{"id":715191,"date":"2026-06-04T19:56:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T19:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/715191\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T19:56:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T19:56:11","slug":"who-should-the-calgary-flames-draft-at-no-6-overall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/715191\/","title":{"rendered":"Who should the Calgary Flames draft at No. 6 overall?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Calgary Flames<\/a> dropped two spots in last month\u2019s draft lottery, but that doesn\u2019t mean they won\u2019t have a great shot at landing one of the top players available in the 2026 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

The Flames currently possess two picks in the first round of the upcoming draft. The better of the two is their own, which slots in at No. 6 after the results of said lottery; the other pick originally belonged to the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> and will be either No. 30 or 31 overall, depending on the result of the Stanley Cup Final.<\/p>\n

Barring any further changes, this year will mark only the fourth time that Calgary has ever made multiple first-round picks in the same draft. They haven\u2019t picked as high as No. 6 in a full decade, dating back to when they stole Matthew Tkachuk at that same spot in 2016.<\/p>\n

The Flames have never made a top-three draft pick since relocating from Atlanta in 1980. They\u2019ve always been a franchise that has had to make do with what they can get. But that\u2019s hardly to say they\u2019ll be picking from the leftovers when it\u2019s their turn at No. 6 \u2014 far from it. With their rebuild in full swing, the Flames will be looking to add a true difference-maker to their pipeline with that pick.<\/p>\n

Here are four players the Flames could draft with the No. 6 overall pick later this month.<\/p>\n

Prince George Cougars (WHL)
6\u20192\u2033, 198 lbs. \u2013 Left-handed defenseman
Born Jun. 23, 2008 in Cypress River, Man.<\/p>\n

Already a favored target among many fans in Calgary, Carels makes a ton of sense as a potential future partner for dynamic right-hander Zayne Parekh, who started to look more and more like a future star as the 2025-26 season progressed. The Flames already have a strong stable of right-shot defense prospects, including Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz, and Henry Mews; now, what they really need is a top lefty to balance out the group.<\/p>\n

Carels is fresh off a banner year with the Cougars in which he averaged nearly 28 minutes per night across 58 games. He emerged as one of the most capable and punishing shutdown defenders in the WHL and even landed a spot on Canada\u2019s World Junior team as a 17-year-old, a rare feat. He throws bone-rattling hits, but he can also skate like the wind and produce; his 73 points tied him for second on the Cougars in scoring, and he finished as one of only six WHL defenders with 20-plus goals.<\/p>\n

On paper, Carels and the Flames feel like a match made in heaven. He\u2019s a farm boy who feels a little like a new-age version of Dion Phaneuf. If the Flames want to cement themselves as one of the defensive powerhouses of the Western Conference for years to come, Carels should be their top target. He\u2019s the complete package.<\/p>\n

Djurgardens IF (SHL)
5\u201910\u201d, 176 lbs. \u2013 Right-handed center
Born March 12, 2008 in Stockholm<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hardly a coincidence that Bj\u00f6rck\u2019s stock has continued to rise amidst a playoff year defined by the dominance of smaller centers. There\u2019s every reason to believe that Bj\u00f6rck will become a center in the NHL, even at his size, and his impressive play against men (and on the top line) with Sweden at the World Championship even drew praise from Sidney Crosby<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Had Bj\u00f6rck remained at the Swedish junior level, which he dominated as a 16-year-old in 2024-25, for his draft year, he\u2019d likely be regarded as one of the very best prospects in this draft. But like projected No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna, Bj\u00f6rck faced a bigger challenge in 2025-26 and took a little while to adjust to higher-quality competition. By season\u2019s end, he had risen to Djurgardens\u2019 top line, dominated for Team Sweden at the World Juniors, and clinched a spot at the Worlds. He even returned to the U20 level for the playoffs and picked up right where he left off the previous season, posting eight goals and 20 points in just nine games.<\/p>\n

The Flames already went heavy on centers at last year\u2019s draft, picking Cole Reschny at No. 18, Cullen Potter at No. 32, and Theo Stockselius at No. 54. But they shouldn\u2019t consider themselves set at the position, and Bj\u00f6rck\u2019s skill and compete level might be too tempting for them to ignore.<\/p>\n

