Mar.16th: There's been plenty of talk about how C Jeffery Paul "JP" Hurlbert III's game will translate to the NHL, but he did lead the WHL scoring race for most of the year, until the Ruck twins (and Cam Schmidt) decided to take over. Right now, he is 4th-overall in league scoring for the 12th-place Kamloops Blazers, with 39 goals and 93 points in just 65 tilts- he wears an "A" as a 17 year-old, and leads the team in scoring by 11 points. An American pivot, born in Allen, Texas, he spent last season in the NTDP, where he posted an impressive 19 tallies and 37 points in 56 contests, with 31 of those points coming in 34 matches against USHL competition. He will attending the University of Michigan next season, and he is #10 for North American Skaters, according to Central Scouting.
If Hurlbert hopes to make the NHL, he will need to spend his time in college overhauling a large portion of his game. The issues with Hurlbert have to do with concerns about his skating and pace, projectability, and the fact that he’s not a true play-driver, but rather a guy who feeds off his teammates. He’s opportunistic, does most of his work off-puck, and often lets his linemates do the dirty work in getting the puck for him. The good news is that he has been making improvements in certain areas of his game, as he looked like much more of a complete player in the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge, where he scored a goal in 2 contests, but looked much more engaged in the defensive zone, and was even spotted on the PK in game #1. Hurlbert's skating is a weakness, and his pace is not up to par, but there's no denying that his brain is elite; he is one of the smartest off-puck players in this draft-class, sneaking into open gaps at the exact right place and time to capitalize. He is also one of the best shooters in his age group, with an NHL-caliber catch-and-release wrister, and a blistering one-timer, complete with a good sense of how to deceive and manipulate opposing defenses and goalies, with fakes, look-offs, and changes in his shooting-angles. While he isn't one to park himself in front of the net to take the necessary beating, he is proficient in riding the blind-spots of defenders in his routes to the net, and can sneak in and out of the low-slot to finish in-tight.
Surprisingly, Hurlbert can play a physical game, engages his foes in board-battles, and will even throw hits, but he leaves most of the mucking and grinding to his linemates, and makes sure he's open and ready to receive a high-danger pass in prime scoring areas. With his high-end hockey sense and vision, he is an effective passer and playmaker as well, with an ability to slow the game down to look for options, and owns the puck-skill to thread the needle across the ice at times; still, he is not overly creative per se, and mostly takes what he's given, with a read-and-react approach. Hurlbert exhibits exceptional puck-skill, showing an ability to maintain control of the puck in small spaces, but he tends to avoid pressure and high-traffic areas, and will often dump the puck in rather than making an attempt to beat an opponent one-on-one- he also doesn't have much faith in his ability to protect the puck. The same is true for his play in transition, as he largely defers to his teammates to do most of the carrying, and fills a support role on the rush most of the time. As stated, his defensive effort and engagement have shown improvement, but his overall effectiveness is limited due to his poor awareness in his own-end, and he still gets caught leaving the zone early, expecting a stretch-pass for a breakaway. 100-point centers don't grow on trees, so I still think he'll be picked in the first-round, but he's going to need more time than most think, in my opinion.
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As a quick side note for 2027 draft, which the Flamss will surely be drafting near or at the top of, homegrown wonder kid Landon Dupont had a strong return to form after a mediocre start.
As a 16-year ild defenseman for Everett Silvertips, he had a terrible start with 7P in 15GP. Then he found his game again and scored 62P in the following 45GP. Good for 1.378 PPG, as a 16-year old defenseman.
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Wheeler updates his top 64 on St. Patty's Day. Moves Reid up to 3rd and Verhoeff down to 5th. Ryan Lin up the list as well. Bjorck ahead of Malhotra with Lawrence between them.
A bit of a slide on the Vegas, Ranger (helping in the first round!) and Ottawa picks.
McKenna opening a lead.
With Calgary entrenched in the top 3 and likely headed for top two the pre lottery range is tightening up ... McKenna, Stenberg, Verhoeff and Reid.
Range in bold.
Flames picks in red.
