2026 NHL Draft Thread

[Calgary4LIfe]

I think the Rucks will be targets for Vancouver, even if we disregard their history with twins. They also have the picks to do it. They have the Wild's 1st round pick, and they have 2 second round picks that they can use to move up for a late 1st.


Calgary is better positioned as right now the Vegas pick is better than the Wild's, but we will have to see how the playoffs go. Flames now have 4 seconds, so they have more ammo to move up and draft the Rucks.


Everything I see has the Rucks moving up the ladder into the 1st round. Will be interesting to see what team(s) grab them, where they get drafted, and if a team makes a move to grab both or not. What is also interesting is that they are twins, but they have different handedness. I wouldn't mind if the Flames walked out of the draft on day 1 with both of them (plus of course whomever they draft early with their own pick), and still having 2 second round picks to use for the next day.

[looooob]

Originally Posted by StrykerSteve

Historically, you can almost count on one hand the number of players that have ever been drafted by the Flames organization that have hit 100 points in a season prior to jumping into the NHL. It’s extremely rare. If Calgary gets three of them in one draft, that would be pretty nuts and might just signify the turning point the organization has been looking for the past 30 years.

I went through the exercise last year when Parekh hit 100 in junior, it has not happened often.

Fleury
Nieuwendyk
Hull
Lombardi
Ryder
Mangiapane (did it twice! )
Tkachuk
Kerins
Parekh

I think that’s all of them. As the list can attest to, it’s not a guarantee of anything, but three in one draft would be crazy.

just making sure I understand the excercise- this is someone who had a 100 point season prior to being drafted? I don't think that's possible for Nieuwy, is it? Stillman had a 100 point year prior to being drafted but not in his draft year- like McKenna. Denis Cyr did it several times- I feel like I'm not thinking about this the right way- sorry in advance

[StrykerSteve]

You’re right, it’s been a while since I did the exercise and might have gotten a few mixed up in my brain. I think it was Roberts, not Nieuwendyk. And yup, I missed Stillman. >.<

Point stands though, 100 point scorers are super rare throughout this franchise’s history.

[Wastedyouth]

Liam and Marcus are opposite handed. Perfect winger pairing.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Mar.6th: LW Adam Nemec, brother of New Jersey Devils defenseman Simon Nemec, put his game on his display for fans in North America with his appearance in the most recent edition of the World Junior Championship, where he tied for second in scoring on Team Slovakia, with 5 points (1 goal) in 5 games. After the conclusion of that event, he joined the Sudbury Wolves for the stretch-run, and settled in rather quickly with 10 goals and 25 points in 23 games so far in his rookie campaign. Unless something catastrophic occurs, the Wolves will make the OHL Playoffs- but they are in tough, as they currently sit 16th-overall out of 20 teams, and are 14th in goals-for (190 in 60 games), with their first-round opponent likely to be the mighty Brantford Bulldogs. Nemec has made two appearances for Slovakia in the U-18 Worlds, picking up 2 points in 7 games in the 2024 tournament, and 4 points in 7 games in the 2025 edition, and suited up for his home-country in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup (1 point in 4 games). Before joining up with Sudbury, he was in the midst of the 30th-best season all-time by a player 18 years old-and-under in Slovakia's top men's league, with 15 points in 28 games. The season prior, his 7 points in 20 games put him in a tie for the 28th-best season of all-time by a U-18 player in that circuit. Nemec is older by draft standards, with an October 18, 2007 birthday, and Central Scouting ranks him at #29 for European Skaters in their Mid-Term List.

Nemec (6'1",176lbs) is a skilled winger who takes pride in playing the most flawless defensive game he possibly can, employing a bit of power along the way, with a fairly well-balanced offensive approach- although he leans a bit into pass-first territory. While he's able to push pace on the merits of his high workrate and relentless motor, his skating is somewhere in the "average" category, with improvements needed in the explosiveness of his first few strides, and his acceleration; his top-speed is fine, and he will get quicker as he builds up his lower-body strength. Nemec may be a little physically underdeveloped, but he's uncommonly strong and plays a physical game that involves winning board-battles, bulling his way through traffic, and fighting through contact. A nightmare on the forecheck, he manages to be a pesky, disruptive presence for puck-carriers and defensemen in retrievals, with his deft stickwork, his reach, and his willingness to throw stiff bodychecks to regain possession and re-start the cycle. Nemec's handling is perhaps not flashy or dynamic, but it's reliable, and he protects even better to shield the puck from checks while making his way up the ice, feeding teammates connective passes through transition, and working give-and-goes to facilitate entries; his game is fairly simple and straightforward.