Jukurit (Liiga)
6\u20193\u2033, 205 lbs. \u2013 Left-handed defenseman
Born Dec. 2, 2007 in Valmeria, Lat.<\/p>\n

Smits, like Bjorck, spent nearly all of his draft year playing against men in a top-level European pro league, albeit one of slightly lower quality than the SHL. He also represented his native Latvia at the World Juniors, Winter Olympics, and World Championship, drawing numerous comparisons along the way to Moritz Seider and Victor Hedman.<\/p>\n

Like Carels, it\u2019s easy to imagine Smits fitting in nicely alongside Parekh while patrolling the Flames\u2019 blue line for years to come. Smits might lack some of Carels\u2019s offensive ability, but he\u2019s also a strong skater and particularly adept at denying opponents entry into his defensive zone. Some of his difficulties racking up points in international play, like some of his counterparts, can perhaps be attributed to the more limited talent level of his Latvian teammates, but once he arrives in North America, it wouldn\u2019t be surprising to see Smits develop into an all-situations defender who can play on both special teams.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the Flames will be at the mercy of the five teams ahead of them when it comes to who\u2019s available at No. 6. But if they\u2019re set on a lefty to pair with Parekh, and if Carels isn\u2019t there, Smits might be their best choice.<\/p>\n

University of North Dakota (NCAA)
6\u20194\u2033, 203 lbs. \u2013 Right-handed defenseman
Born June 19, 2008 in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.<\/p>\n

Of course, the Flames could always just choose to double down on righties. Once regarded as the most likely candidate to go No. 2 behind McKenna, Verhoeff\u2019s stock has fallen slightly over the last 12 months, but not so much that he isn\u2019t still considered a top prospect \u2014 and, stop us if you\u2019ve heard this before, but had he stayed in the WHL for his draft year instead of going to college, his draft stock would likely be as strong as ever.<\/p>\n

Verhoeff was nothing short of dominant as a 16-year-old with the Victoria Royals in 2024-25, scoring 21 goals and 45 points in 63 games while towering over most of his competition. But after making the jump to UND for the 2025-26 season, Verhoeff has drawn both praise and criticism for his adjustment to the collegiate level. He still managed a respectable 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in 36 games with the Fighting Hawks as a freshman, but his unremarkable skating and tendency for costly errors also put a limit on his ceiling in the eyes of many scouts.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt that Verhoeff is very different from the Flames\u2019 other right-handed defenders, and the team should have a good book on him, considering that he\u2019s played extensively with Reschny (both at UND and with Team Canada at the World Juniors). The skating is a real concern, though, and the Flames really need someone to play with Parekh. We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n

Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)
6\u20192\u2033, 183 lbs. \u2013 Left-handed center
Born June 2, 2008 in Toronto<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll wrap things up with a quick look at Malhotra, who many expect to go long before the Flames head to the podium, but is still worth discussing in the case of a surprise slide.<\/p>\n

Unlike the other four players on this list, Malhotra wasn\u2019t even on most people\u2019s radar as a potential draft pick before this season. As a 16-year-old, he managed just eight goals and 26 points in 44 games with the BCHL\u2019s Chilliwack Chiefs. That wouldn\u2019t be great production in the WHL, let alone in what is essentially a Junior A league. But after that relatively unassuming year, Malhotra made his way back to Ontario for the 2025-26 season and put himself on the map in a big way, racking up 84 points in 67 games during the regular season before adding 13 goals and 26 points in 15 playoff games.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s draft class is extremely light on centers, making the likes of Malhotra and Bjorck even more tempting to teams in need of a difference-maker down the middle. As far as Malhotra is concerned, all eyes are on the Vancouver Canucks<\/a>, whose new head coach just so happens to know him particularly well<\/a>. But this year\u2019s draft is going to be unpredictable. What if the San Jose Sharks<\/a> take a defenseman at No. 2, and Ivar Stenberg makes it to Vancouver? From there, all bets are off, and the Flames need to be prepared for every scenario.<\/p>\n

_____<\/p>\n

POST SPONSORED BY bet365<\/p>\n

_____<\/p>\n

Recently by Mike Gould<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Calgary Flames dropped two spots in last month\u2019s draft lottery, but that doesn\u2019t mean they won\u2019t have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355938,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[49,2798,48],"class_list":["post-715191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calgary","tag-ca","tag-calgary","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=715191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}