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FN Draft Profiles: Simas Ignatavicius could make Lithuanian history with the Calgary Flames
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Photo credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Paige Humphrey
Jun 23, 2026, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 23, 2026, 01:49 EDT
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Simas Ignatavičius is not only a dual American and Lithuanian citizen, but he is also currently playing professional hockey in Switzerland in the National League.
Ignatavicius was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States, but has spent most of his minor hockey career playing in Europe. Steadily being placed in the late first round of the 2026 NHL draft, he is on track to be Lithuania’s third-ever NHL draft pick. 
Could Ignatavicius become the first Lithuanian selected by the Calgary Flames?

What do scouts think of Simas Ignatavicius?

Here’s what Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis wrote about Ignatavicius in his May rankings:
We don’t typically see many prospects coming out of the top league in Switzerland. But the Lithuanian-born winger has drawn a ton of attention from scouts this year. He’s a 6-foot-3 forward having a solid season in Switzerland’s top league and has been downright dominant internationally. Ignatavicius is so versatile, finding so many different ways to impact the play both with and without the puck. He’s good defensively, has a great shot release, has obvious muscle and is incredibly skilled, too. Is Ignatavicius notable because he’s a big dude playing pro hockey? Or is there something truly here? That’s the question.
Jason Bukala of Sportsnet and Pro Hockey Group had this assessment in his March rankings:
Ignatavicius is a dual American/Lithuanian citizen who’s been developing at the U20 and pro levels in Switzerland. He’s an interesting prospect who contributed 7G-4A in his first eight games at Thurgau while seeing between 16-19 minutes of ice time. Ignatavicius is an excellent skater in open ice and equal parts shooter/distributor. 
He’s especially creative on the power play, working off the weak side flank and up top in the offensive zone. When Ignatavicius isn’t producing offence, he makes sure he’s above the play and tracking the entire 200 feet. 
Ignatavicius, a right handed forward, had an unusual, but memorable start to his hockey career, somehow involving pizza. 
He spent most of the hockey during the 2021-25 seasons playing on various levels of the Genève Future Hockey teams. In the 2025-26 season, he was signed to the Genève-Servette HC in the National League, where he acquired 13 points in 52 games. He re-signed with the team for the 2026-27 season with conditions, reportedly based on how the draft goes. 

How did Simas Ignatavicius produce in 2025-26?

This past season in the National League, he was named the Swiss NL rookie of the year, and was ranked at number 10 of all international skaters during the draft combine. 
Alongside playing with his regular team, he made multiple appearances at different WJC tournaments throughout his career. He played for Lithuania U18 in the WJC-18 D2A for both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 tournaments, followed by playing for Lithuania U18  D1B as the assistant captain in 2023-24. After another year playing on that team, he played for Lithuania U20 at the WJC-20 D2A tournaments in both 2023-24 and 2024-25, gaining another title as assistant captain at the 2025 tournament. 

What could Simas Ignatavicius bring to the Calgary Flames?

Ignatavicius has been described as an “energy forward,” who would bring dynamic a unique force to the team, and even the potential to be a special teams addition. He wins puck battles easily and has a forecheck that is bound to gain attention from the opposing team. Being a force in front of the net, he would be another asset in adding more points on the stat sheet for the game. More notably, he would bring much needed size – at 6’3″ and 198 pounds – that the team is lacking currently. Lastly, he is a right handed forward, which is needed on the Flames almost all of the time. 

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