It's hard to call him a true play-driver in the offensive zone, but he reads the play at an advanced level, and reacts rapidly to what he's given, with mostly quick, short passes to link-up plays, followed by intelligent relocation off-puck to spread out the play. His passing game is effective, but best kept simple, and though he owns elevated vision, he really only flashes high-end creativity. As a goal-scorer, Nemec is highly opportunistic, finding pockets of space around the net to sneak into, with the timing to be there at just the right moment to capitalize on second-chances, and clean up garbage in the crease. This simplistic approach to offense may not sound exciting, but it will benefit him when he gets to higher levels. On the backcheck, Nemec is usually the first forward back in the zone, plying pro-style habits, physical pressure, and advanced details to recover possession and get the play flowing in the opposite direction. He shows solid engagement, staunch positioning, and elevated awareness- he helps his D down low, and will switch off when they have to leave their post. If he doesn't make it to an NHL-team's top-six, he could easily be a checker in the show; his high-end hockey sense shines through in the defensive zone. Look for him in the 2nd-round.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Mar.6th: LW Victor Plante was rated "B" by Central Scouting to start the season, and he showed a little of why in the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge, scoring the series-clinching goal for the Americans in "Super-Overtime". Derek Plante's son, and brother to NHL-draftees Max and Zam, tallied with a laser of a wrister from the high slot after winning a puck along the boards. Plante is the top goal-scorer on the NTDP's U-18 Team, with 17 tallies in 40 games, and is 4th in points with 32- 10 of those points have come in 10 games against USHL competition. His 61 PIM ranks 3rd on the team, behind Casey Mutryn and Parker Trottier. He will be joining his older brothers next season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and is #36 on Central Scouting's List of North American Skaters in their Mid-Term Rankings.

Though only listed at 5'9.5", and 163lbs, he's competitive, energetic, and works hard- like his Father. He's not afraid to engage physically, or play through contact, and most scouts say that, despite his lack of ideal size, his game is projectable. While he might be a sparkplug, and has well-defined skill, he plays the game like a miniature power-forward on the merits of his high-end motor, and his relentless determination; there is very little flashiness in his approach. He's more quick than outright fast, with a bit of a choppy stride, but you wouldn't really notice by watching him, as he's so active and unrelentingly competitive; he does have a bit of an explosive burst in small-areas though, particularly when he needs to beat a defender to a loose puck. With overwhelming tenacity, he pursues pucks like a dog-on-a-bone throughout all 200-feet of ice, working to suppress his adversaries' forward progress, while pressuring them vigorously to relieve them of possession. In the defensive zone, he is a smart and detailed disruptor, with intensity and solid positioning, who helps in turning rushes against into breakouts going the other way, making himself a pesky, agitating presence for attackers. Plante shows his high-end IQ in his off-puck game, and he knows where to be in the offensive zone to make an impact; he arrives in high-danger areas at just the time with his stick on the ice to receive the pass, sneaks into the slot for second-chance opportunities, and will even crash the net like he was 6'3". Despite his size, he gets pucks off the wall to the slot with regularity, be it by carry, by shot, or by pass- he protects well, and has a nice array of deception and one-on-one trickery to manipulate opponents. With the skillset and mentality of a shooter, he will drive the inside to shoot, knows how to use screens to his advantage, owns a powerful one-timer from the hash-marks, and has a lethal release on his wicked wrister. Plante is not just a one-dimensional goal-scorer though, as he can make plays in small areas, uses delays and cut-backs to open space for short-distance passes, and will use give-and-go sequences to spread out the ice. Look for him in the second-round.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Mar.6th: The rankings for "A" rated RD Juho Piiparainen (6'1";201lbs) have been over the first-round, but there was a time when some were saying that he would be the second defenseman taken in the draft, after Keaton Verhoeff; Craig Button had him at fourth-overall earlier in the season. Central Scouting has him as #6 for European Skaters in their Mid-Term Rankings currently, and Button now has him at #12. Pips has played the most games by a U-18 defenseman in the Liiga this year at 29 and counting (the next-highest has 6 games), and he's put up 3 assists with +6, looking like he belongs and appearing poised. His 29 games are the 29th-most by a U-18 defenseman all-time in the Liiga, and his +6 is 6th-best in the league's history for a player of his age group. He looked like a stud in last summer's Hlinka Gretzky Cup, posting 3 points in 5 games, and was virtually dominant in all situations. He also took part in the World Juniors for Team Finland this past New Years, and while he wasn't as dominant in that tournament as he was in the Hlinka, he finished in a tie for third on the team, and 12th-overall, with a +6.

Pips was Mr. Everything for the Finns in the Hlinka tournament, executing his game to perfection in both ends of the rink, contributing well on both special teams, and tilting the ice with his excellence in transition; he's confident and poised under pressure with the puck, and a calming presence on the backend. In Finland's U20 League this season, against Junior-aged competition, he registered a hefty 11 points in 13 games, which still ranks 50th in the scoring race for D- but his 0.85 ppg is 5th-overall for blueliners, and 1st for U-18 defensemen by a large margin (Samu Alalauri is 2nd, with a 0.66 ppg). He flashes big-time offensive skill, and isn't afraid to join the rush, or activate deep into the zone to create opportunities. Going the other way, Pips is excellent against the rush with his ability to angle opponents to the boards to separate man from puck with his deft stickwork, and he's a play-killer in the defensive zone with how well he reads and anticipates the play. He recovers pucks aplenty, and his breakouts are usually on point. His skating needs another gear or two, his shot needs better power and precision, and improved physicality would go a long way, but Piiparinen is a D who can log huge minutes in important situations, and provide his team with solid play all over the ice. He is already playing a mature, pro-style game against men, with good habits, and a keen attention to detail. He's also quite young, with an August 10th birthday- definitely one to watch as the draft draws closer. Look for him in the top-20 this summer.