Quote:
1 Gavin McKenna LW 1.58
2 Ivar Stenberg RW 1.92
3 Keaton Verhoeff RHD 3.67
4 Chase Reid RHD 4.25
5 Tynan Lawrence C 6.75
6 Alberts Smits LHD 7.33
7 Carson Carels LHD 8.25
8 Viggo Björck C 9.42
9 Caleb Malhotra C 10.25
10 Ethan Belchetz LW 10.25
11 Oscar Hemming LW 13.91
12 Daxon Rudolph RHD 13.92
13 Oliver Suvanto C 14.33
14 Adam Novotný LW 14.67
15 Ryan Lin RHD 16.50 16 E Hermansson RW 17.45
17 M Nordmark LW 17.67
18 X Villeneuve LHD 19.67
19 M Gustafsson LHD 20.27
20 Juho Piiparinen RHD 21.00
21 J.P. Hurlbert LW 22.17
22 Ilya Morozov C 22.17
23 Nikita Klepov LW 24.82
24 Will Håkansson LHD 25.09
25 Ma Preston RW 26.82
26 Alex Command C 27.27
27 Liam Ruck RW 28.56
28 Ryan Roobroeck LW 29.78
29 Wyatt Cullen C 30.10
30 Yegor Shilov C 31.18
31 Jack Hextall C 31.50
32 Mad Dagenais C 33.27
33 S Ignatavicius C 33.29
34 N Aaram-Olsen LW 34.11
35 Tomas Chrenko C 34.50
36 Ben MacBeath D 36.00
37 B Rogowski C 36.44
38 Adam Goljer D 36.71
39 Markus Ruck LW 37.00
40 Casey Mutryn F 39.14
41 N Shcherbakov LHD 39.56
42 Jaxon Cover RW 41.50
43 Lavr Gashilov C 42.50
44 Adam Valentini C 44.43
45 Vilho Vanhatalo RW 45.50 46 Tommy Bleyl RHD 45.75
47 Gleb Pugachyov LW 46.14
48 Samu Alalauri RHD 48.20
49 Pierce Mbuyi LW 49.00
50 T Vandenberg C 49.00
51 Ales Di Iorio C 49.43
52 Vlad Dravecký RHD 51.25
53 Viktor Fyodorov C 52.75
54 Victor Plante LW 53.17
55 Tobias Trejbal G 53.20
56 Beck Edwards C 53.43
57 Giorg Pantelas RHD 53.83
58 Adam Nemec LW 54.67
59 C Harrington LW 55.00
60 Lars Steiner RW 55.40
61 Mikey Berchild LW 56.50
62 Ryder Cali C 56.67 63 Oscar Holmertz C 58.14
64 Brady Knowling G 58.25
65 Axel Elofsson RHD 59.86
66 Jakub Vaněček D 60.50
67 Charlie Morrison D 60.50
68 Luke Schairer RHD 60.83
69 Filip Novak LW 62.75
70 Blake Zielinski RW 63.25
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Mar.16th: There's been plenty of talk about how C Jeffery Paul "JP" Hurlbert III's game will translate to the NHL, but he did lead the WHL scoring race for most of the year, until the Ruck twins (and Cam Schmidt) decided to take over. Right now, he is 4th-overall in league scoring for the 12th-place Kamloops Blazers, with 39 goals and 93 points in just 65 tilts- he wears an "A" as a 17 year-old, and leads the team in scoring by 11 points. An American pivot, born in Allen, Texas, he spent last season in the NTDP, where he posted an impressive 19 tallies and 37 points in 56 contests, with 31 of those points coming in 34 matches against USHL competition. He will attending the University of Michigan next season, and he is #10 for North American Skaters, according to Central Scouting.
