On Sunday, they fell 4-3 in overtime to the Anaheim Ducks, giving them 48 points in 52 games this season. They are now seven points out of the final wild card spot, with the San Jose Sharks having two games in hand. The Flames would also need to jump over five different teams, something that could prove to be challenging.

In contrast, the Flames are right near the bottom of the league in points. Their 48 points are tied for the fourth-fewest in the league with the New York Rangers, while both the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues have 47 points. The Vancouver Canucks are the only team that’s separated themselves from the pack in the tank, as they have only 39 points.

So all of that being said, it’s never too early to take a look at mock drafts, and on Jan. 25, Daily Faceoff released their most-recent one. Keep in mind with the ever-changing standings, the picks may not be accurate.

In the Daily Faceoff article, the Flames pick third overall with their own pick and 29th overall with the Vegas Golden Knights first rounder in 2026. If the season were to end now and there was no draft lottery or playoffs, the Flames would pick fifth overall and 23rd overall with the Golden Knights’ pick.

With the third overall pick

According to Daily Faceoff, the Flames are mocked to select centre Tynan Lawrence with the third overall pick. Ivan Stenberg and Gavin McKenna likely wouldn’t be on the board at this point, so Lawerence would most likely be the best centre available.

Centre is something the Flames need to improve in their farm system, as their top three centre prospects were all selected in 2025, Cole Reschny, Cullen Potter, and Theo Stockselius. Reschny and Potter certainly have the chance to develop into top six players, but Lawrence has star potential.

Born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Lawrence has played his junior hockey in the United States. In 2024-25 with the Muskegon Lumberjacks, he scored 25 goals and 54 points as a 16-year-old, adding an additional eight goals and 18 points as the Lumberjacks won the United States Hockey League’s trophy.

The beginning of Lawrence’s 2025-26 season was also spent with the Lumberjacks, scoring 10 goals and 17 points in 13 games before joining Boston University. He’s played seven games and has scored just one goal, which isn’t too surprising for a 17-year-old playing at that level.

Drafting Lawrence would instantly make him the Flames’ best centre prospect, but this pick should be used to select the best player available with the highest ceiling. With Stenberg and McKenna likely off the board with the first two picks, right-shot defenceman Keaton Verhoeff would be my pick here.

With the 29th overall pick

As noted previously, there’s still a lot of hockey to be played in 2025-26, with both the post-season and the draft lottery impacting where the Flames will pick. With the Golden Knights’ pick, the Flames will likely pick somewhere in the 20s, but since they are currently leading their division, they were given the 29th overall pick in this mock draft.

Daily Faceoff predicts they’ll use it to select left-shot defenceman Adam Goljer, a 17-year-old from Slovakia. In Slovakia’s top league, the 6’3”, 194 lbs defender has scored four goals and 10 points in 33 games. It’s been a while since a Slovak defenceman was drafted, as you have to go back to 2023 when Maxim Štrbák was drafted in the second round by the Buffalo Sabres.

Šimon Nemec was the last Slovak defenceman drafted in the first round, as he was the New Jersey Devils’ second overall pick in 2022. In his draft year, he played with Slovak team HK Nitra, where he scored a goal and 26 points in 39 games, along with five goals and 17 points in 19 post-season games.

Although Goljer has been able to find twine quite a bit, he’s known for his defence and could pair well as a second or third pairing defenceman in the future. It certainly wouldn’t be a bad selection this late in the first round.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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