The 2021 NHL Draft could have been an all-time failure for the Calgary Flames if not for one player. The Flames ended up making a total of eight picks, including four in the first three rounds. With that type of haul, an NHL team should expect to bring in at least a couple full-time NHLers when it’s all said and done. Right now, that looks like a long shot for the 2021 draft class. We’re only four years out since draft day, but this class already looks like one of the worst in franchise history.

13th overall – Matt Coronato

Thank goodness for Matt Coronato. Without him looking like a legitimate top-six forward at the NHL level, this class would be devoid of talent. Given that Coronato is the Flames’ fifth-highest draft pick from the past 14 years, it would’ve been a nightmare if he didn’t pan out. The good news is that, pretty much from day one, Coronato has looked like a solid bet to become an impact player in the NHL.

In his D+1 season, he made the jump to the NCAA with Harvard and immediately made an impact as a freshman, leading his team in goals with 18 and points with 36. The following year, in his D+2 season, he once again posted 36 points, but increased his goal total to 20.

In his D+3 season as a 21-year-old, Coronato made his jump to pro hockey. He spent the year split between the Flames and Wranglers. While he struggled in the NHL with only nine points in 34 games, he dominated the AHL level with 42 points in only 41 games as the only point-per-game player on the roster.

This past season, Coronato became a regular on the Flames roster and never looked back. He finished his first full NHL season with an impressive 24 goals and 47 points, finishing fourth on the Flames in scoring. After signing a big six-year extension, Coronato looks like he’ll be a core piece of the Flames’ future and a potential 30-goal threat every year. For a 13th overall pick, this looks like a homerun.

45th overall – William Stromgren

Credit where it’s due, William Stromgren has quietly become an intriguing prospect for the Flames after being written off by most people as recently as last season. Stromgren has unfortunately always been tied to the Flames’ indefensible decision to pass on Connor Zary’s junior teammate and current NHLer Logan Stankoven, who went just two picks later. While likely never a player of Stankoven’s caliber, Stromgren still has a shot at becoming an NHL player one day.

His time in the Flames organization did get off to a rough start, failing to hit the point-per-game rate in Sweden’s junior league in his D+1 season, and then registering a measly eight points in 45 games in the SHL during his D+2 season. Since coming to North America, though, Stromgren has taken massive leaps. This past year in his D+4 season, he took a huge jump with 49 points in 70 games to finish fourth on the Wranglers in scoring.

Still just 21 years old, Stromgren’s recent success in the AHL is a good sign for his future. For a 45th overall pick, you’d certainly like some more upside, but Stromgren still has a good shot of becoming a depth piece in the NHL at the very least.

77th overall – Cole Huckins

With their first of two third-rounders, the Flames picked centre Cole Huckins. Huckins showed some promise in his draft year with 32 points in 33 QMJHL games, but it was downhill from there. In his D+1 season, Huckins managed just 26 points in 41 QMJHL games, a disastrous output for a top 80 draft pick in what was his third season in junior.

His 58 points in 64 games the next year in his D+2 season ranked sixth on his QMJHL team that year, a disappointment considering his draft spot. For context, teammate Joshua Roy, who was a fifth-round pick in the same draft, posted 99 points, while undrafted 2021 eligible forward Israel Mianscum posted 61 points.

His D+3 season was the final nail in the coffin for Huckins, who saw a drop in production to just 47 points in 65 games as a 20-year-old in the QMJHL. Huckins wasn’t offered a contract by the Flames and is currently playing Canadian University hockey.

89th overall – Cameron Whynot

With their second pick of the third round, the Flames selected defenceman Cameron Whynot. In what seemed like a decent bet at the time, this pick turned into a complete whiff. Whynot was coming off a very solid draft year in which he posted 23 points in 34 games from the blueline in the QMJHL. Unfortunately, he was just never able to build off that season, in large part due to numerous injuries.

Whynot’s production fell off a cliff in his D+1 year, seeing his point totals drop to just 17 points in 45 games. The following year, in his D+2 year, he saw a modest increase with 25 points in 48 games, once again missing double-digit games due to injury. Considering he was playing on a loaded Mooseheads roster and was 19 years old, Whynot’s production just wasn’t good enough. The Flames decided not to hand him a contract, and he’s currently playing Canadian University hockey.

141st overall – Cole Jordan

The Flames’ next pick came in the fifth round, selecting defenceman Cole Jordan out of the WHL. Like Whynot, this seemed like a good pick given the draft spot. Jordan was viewed as a potential sleeper at the time, coming off a short 23-game season in the QMJHL in which he posted 10 points.

Unfortunately, Jordan was plagued with a number of serious injuries after that. In his D+1 season, he managed just 36 games and only 11 points. The next year, in his D+2 season, he was held to only 17 games due to injury, putting up seven points. All in all, he missed a whopping 83 games due to injury over his two post-draft seasons. Unsurprisingly, the Flames did not sign him, and he’s currently also playing Canadian University hockey.

168th overall – Jack Beck

After his entire draft year in the OHL was wiped out due to COVID-19, the Flames’ gamble on Jack Beck in the sixth round looked like a good one at first. In his first taste of OHL action since his D-1 season, Beck shot out of the gate with an impressive 44 points in 36 games in 2021–22. He even earned an invite to Canada’s World Junior summer camp that year.

In what could’ve been a statement season for Beck in 2022–23, he struggled to build off his strong D+1 year and missed multiple weeks of action due to injury. All said, he tallied 53 points in 45 games in his D+2 year, a disappointing season in what was expected to be a breakout year.

In a somewhat surprising move, the Flames decided not to sign him to an NHL contract. Beck has posted some decent results since then. He finally stayed healthy and put up 85 points in the OHL in his D+3 year, and then signed an AHL deal with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. This past season, he was a point-per-game player in the ECHL and recently re-signed in the AHL for the 2025–26 season.

173rd overall – Lucas Ciona

A dart throw pick in the sixth round, Lucas Ciona has turned out as expected for a 173rd overall pick. After being drafted, Ciona put up some decent numbers on a stacked Seattle Thunderbirds team with 75 points. Although at 20 years old, anything less would’ve been a catastrophic failure.

He made the jump to the AHL in his D+3 season, putting up a very modest six points in 55 games. This past year, he took a bit of a step forward with 22 points in 68 games, but not nearly enough to garner any attention. Now 22 years old and showing no signs of major improvement, Ciona seems bound to be a career AHLer at best.

205th overall – Arsenii Sergeev

Could Arsenii Sergeev be another seventh-round gem for the Flames between the pipes? The 22-year-old has been dynamite every single season since being drafted. Sergeev has posted a save percentage of over .910 in all three seasons since being drafted, and he recently had his best year yet with a 19–9–4 record and a .919 save percentage with Penn State in the NCAA.

Goalies are extremely hard to predict—especially ones taken in the seventh round—but Sergeev has done nothing but impress since being selected by the Flames at both the USHL and NCAA level. The jump to pro hockey will be a major test for Sergeev, but right now, this looks like a potentially great find in the seventh round.

Related