If Hurlbert hopes to make the NHL, he will need to spend his time in college overhauling a large portion of his game. The issues with Hurlbert have to do with concerns about his skating and pace, projectability, and the fact that he’s not a true play-driver, but rather a guy who feeds off his teammates. He’s opportunistic, does most of his work off-puck, and often lets his linemates do the dirty work in getting the puck for him. The good news is that he has been making improvements in certain areas of his game, as he looked like much more of a complete player in the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge, where he scored a goal in 2 contests, but looked much more engaged in the defensive zone, and was even spotted on the PK in game #1. Hurlbert's skating is a weakness, and his pace is not up to par, but there's no denying that his brain is elite; he is one of the smartest off-puck players in this draft-class, sneaking into open gaps at the exact right place and time to capitalize. He is also one of the best shooters in his age group, with an NHL-caliber catch-and-release wrister, and a blistering one-timer, complete with a good sense of how to deceive and manipulate opposing defenses and goalies, with fakes, look-offs, and changes in his shooting-angles. While he isn't one to park himself in front of the net to take the necessary beating, he is proficient in riding the blind-spots of defenders in his routes to the net, and can sneak in and out of the low-slot to finish in-tight.
Surprisingly, Hurlbert can play a physical game, engages his foes in board-battles, and will even throw hits, but he leaves most of the mucking and grinding to his linemates, and makes sure he's open and ready to receive a high-danger pass in prime scoring areas. With his high-end hockey sense and vision, he is an effective passer and playmaker as well, with an ability to slow the game down to look for options, and owns the puck-skill to thread the needle across the ice at times; still, he is not overly creative per se, and mostly takes what he's given, with a read-and-react approach. Hurlbert exhibits exceptional puck-skill, showing an ability to maintain control of the puck in small spaces, but he tends to avoid pressure and high-traffic areas, and will often dump the puck in rather than making an attempt to beat an opponent one-on-one- he also doesn't have much faith in his ability to protect the puck. The same is true for his play in transition, as he largely defers to his teammates to do most of the carrying, and fills a support role on the rush most of the time. As stated, his defensive effort and engagement have shown improvement, but his overall effectiveness is limited due to his poor awareness in his own-end, and he still gets caught leaving the zone early, expecting a stretch-pass for a breakaway. 100-point centers don't grow on trees, so I still think he'll be picked in the first-round, but he's going to need more time than most think, in my opinion.
Tankathon has us taking hurlburt and i have to say i literally would take any if the next 20 guys instead of him. I see a bust heading to Russia in a couple of yesrs.
They had Olson, klepov, command, dagenais, nordmark all behind him.
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As a quick side note for 2027 draft, which the Flamss will surely be drafting near or at the top of, homegrown wonder kid Landon Dupont had a strong return to form after a mediocre start.
As a 16-year ild defenseman for Everett Silvertips, he had a terrible start with 7P in 15GP. Then he found his game again and scored 62P in the following 45GP. Good for 1.378 PPG, as a 16-year old defenseman.
I think Dupont will be the first overall pick next draft. "Generational" - but in this case, I think he is a literal definition of it. What he has been able to do thus far is essentially generational, right? it will be tough to pass up a center next season, but if Dupont really is heads and shoulders above the competition, you draft him. New Jersey (Hischier), Philadelphia (Patrick), and Dallas (Heiskanen) are all kicking themselves for not picking Makar. Heiskanen was a great pick too (which New Jersey and Philadelphia are both lamenting over as well). Buffalo (Dahlin), Carolina (Svechnikov), Montreal (Kotkaniemi), Ottawa (Tkachuk), Arizona (Hayton), and Detroit (Zadina) are all kicking themselves for not taking Hughes.
The Islanders did not make that mistake in 2025.
Makes things interesting for the Flames as we think about it, but there is no way you pass up on Reid or Carels if you feel they are better than Malhotra or Bjorck with the assumption that you will get Dupont next season. You still have to win a lottery, plus I think there will be a few tankers next season - I think Dupont is worth tanking for, with some very nice consolation prizes at center.
Imagine Conroy trading up into the top 10 and drafting Malhotra.
Stenberg/McKenna and Malhotra in 2026.
Just hook it to my veins!
I got one better:
Flames win the Lottery and draft McKenna.
Vegas misses the playoffs, and ends up winning the lottery, enabling the Flames to draft Malhotra.
Conroy uses those 4 seconds to move up and draft the Ruck Twins.
