2. Ethan Wyttenbach (No. 144 overall, 2025)
While he hasn't made it to the NHL yet, a key part of success for a General Manager in the NHL is finding full-time NHLers late in the draft, and it appears as though that's what Conroy did a year ago with Ethan Wyttenbach. Due to injuries in the pre-draft process and question marks over his size (5-foot-10, 178 pounds), Wyttenbach slid all the way to the fifth round, and there, Conroy took a major chance on the offensive upside.
That paid off immediately, as Wyttenbach became a genuine Hobey Baker Award candidate in his freshman season, leading the NCAA in scoring with 25 goals and 59 points in 40 games played for Quinnipiac.
There were some suggestions that he could make the jump to the professional level ahead of the 2026/27, but then he decided to head back to college for this season, but if he can follow up an impressive season with an even better one this year, he'll solidify himself as a key piece of the Flames future.
1. Matvei Gridin (No. 28 overall, 2024)
While the focus heading into the 2024 NHL Draft was the pick the Flames used to land Zayne Parekh, the Flames may have landed the bigger star with the No. 28 overall pick, the one acquired in the Elias Lindholm trade with the Vancouver Canucks.
At the time, many analysts considered it a reach as they selected Russian winger Matvei Gridin following a dominant performance in the USHL in 2023/24. He followed that up with an incredible performance in the QMJHL with Shawinnigan, posting 36 goals and 79 points in just 56 games played in 2024/25.
Quickly, Gridin then made his way to the NHL, and after tearing it up in the AHL, he solidified himself as a top-six winger for the Flames moving forward, picking up 6 goals and 20 points in 37 games of his rookie campaign. With good size, immense hockey IQ, a calm presence on the ice and arguably the most talent of anyone on the Flames team, and given that he's already produced well in the NHL, as of right now, it looks like he has a better chance than anyone to be a star on this team.
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