2. LHD Carson Carels
While the Flames just acquired another defenseman, the Flames have been clear that they will take best player available at No. 6 overall, and if that means that left-shot defenseman Carson Carels falls, the team will happily take the Prince George Cougars star. This past season, Carels dominated the WHL competition posting 20 goals and 73 points in 58 games played, and with his physicality, speed and supreme confidence, he'd be a home run pick for Calgary.
With Zayne Parekh seemingly moving to the left ahead of the 2026/27 season, it's unclear where Carels would fit in to future plans, but given how talented he is, if he could develop properly, a top-four starting off with Parekh, Nemec and Carels would be incredible for the Flames.
1. C Viggo Bjorck
Viggo Bjorck has had plenty of fans here in Calgary over the past 12 months, and after the team traded for Simon Nemec just three days out from round one of the 2026 NHL Draft, the odds of him being drafted by the Flames have drastically increased. Obviously, there's question marks over the size at 5-foot-9, but there's no such worries over his physicality, as he showed he could play against the best in the world when he represented Sweden at the 2026 IIHF World Championship.
The numbers in the SHL don't jump off the page, but in juniors Bjorck was absolutely dominant, with 8 goals and 20 points in just 9 playoff games for Djurgardens this past season. Ultimately, there's always going to be a risk drafting a player of his height early in the first-round, but with so much talent, hockey IQ, physicality and skill, he feels like a player that teams could regret passing on.
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