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As a quick side note for 2027 draft, which the Flamss will surely be drafting near or at the top of, homegrown wonder kid Landon Dupont had a strong return to form after a mediocre start.
As a 16-year ild defenseman for Everett Silvertips, he had a terrible start with 7P in 15GP. Then he found his game again and scored 62P in the following 45GP. Good for 1.378 PPG, as a 16-year old defenseman.
Well, and son of former Flame Micki Dupont!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fan69
Tankathon has us taking hurlburt and i have to say i literally would take any if the next 20 guys instead of him. I see a bust heading to Russia in a couple of yesrs.
They had Olson, klepov, command, dagenais, nordmark all behind him.
Yeah I also do not want, for a different reason. His name is reminiscent of Tim Hurlbut, the infamous Saddledome streaker who climbed up the glass, slipped and hurled his butt on the ice, knocking himself out cold wearing nothing but his socks. Every time I see JP Hurlburt's name I can't help but think of this guy.
Updated again with the Bukala's update. Also has Reid up and Verhoeff down.
Range bold
Flames picks red
Quote:
1 Gavin McKenna LW 1.50
2 Ivar Stenberg RW 1.92
3 Keaton Verhoeff RHD 3.83
4 Chase Reid RHD 4.08
5 Tynan Lawrence C 7.17
6 Alberts Smits LHD 7.25
7 Carson Carels LHD 8.17
8 Viggo Björck C 9.33
9 Caleb Malhotra C 10.33
10 Ethan Belchetz LW 10.33
11 Daxon Rudolph RHD 13.83
12 Oscar Hemming LW 14.09
13 Adam Novotný LW 14.83
14 Oliver Suvanto C 15.25
15 Ryan Lin RHD 16.67 16 M Nordmark LW 17.25
17 E Hermansson RW 17.64
18 X Villeneuve LHD 19.91
19 M Gustafsson LHD 20.64
20 Juho Piiparinen RHD 20.82
21 J.P. Hurlbert LW 21.75
22 Ilya Morozov C 22.67
23 Nikita Klepov LW 23.91
24 Will Håkansson LHD 25.36
25 Mathis Preston RW 26.40
26 Alex Command C 27.09
27 Liam Ruck RW 28.00
28 Wyatt Cullen C 29.40
29 Ryan Roobroeck LW 29.78
30 Yegor Shilov C 31.40
31 Jack Hextall C 31.50 32 Mad Dagenais C 32.36
33 S Ignatavicius C 33.00
34 N Aaram-Olsen LW 33.60
35 Tomas Chrenko C 34.50 36 Markus Ruck LW 34.83
37 Ben MacBeath D 35.33
38 B Rogowski C 36.44
39 Adam Goljer D 36.71
40 N Shcherbakov LHD 38.89
41 Casey Mutryn F 39.14
42 Jaxon Cover RW 41.50
43 Lavr Gashilov C 42.50
44 Adam Valentini C 44.43
45 Vilho Vanhatalo RW 45.50
46 Tommy Bleyl RHD 45.75 47 Gleb Pugachyov LW 46.14
48 Samu Alalauri RHD 48.20 49 T Vandenberg C 49.00
50 Ales Di Iorio C 49.43
51 Vlad Dravecký RHD 51.25 52 Viktor Fyodorov C 52.75
53 Pierce Mbuyi LW 53.00
54 Victor Plante LW 53.17
55 Tobias Trejbal G 53.20
56 Beck Edwards C 53.43
57 Giorg Pantelas RHD 53.83
58 Adam Nemec LW 54.67
59 C Harrington LW 55.00
60 Lars Steiner RW 55.40
61 Mikey Berchild LW 56.50
62 Ryder Cali C 56.67 63 Oscar Holmertz C 58.14
64 Brady Knowling G 58.25
65 Axel Elofsson RHD 59.86
66 Jakub Vaněček D 60.50
67 Charlie Morrison D 60.50
68 Luke Schairer RHD 60.83
69 Filip Novak LW 62.75
70 Blake Zielinski RW 63.25
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Mar.17th: Robert Nordmark won Gold with Team Sweden in the World Junior Championship way back in the 1980-81 season as a defenseman, and was drafted into the NHL not once, but twice; the Red Wings took him in the 10th-round in 1981, and then the Blues selected him in the 3rd-round in 1987. He went on to participate in the Vancouver Canucks' first-round defeat in the 1989 Stanley Cup Playoffs, to the eventual Champions- the Calgary Flames, contributing 5 points in 7 contests in that series. Nordmark's son, left-handed RW Marcus Nordmark (6'1.5",180lbs), looks like a sure-fire first-round pick this summer, finishing the regular season in a tie for 21st in U20 scoring (11th in ppg, with 1.52), with 