This week in Lapointe’s Echos, we continue our ranking of the NHL’s top prospect pools with the #6 spot: the Calgary Flames.
Key Takeaways
This week, we evaluate NHL prospect pools, with the Calgary Flames ranked 6th.
The criteria include players under the age of 23 who are not yet established in the NHL, with a focus on talent and risk.
Recent selections, such as Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin, highlight a shift toward skill and development.
The Flames’ ranking is driven by their depth and the presence of potential high-end players like Kirill Zarubin.
The future looks promising, with possible trades that could benefit the team over the coming seasons.
Top 7 NHL Prospect Pools – Calgary Flames
To be included in my analysis of each team’s pipeline, a prospect must meet two criteria: he must not be established in the NHL and must be under 23 years old (with the limit extended to 25 for goaltenders). The focus is placed on players near the top of their organization’s depth chart, while depth pieces with limited NHL impact potential are left aside.
To view the #7-ranked team, the Nashville Predators, you can click here.
Brad Treliving didn’t leave much behind for Craig Conroy when he departed. That said, there are clearly foundational pieces in place that have allowed—and will continue to allow—the general manager to build something solid for the future. The organization struggled to fully embrace a rebuild, but that appears to have changed since January 2026. Several key pieces have moved on, including Nazem Kadri, Rasmus Andersson, and MacKenzie Weegar, primarily in exchange for future assets such as picks and prospects. The work is far from finished, but the team is heading in the right direction in my view.
When it comes to development, the organization appears to prioritize talent above all else. The focus is on offense, dynamism, and skill—similar to the approach taken by the Carolina Hurricanes over the past decade. The shift in philosophy is quite evident. Conroy took over in May 2023, just before that year’s draft, and didn’t have much time to implement his vision. However, starting in 2024, the player profiles selected changed drastically.
In 2023, Samuel Honzek and Etienne Morin were viewed as well-rounded players with good size in their draft year. In 2024, the Flames shifted and targeted Zayne Parekh, Matvei Gridin, Andrew Basha, Henry Mews, Kirill Zarubin, Luke Misa, and Jacob Battaglia (since traded). All of these selections push the needle heavily toward talent—but also toward risk. The organization is betting on development and maturity to stabilize these high-upside picks.
Lapointe’s Echos is a recurring series of articles addressing current hockey news. The topics covered are quite broad and touch on the Montreal Canadiens, the draft, the NHL, trades, social media debates, and more.
Drafted NHL Prospects that Pays off
So far, it’s paying off. Zayne Parekh projects as a high-end offensive defenseman in the NHL, while Matvei Gridin has already played 37 NHL games, producing 20 points. It will be interesting to see next season whether Kirill Zarubin gets promoted to the VHL or comes to North America. He remained in the MHL, likely applying pressure to secure a contract with his Russian team (which he did not sign). Regardless, his numbers are outstanding, and my colleague Mathieu Paradis was right to be high on him in 2024.
In 2025, the Flames selected Cole Reschny, Cullen Potter, Theo Stockselius, Maceo Phillips, and Ethan Wyttenbach. The first two are extremely intelligent and responsible players who had strong seasons in the NCAA. The Swedish forward was dominating the J20 Nationell before suffering an injury in October. Upon returning in January, he was quickly recalled to the SHL after just two games (5 points) and finished the season there. In March, he returned to junior for the playoffs and dominated (20 points in 11 games). Ethan Wyttenbach, meanwhile, led the NCAA with 59 points in 40 games during his 18-year-old season—a major surprise selection by the Flames in the 5th round of the 2025 draft.
The Flames rank ahead of the Nashville Predators due to superior depth, as well as the presence of a potential #1 goaltender in Kirill Zarubin. Zayne Parekh and Cole Reschny project as long-term top-four—possibly top-pairing—defensemen and top-six forwards within the organization. Matvei Gridin is likely to settle into a second- or third-line offensive role. His progression has been impressive, especially considering his struggles with defensive play and consistency in his draft year. As for Potter and Wyttenbach, it’s hard not to project them as top-nine offensive players.
The future looks promising at this stage. The hope is that the organization continues in this direction this summer and over at least the next two seasons. Blake Coleman, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Zach Whitecloud, and Jonathan Huberdeau are among the main pieces who could be moved. The return could prove very beneficial for the team.
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Pascal est notre expert en «scouting» pour le compte du TSLH Espoirs. Il collabore à la couverture du hockey pour TSLH depuis plusieurs années en se spécifiant sur les espoirs de la NHL. Pascal est aussi analyste et co-animateur pour le TSLH Podcast
Depuis plus de 15 ans, l’équipe de TSLH couvre l’actualité du hockey de la NHL avec rigueur. En tant que média accrédité, nous avons un accès privilégié aux activités de la AHL (Rocket de Laval) et des circuits juniors pour vous offrir une analyse d’experts sur les espoirs de la NHL.