2026 NHL Draft Thread

[Yanda]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

One is not like the other, Lindstrom is being outplayed by four 2025 draft picks on his own team.

Fair enough, I havent had time to really follow along with much progression outside of the the Flames prospects from the various threads. Feel free to sub in equivilently tiered forward prospects that you think Parekh would be valued at. The main point im trying to say is that drafting a defensemen 3rd overall doesnt handcuff us with an overload of RD because we can pivot. I think there are existing "untouchable" forward prospects that Parekh would be a fair offer for because he would also be a rare commodity.

[BigThief]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I like Stenberg but I truly feel like McKenna is the exact kind of player that could turn Reschny into a totally viable #1 center and remove our need to draft one. They seem like completely complimentary players.

Ideally you'd want the Flames to draft a bonafide number one center without the winger pulling him up to that but point understood. Most teams have star players down the middle, or guys that step up when they win. O'Reily for the Blues, Kuznetsov for the Caps, etc

Gotta be honest Caleb Malholtra is really coming on strong and I'm starting to see star potential in him. Reminds me of Tij Iginla, where he's a late riser with a summer birthday who's pushing as the season progresses.

[Tbull8]

McKenna
Stenberg
Verhoeff
Lawrence
Bjorck
Malhotra

[BigThief]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I don't think we should be penciling Mews in on this team, even long-term. There are still a lot of risk factors with a guy like him. A little undersized, and now the major knee injury on top of that. plus he's unsigned.

I'm the last person to burst any optimism bubble, but I don't think him in the pipeline should have any bearing on the Flames taking Verhoeff or not.

Couldn't agree more, especially for a guy like Mews, a 3rd round decent-to-okay prospect. Now if you have Parekh in the system, draft Keaton Verhoeff
and are in a position to draft Landon Dupont you might start to have those questions, but Henry Mews ain't the guy you worry about.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I don't think we should be penciling Mews in on this team, even long-term. There are still a lot of risk factors with a guy like him. A little undersized, and now the major knee injury on top of that. plus he's unsigned.

I'm the last person to burst any optimism bubble, but I don't think him in the pipeline should have any bearing on the Flames taking Verhoeff or not.

The point wasn't about Mews at all. The point is that RD is the Flames' deepest position. And that being the case, I wouldn't use our first top 3 pick ever, to draft another RD, when we still have ZERO elite forwards.

[The Original FFIV]

Originally Posted by Tbull8

I dont think the Flames would go RD with the Vegas pick with a guy like Chrenko on the board still. Double down on 1st round centers

That would be fugly. Using the Vegas pick on a 2nd/3rd pairing d screams Matt pelech all over again.

Skill skill skill. Late first is a good spot in a deep draft to take a swing at a highly skilled f (hopefully a C) that may have fallen. Gonna get a good player with our pick, gives us leeway to swing for the fences with the Vegas pick.

[BigThief]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

The point wasn't about Mews at all. The point is that RD is the Flames' deepest position. And that being the case, I wouldn't use our first top 3 pick ever, to draft another RD, when we still have ZERO elite forwards.

We have zero elite blueliners too. Parekh's offensive potential is through the roof but he's not a complete guy like Verhoeff has the potential to be. Parekh was drafted 9th overall, the third blueliner taken for a reason. It's insanely too early to be drafting by position.

[TherapyforGlencross]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

The point wasn't about Mews at all. The point is that RD is the Flames' deepest position. And that being the case, I wouldn't use our first top 3 pick ever, to draft another RD, when we still have ZERO elite forwards.

A possibility is if draft 3rd, i’d see if there’s any takers at 4th or 5th, trade down for an extra second, and draft Maholtra or Lawrence.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by BigThief

We have zero elite blueliners too. Parekh's offensive potential is through the roof but he's not a complete guy like Verhoeff has the potential to be. Parekh was drafted 9th overall, the third blueliner taken for a reason. It's insanely too early to be drafting by position.

Unless you have zero elite forwards

[BigThief]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Unless you have zero elite forwards

You're acting like we're flush at every position and this draft is our last piece.

