As we head into the 2025–26 season, it’s time to look at an updated depth chart at each position in the Calgary Flames prospect pool. After a couple of years focusing on youth and retooling, the Flames possess one of the top prospect pipelines in the entire NHL.

That said, there are still some clear gaps in the Flames prospect pool at the moment, particularly when it comes to high-end elite talent and blue-chip prospects. Here’s where things stand at each position heading into the season.

*For this pipeline, I’ll only consider players who are under the age of 23 and have not established themselves as NHL regulars.

Winger

The Flames certainly don’t lack bodies on the wing. After using numerous draft picks over the past couple years on wingers, the Flames have a plethora of prospects at the position. With that said with the graduation of Matt Coronato, the Flames are currently missing any truly dynamic prospects on the wing.

PlayerHandednessAgeCurrent LeagueSamuel HonzekLeft20AHLAydar SunievLeft20AHLWilliam StromgrenLeft22AHLMatvei GridinLeft19AHLLucas CionaLeft22AHLParker BellLeft22AHLLuke MisaLeft19NCAAAndrew BashaLeft19WHLJacob BattagliaLeft19OHLTrevor HoskinRight21NCAAEthan WyttenbachRight18NCAAAidan LaneRight18NCAA

The most notable names to watch here are Aydar Suniev, Matvei Gridin, Andrew Basha, and Jacob Battaglia. After those four, the upside drops off quite a bit. Suniev and Gridin in particular are the most interesting names to watch among this group. Both are expected to be key offensive players for the Wranglers this season in what will be their first pro seasons. Suniev is coming off a point per game year in the NCAA, while Gridin recently won the QMJHL rookie of the year award. Both carry second-line upside if they can continue to work on their game.

Basha and Battaglia meanwhile are both set to return to the CHL in 2025–26, and should both be among the highest scoring wingers in their respective leagues. Battaglia burst onto the scene this past year with 90 points for the Kingston Frontenacs, and now has the task of proving that wasn’t a fluke. If he has yet another strong season in the OHL, the Flames may have a potential middle-six winger here.

Basha will look to shake off the injury bug this season in the WHL after being limited to just 25 games in 2024–25. Arguably the most overlooked winger prospect right now due to his injured riddled D+1 season, Basha has a lot of talent it will be very interesting to see how he fares this year in Medicine Hat without Gavin McKenna.

In terms of NHL ready prospects, Sam Honzek is the closest to the NHL among Flames prospects on the wing. In fact he already earned five NHL games last year before getting injured and sent down. The issue is Honzek has had back-to-back injury riddled, disappointing seasons since being drafted. This coming season will be a massive one for him to prove he still caries real upside. For now, he projects as more of a bottom-six NHLer at best.

The next closest name to the NHL would be William Stromgren, although at 22 years old time is running out. Stromgren has taken a slow but steady path since being drafted, and was recently one of the Wranglers best wingers in 2024–25. The problem is his upside is quite low, and at this point he’s in danger of being passed over by younger, more exciting players. If he does make the NHL, it’ll likely be as a fourth liner.

Lastly, Luke Misa deserves a quick mention as he makes the switch to the NCAA to play with McKenna at Penn. State. Still a bit of a long shot to become an NHLer one day due to his size and profile, Misa is an intriguing prospect given his skill level.

Centre

Once a gigantic weakness in the Flames pipeline, selecting two centres in the first round of the 2025 draft has helped add some much-needed upside to this group. With that said, there’s still plenty of work to be done.

PlayerHandednessAgeCurrent LeagueCole ReschnyLeft18NCAACullen PotterLeft18NCAATrevor HoskinRight21NCAAJaden LipinskiRight20NCAACade LittlerRight21NCAAThe StockseliusLeft18J20 Nationell

The Flames centre pipeline can best be described as Cole Reschny, Cullen Potter and then everyone else. The aforementioned duo are really the only centres in the entire system with top-six upside. Cole Reschny very well may be the Flames’ 1C of the future at this rate. With no further reinforcements likely coming anytime soon, there’s a ton of pressure on Reschny to be the guy down the middle one day. The good news is he has the talent.

