using the Vegas pick to get him, though I'd rather use it on a Ruck twin if possible.)

I should have clarified that as u18 / first year draft eligible players.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by JurassicTunga12

Can't remember where I read it, here or otherwise, but someone seemingly in the know said that the Flames really liked Carson Carels. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the pick in the top 5, if we don't get McKenna or Stenberg.

Carels has been a big riser. Taking the Flames’ prospect pool and needs into account, I’d rank them:

1. Stenberg (LW)
2. McKenna (LW/RW)
3. Carels (LD)
4. Verhoeff (RD)
5. Malhotra (C)

[Mathgod]

Stenberg has been cooling off a bit lately. McKenna still the clear #1 to me.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by HighLifeMan

Carson Carels has the highest point per game average (1.30) of any draft eligible WHL defensemen since Scott Niedermayer in 1990-91.

He checks all the boxes with his younger age, skating, size, and all around ability. Being a left handed defensemen is also appealing for this franchise.

I am also heavily questioning if Verhoeff isn't in fact the 4th or 5th best defensemen in the class at this point.

Yep, majorly slept on around these boards. He's my clear #3 after the 2 wingers. He's not even 18 yet.

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Carels has been a big riser. Taking the Flames’ prospect pool and needs into account, I’d rank them:

1. Stenberg (LW)
2. McKenna (LW/RW)
3. Carels (LD)
4. Verhoeff (RD)
5. Malhotra (C)

This is my list too. Bjorck and Malhotra interchangeable.

[mdubz]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Carels has been a big riser. Taking the Flames’ prospect pool and needs into account, I’d rank them:

1. Stenberg (LW)
2. McKenna (LW/RW)
3. Carels (LD)
4. Verhoeff (RD)
5. Malhotra (C)

Pinder said today that the scout comparison for McKenna is Panarin and Stenberg is Guentzel. Panarin seems like more of a franchise player than Guentzel.

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by mdubz

Pinder said today that the scout comparison for McKenna is Panarin and Stenberg is Guentzel. Panarin seems like more of a franchise player than Guentzel.

If Guentzel is the ceiling for Stenberg, I would be a little surprised if he is projected to go 1st/2nd overall. Not that Guentzel isn’t a good player but he is mostly a complementary piece (i.e. not a play driver IMO). I would hope to get a franchise level player at 1st/2nd overall.

[Tkachukwagon]

https://twitter.com/user/status/2033637149707489483

[Roko]

Mckenna goes first basically guaranteed. Stenberg has cooled way off. Could see a team even pick a D over him if they need one badly. The odds we get mckenna are so low too unfortunately I just won’t get my hopes up even though it feels right.

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by Roko

Mckenna goes first basically guaranteed. Stenberg has cooled way off. Could see a team even pick a D over him if they need one badly. The odds we get mckenna are so low too unfortunately I just won’t get my hopes up even though it feels right.

Yeah. It sucks that the odds are better some team ranked higher than the flames in the standings will get to pick McKenna than it is that the flames will get to draft McKenna.

[stemit14]

It’s tough between Malhotra or Bjork IMO. The closer we get to the draft the more I like both of those players.

Both are young for this draft class. Both are getting better as their draft year goes along. Both project to be actual centers in the NHL. I honestly think there is a 1B center in at least one of these guys but it’s really tough to determine which will be better. Malhotra has the pedigree and the ideal size for a top line center. Bjork looked like a real play driver at the world juniors.

I’m also concerned that I want the flames to keep collecting skilled centers so bad that I’m favouring drafting them over defencemen that might be better prospects at this point. The general rule in drafts where wingers are projected to go at the top of the draft is that the centers in that draft just aren’t that great. If there was a hint that a prospect was projected to be a #1 center, you would think that would make them an automatic top 3 pick in this draft. But we still aren’t seeing any of the centers ranked that high.