The Calgary Flames have made another pick on the second day of the 2026 NHL Draft.

With Ottawa’s second-round pick, 55th overall, acquired from the Utah Mammoth in the MacKenzie Weegar trade, the Flames have selected Russian forward Alan Shaikhlislamov.

Shaikhlislamov was ranked 25th among International skaters by the NHL’s Central Scouting Service. He was ranked 91st by Daily Faceoff and was ranked 52nd by Elite Prospects. He was a favourite of friend of the site Byron Bader of Hockey Prospecting, whose statistical model had Shaikhlislamov as the 22nd-ranked player in the 2026 draft class.

One of the youngest players in the 2026 draft class, Shaikhlislamov is a September 2008 birthday – if he was born two weeks later, he’d be in the 2027 draft class. He’s a left shot forward listed at 6’0″ and 190 pounds. He played this past season primarily with Tolpar Ufa in the MHL, Russia’s top junior league.

In 2024-25, as a 16-year-old, Shaikhlislamov had 20 goals and 33 points in 46 games in the MHL. In 2025-26, as a 17-year-old, he had 18 goals and 35 points in 31 games in the MHL, increasing his per-game scoring rate by a good amount. He also made his Kontinental Hockey League debut with Salvat Yulaev Ufa in September, playing 11:22 in a 5-2 loss to Avangard Omsk.

Likely returning to Russia for this coming season, Shaikhlislamov represents an interesting value proposition in the second round of the draft.

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