Potter meanwhile very likely becomes a winger at the pro level due to his size, but for now, the Flames are hoping he can stick down the middle. A dynamic talent with elite skating, Potter has a ton of question marks around his size and overall game, but he has very real top-six upside. The hope is he continues to develop as a centre one day.

After those two, the talent level drops off dramatically. To be honest, the only other name worth mentioning and the only other player with real NHL upside is Theo Stockselius. The 2025 second-round pick flew under the radar due to Reschny and Potter grabbing the headlines, but he possesses some sneaky upside and could be a good bottom-six centre one day.

The bottom line is that Reschny, Potter, and Stockselius gave the Flames centre pipeline a big boost this summer, but the overall group is still a couple ofhigh-end pieces away from where it should be. With both of the Flames top centres in their mid-30s, this pipeline will be heavily relied on to pick up the slack within a couple of years. The Flames future very well may depend on how well Reschny and Potter develop.

Defence

The Flames pipeline on defence is certainly a strength within the organization at the moment. Not only is the organization’s only true blue-chip prospect on the blueline, they also have a few other intriguing names on defence.

PlayerHandednessAgeCurrent LeagueZayne ParekhRight19NHLHunter BrzustewiczRight20AHLArtem GrushnikovLeft22AHLEtienne MorinLeft20AHLHenry MewsRight19NCAAEric JamiesonLeft20NCAAAxel HurtigLeft20WHLMace’o PhillipsLeft18USHLJakob LeanderRight18U20 Nationell

The Flames pipeline on defence is all about Zayne Parekh. The 2024 ninth overall pick is among the very best defence prospects in the entire world, and is the only blue-chipper in the organization. After a pair of historic OHL seasons, Parekh is set to make the jump right to the NHL this coming season. While he may take a couple of years to fine-tune his game, he has all the makings of an elite number-one defenceman for a long time.

After Parekh, there’s a duo of similar right-shot offensive defencemen in Hunter Brzustewicz and Henry Mews. Brzustewicz is a name to watch in the coming year or two. After a strong rookie season in the AHL, he’s arguably the most NHL ready name on this list. While not as offensively gifted as Parekh, his overall game could make him a solid second-pairing defender one day.

Mews meanwhile is an intriguing name. Once a forward, he carries lots of offensive upside but has even more drawbacks when it comes to defence and effort level. Heading to the NCAA could be huge for his development as he continues to work on his overall game. He could be a power play specialist in the NHL one day.

On the left side, there is far less talent. The main name to watch is Etienne Morin. The 2023 second-round pick has been stuck in the shadow of flashier players in the system, but is worthy of his own hype. After a successful QMJHL career, he’ll be making the jump to the AHL this season. The hope is that he can become a good second- or third-pairing defender in the NHL one day and complement the Flames offensively gifted right-shot defenders.

No one else in the system realistically has top-four potential. Players like Artem Grushnikov, Eric Jamieson and Mace’o Phillips are outside shots to become depth defenders one day, but the odds of any making the NHL full-time are slim at the moment.

Goaltender

PlayerAgeCurrent LeagueArseni Sergeyev22AHLKirill Zarubin20MHLYegor Yegorov20MHL

No position is of less concern in the pipeline than goaltending at the moment. After locking up 24-year-old franchise goaltender Dustin Wolf to a mega seven-year contract, the Flames should be set between the pipes for the next decade. With that said, they still have a solid pool of young goalies who could back up Wolf one day.

The name to watch here is Arseni Sergeyev. The former USHL goaltender of the year was lights out during his college career, finishing with a save percentage of at least .912 in all three seasons. He’s now set to make the jump to the AHL in 2025–26, and it will be very interesting to see how his results translate to the pro game. If he’s able to continue to succeed, he could be a solid NHL backup in a couple of years.

Lots of work still to do

There’s no doubt that Craig Conroy and his scouting staff have done a great job rebuilding the Flames once depleted pipeline. Conroy and his staff have made improvements at every position over the past two years, with the Flames now possessing one of the top prospect pipelines in the NHL.

With that said, the Flames have a very clear hole when it comes to high-end talent. After Parekh, there’s a sizeable drop off. With the addition of a couple blue chippers, this pipeline would look even stronger.

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