After dropping two spots in the lottery, the Calgary Flames entered the 2026 NHL Draft in possession of the No. 6 overall pick.

The Flames had picked in that spot on five previous occasions since relocating from Atlanta in 1980, and they’d selected a forward each time before. But with the 2026 draft notably replete with defencemen at the very top, it was a no-brainer for the Flames to make Carson Carels the highest-selected rearguard in their history.

Flames fans are going to adore Carels for his physicality and leadership ability. On top of that, he’s a terrific skater with a great stick, and he put up a ton of points in the WHL this past season. Carels was a favourite of our editorial team leading up to the draft, and it should come as no surprise that he ended up as the unanimous No. 1 in our 2026 Flames prospect rankings.

Under Craig Conroy, the Flames have added so many talented young defencemen who shoot right. With Zayne Parekh, Simon Nemec, Hunter Brzustewicz, and Henry Mews, the Flames almost have enough puck-moving righties to fill an entire power-play unit (and, if Brent Sutter were still the coach, they probably would).

Naturally, the Flames have been on the lookout for a top-flite left-shot D prospect to pair with one of those free-wheelers on the right side, and it just so happened that Carels fell to them at No. 6 in this year’s draft. Frankly, it’s entirely possible that Carels would’ve still been Calgary’s guy had they remained at No. 4, their pre-lottery position. He was ranked third among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, and many onlookers — including Daily Faceoff‘s Steven Ellis — viewed him as a top-five talent.

It’s easy to see why the Flames like Carels so much. He’s a Manitoba farm boy who chose to spend draft night at home with his family (and his goats). He’s also remarkably mature for his age, having served as an alternate captain for the WHL’s Prince George Cougars at age 17. And while he isn’t the biggest or strongest defenceman in Calgary’s system, he’s certainly one of the most physical. Carels regularly throws punishing checks both in open ice and along the boards, although that isn’t the only way he can separate opposing players from the puck.

Additionally, Carels is a very composed and technically gifted skater who can advance the puck up the ice in a flash; he’s the kind of player who can kill a play at one end before making a play at the other end. He has strong offensive instincts and a great shot, which helped him to reach the 20-goal mark and also tie Landon DuPont for fourth among WHL defenders with 73 points in 58 games last season. All of these attributes helped him become the youngest player to make Team Canada for the 2026 World Juniors, and one of only three draft-eligibles (the other two being Gavin McKenna and Keaton Verhoeff).

McKeen’s Hockey assistant scouting director Derek Neumeier offered up plenty of praise when we asked him for his thoughts on Carels:

First of all, go ahead and bookmark this page. The top two prospects in our rankings, Carels and Cole Reschny, are slated to play together at the University of North Dakota this year, and you’ll want to keep tabs on their games as the season progresses.

Carels could feasibly suit up for three teams in 2026-27: North Dakota, Canada, and the Flames. He’s set to play his first two NCAA games with the Fighting Hawks on the second weekend in October, travelling two hours east to take on Bemidji State before returning to Ralph Engelstad Arena the following day to complete a home-and-home against the Beavers.

Around the halfway mark of his freshman — and likely only — year at NoDak, Carels will almost certainly come up to Alberta to play for Team Canada at the World Juniors for the second consecutive year. He’s just about as much of a lock to return as anyone, and it’s entirely possible that he and Reschny could both wear letters (especially after they both did at the WJSS last month). Expect Carels to play top-pairing minutes as Canada goes for its first gold since 2023.

From there, Carels will return to Grand Forks for the back half of the season, which could culminate with the Fighting Hawks taking a serious run at an NCHC title — and, if all goes well, earning a berth in the Frozen Four. Depending on how much NoDak achieves in the spring, Carels (and Reschny) may or may not be able to join the Flames in time for their final games at the Saddledome. But whether he arrives in April or October of 2027, Carels will be worth the wait, as he projects as a future No. 1 defenceman who could end up captaining the Flames when they return to contention.

Chechelev/Benning/Littler/Lipinski [HM] | Misa/Matveiko/Leander [HM] | Lane/Laylin/Katolicky [HM] | Hurtig [HM] | Iginla [HM] | Kerins [HM] | Wiebe [HM] | Hoskin [HM] | Yegorov [HM] | Stromgren [HM] | Barabanov [HM] | Curran [20] | Sergeev [T18] | Jamieson [T18] | Zarubin [17] | Shaikhlislamov [16] | Phillips [15] | Castagna [14] | Gross [13] | Harrington [12] | Basha [11] | Stockselius [10] | Trejbal [9] | Suniev [8] | Mews [7] | Hextall [6] | Honzek [T4] | Potter [T4] | Wyttenbach [3] | Reschny [2]