14 goals and 38 points in 25 games. He is currently competing in the playoffs, posting 4 points in 2 contests- which ties him for the team-lead in the post-season. Nordmark made a huge splash at last summer's Hlinka Gretzky Cup, leading the tournament in both goals (7) and points (12), in 5 games, helping Sweden earn a Silver-Medal in the process. He has been stellar in International play over the course of the season, putting up 33 points in 19 games across various events, and was given an 8-game audition in the SHL, putting up 1 assist in 8 tilts, in very limited minutes. He is #7 for European Skaters in Central Scouting's Mid-Term Rankings.
While he looked like an absolute stud at the Hlinka, showing a strong mix of size, skill, and power, it seems like Nordmark's game has some notable flaws that have kept him out of top-10 consideration for the 2026 Draft. He possesses a rather large frame, but his physicality is inconsistent at best, and non-existent in many games back home; he doesn't play much on the inside in the offensive zone, as he is too easily forced to the outside, and most of his attack comes from the perimeter. That said, Nordmark has high-end IQ and vision to make dynamic plays to the slot, and can complete the kind of cross-ice feeds through traffic that only elite playmakers have a chance at making; he connects with the exact prescribed weight and precision needed, right to the recipient's tape. He controls the pace of the attack, and can slow down the play in order to manufacture lanes to distribute the puck through. His snapshot is lethal from distance, and he wields one of the best releases in this draft-class- the puck explodes off of his blade with the accuracy to pick corners, and is in the back of the net before the goalie even knows that a shot is coming. Nordmark would surely be among the top goal-scorers in the U20 if he were to attack the crease, and get to the middle more often- he shows good finishing skills in-tight when he takes the opportunity to go to the net.
Though he moves at a decent clip, his stride is not perfect, and holds him back from being able to separate from pressure on a regular basis- he needs more polish in his mechanics, and could use upgrades to his explosiveness, acceleration, and top-speed. He is decently agile though, with the ability to make tight turns and quick pivots, and the lateral mobility to dodge checks. Like most Swedes, his puck-skills are well-developed, and he owns a good deal of deception to make defenders miss, but also to disguise his intentions between the shot or the pass. Nordmark has been steadily improving his off-puck game, and is pursuing pucks with increased vigor, but his impact defensively is mediocre at best, and his overall work-ethic, intensity, and compete have been heavily criticized. While he possesses the offensive tools of a top-ten pick, there are questions about how he'll be able to translate his game to the pros in North America- remember Magnus Paajarvi? Look for Nordmark in the first-round, most likely top-20- due to his high-ceiling.
Last edited by Sandman; 03-17-2026 at 10:27 AM.
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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:
Auston Matthews
Macklin Celebrini
Connor Bedard
Jack Hughes
Matthew Schaefer
Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power
Nico Hischier
Alexis Lafrenier
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.
If you did that same list this year - suspect McKenna would rank in the same spot. Maybe a behind Dahlin but that is mainly because Buffalo is good this year rather than anything Dahlin did. Which is basically the same spot Celebrini was in during last year's article.