[PepsiFree]

We’re 3-4 drafts away from the luxury of drafting by position, and even then it doesn’t ever seem to pan out when it’s a choice between anyone that isn’t a total toss up.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I still think - and would hope - that the Flames go BPA this draft. There are so many examples even between wingers vs centers that were picked closed to each other. Off the top of my head Kyle Connor and Mathew Barzal were picked next to each other - not going to bother checking who got picked ahead of whom, but Kyle Connor hands down for me, right? Tkachuk over Juloevi. Tkachuk over Dubois!


If the Flames have the ranking as (and assuming McKenna/Stenberg are gone):
========================================
McKenna/Stenberg (tie with a slight edge to McKenna)
--
Verhoeff
--
--
Lawrence
Malhotra
Bjorck
========================================
Then I would expect them to take Verhoeff without a second thought.


If the ranking is:
========================================
McKenna/Stenberg
--
Verhoeff
Lawrence
--
--
Malhotra
Bjorck
========================================
Then I would would still them to take Verhoeff.

However, if it is Verhoeff/Lawrence (a tie with Verhoeff being slightly higher), then I would feel 100% good about taking Lawrence as it is the harder position to draft/acquire.

[dammage79]

BPA is an imaginary guideline. Look at Senneke. Was he BPA ? Maybe by a very select few.

BPA is also non contiguous throughout 32 teams draft lists.

BPA doesn't exist.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by dammage79

BPA is an imaginary guideline. Look at Senneke. Was he BPA ? Maybe by a very select few.

BPA is also non contiguous throughout 32 teams draft lists.

BPA doesn't exist.

Exactly.

Every team will draft who they like, based on the criteria that matter to them.

Fans will talk about BPA based on some imaginary list in their heads, or that they read about.

[Fan69]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Exactly.

Every team will draft who they like, based on the criteria that matter to them.

Fans will talk about BPA based on some imaginary list in their heads, or that they read about.

Agreed. The way some people view prospects and their value doesnt make sense to me( not directed at you)

For me yea position has a lot to do with a pick and so do most teams. Big right handed mobile defenders go at the top of the draft. Big centers with skill the same thing.

The flames have been guilty of almost seeming to ignore centers in the draft but realistically where we pick the best centers are usually gone. Those big defenders as well.

To me top three is big V , Mckenna, Stenberg. No questions asked if one of them is there you take it no matter your prospect base. If we ended up with Vaerhoff i would use Parekh as bait to get a young center.

If we are out of the top three would i have issue with taking one if the centers? Nope! Been a long long time since calgary picked the best center in a draft.

[Tbull8]

No matter who we end up drafting, they'll likely be our top prospect ahead of even Parekh. That's exciting in itself, especially after seeing how well Zayne and Cole did at the WJC.

[BigThief]

Originally Posted by dammage79

BPA is an imaginary guideline. Look at Senneke. Was he BPA ? Maybe by a very select few.

BPA is also non contiguous throughout 32 teams draft lists.

BPA doesn't exist.

We're talking about two different things now, obviously the Ducks took Senneke because they thought he was the best player available. The Ducks stuck with best player available pretty well because despite having Trevor Zegras (9th OA) and Mason Mactavish (3rd overall) they still went with Leo Carlsson 2nd overall in 2024.

Senneke was clearly their best available player on their draft list. This is a totally separate topic you're injecting here.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by dammage79

BPA is an imaginary guideline. Look at Senneke. Was he BPA ? Maybe by a very select few.

BPA is also non contiguous throughout 32 teams draft lists.

BPA doesn't exist.

Why is it hard to believe that Anaheim didn't draft Sennecke as the player they believed was the BPA available? It's not too often teams target a RW if they are drafting by position over BPA

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Why is it hard to believe that Anaheim didn't draft Sennecke as the player they believed was the BPA available? It's not too often teams target a RW if they are drafting by position over BPA

Even if they did, if every team has a different BPA, there is no such thing as BPA. Which was the point (or part of it)

Arguing that there is a BPA, and you should always draft it, assumes that BPA is generally agreed upon. It isn't.

Not only are teams going to have different opinions on each player's talent, but they will also have differing criteria - some will value size more than others, some value skating more, some may weight positional needs heavier in some years than others. Etc.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Why is it hard to believe that Anaheim didn't draft Sennecke as the player they believed was the BPA available? It's not too often teams target a RW if they are drafting by position over BPA

Absolutely. I can believe Sennecke was their BPA.