Mar.17th: C/RW Viggo Bjorck (5'9",177lbs) was given the "B"- treatment by Central Scouting in their Preliminary Rankings, probably based mostly on his size, but he is now #5 for European Skaters in their Mid-Terms, after a very successful season so far in Sweden's top men's league. When he arrived back home from the World Junior Championships with a Gold Medal, after putting up an incredible 9 points in 7 games (tying for 19th-best all-time by a U-18 player), Bjorck must have decided that he was tired of his background role for Djurgardens of the SHL, because he has posted 7 points in the last 12 contests (he had 8 points in 30 games before that) as their #1C. In the history of the SHL, only 11 U-18 players have produced more points in a season than Bjorck's 15. The records don't stop there, as his production in the U20 in 2024-25 (74 points in 42 games) is the record for points by a U-17 player in that circuit, by a jaw-dropping 24 over his next-highest competitor, Jakob Ihs-Wozniak- who had 50. Bjorck showed well at the 2025 U-18 Worlds as well, tying for 11th in scoring, with 8 points in 7 games- en route to a Silver Medal at that event.
Bjorck's two main detriments have been well documented since the start of the season- he lacks ideal size, and needs to add an extra separation gear in his footspeed. While he's short in stature, he's built like a bowling ball at nearly 180lbs, and uses his low-center of gravity to be hard on pucks, win battles, and compete in the greasy areas of the ice. Bjorck protects the puck extremely well, and works the boards like he was a 6'3" power-forward, displaying solid contact-skill, and a rather sturdy physical game that includes throwing big hits to dislodge pucks; he apparently comes out of battles in the corners with the puck at a high-rate, as well. Bjorck wields relentless motor, an indomitable work-ethic, and sky-high compete-there is no fear in him of cutting to the middle, or driving the net. Bjorck leans into his playmaking as his primary offensive tool, and he drives play for Djurgardens on the strength of his elite IQ and vision, and his polished passing-skill; he can slip-pass through triangles, saucer over sticks, backhand behind heels, bounce-pass off the wall, and thread the needle through traffic or across the ice- all with perfect precision and weight to create advantages for his teammates, while in-motion. He reads the ice at an advanced level, and is often a few steps ahead of the play, with the ability to spot seams that few others can see- nevermind pass through. While his shot may not be the hardest in this draft-class, he deceives extremely well, has the accuracy to pick corners, and stuns goalies with his release. He also possesses soft hands to score in-tight, and a willingness to attack the crease for second-chance opportunities.
Bjorck's issues in terms of footspeed have been a bit overblown, as he's still a pacey skater with top-notch agility and maneuverability on his edges to sidestep checks, spin off of hits, and evade checks in open-ice. His feet are always pumping hard to make up for his lack of high-end quickness, and his ability to anticipate the play further compensates- he is usually in the right place, at the right time for maximum effectiveness, and can push defenders back on the rush. Bjorck has earned the trust of his coaches with his stalwart defensive play, and is often trusted with important face-offs in his team’s territory, and plays on the PK. His ability to read the play with-and-without the puck gives him staunch positioning, and he displays intensity in hounding puck-carriers- he is a pesky, disruptive presence on the backcheck. While his handling isn't quite elite, he manages to maintain control under duress, and has confidence in his carries; his deception skills allow him to weave in, and out of traffic unscathed, and he can manipulate defenders into going in the opposite direction to his trajectory. Look for him in the top-10, and maybe even the top-5.
Last edited by Sandman; 03-17-2026 at 01:45 PM.
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I'm all in on Bjorck after McKenna. I absolutely cannot emphasize enough how the combination of his GAF, his Motor and his skillset are precisely what makes a great to amazing NHLer. And 5'10" is perfectly average size for the modern NHL.
This kids a dog on a bone 365.
__________________ "Everybody's so desperate to look smart that nobody is having fun anymore" -Jackie Redmond
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I'm all in on Bjorck after McKenna. I absolutely cannot emphasize enough how the combination of his GAF, his Motor and his skillset are precisely what makes a great to amazing NHLer. And 5'10" is perfectly average size for the modern NHL.
So many players I want on the Flames based on the content in this thread. I think all the following players are high-reward and would be thrilled to grab a few of them:
-Bjorck
-Carels
-Morozov
-Cullen
-Chrenko
-Pugachyov
-Cali
-Elofsson
