logo
FlamesNation has no direct affiliation to the Calgary Flames, Calgary Sports and Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
Flames draft day: the 2025 NHL Draft, Round 1 (5pm MT, SN)
alt
Ryan Pike
Jun 27, 2025, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 28, 2025, 03:08 EDT
Comments
The most important weekend on the hockey calendar has arrived, friends. It’s time for the 2025 NHL Draft!
This year’s draft is a decentralized affair, with prospects and league officials at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, and most of the hockey ops personnel for the 32 NHL clubs operating out of their home bases. It’ll be a bit of a different vibe than usual, but we’ll see how the NHL’s ace production staff will jazz things up.
The first 32 selections begin just after 5 p.m. MT and you can catch the excitement on Sportsnet!
Here’s what you need to know for the first round of the draft!

Calgary’s picks

The Flames have seven picks over the next two days as general manager Craig Conroy helms his third draft in the big chair:
  • 18th overall (1st round) – from New Jersey (Jacob Markstrom trade)
  • 32nd overall (1st round) – from Florida (Matthew Tkachuk trade)
  • 54th overall (2nd round) – from Colorado via Washington (Andrew Mangiapane trade)
  • 80th overall (3rd round)
  • 144th overall (5th round)
  • 176th overall (6th round)
  • 208th overall (7th round)
Via the club, Flames legend Lanny McDonald will be announcing their first-round picks.
The Flames moved their own first-round pick to Montreal in the Sean Monahan trade. The Flames moved their own second-round pick to Philadelphia in the Joel Farabee/Morgan Frost trade. Their fourth-round pick went to Florida as part of the Matthew Tkachuk trade.
If nothing changes, it’ll be the fifth time in franchise history (and third time since the relocation to Calgary) that the Flames have multiple first-round picks:
  • In 1973 they selected Tom Lysiak (2nd) and Vic Mercredi (16th)
  • In 1976 they selected Dave Shand (8th) and Harold Phillipoff (10th)
  • In 2013 they selected Sean Monahan (6th), Emile Poirier (22nd) and Morgan Klimchuk (28th)
  • In 2024 they selected Zayne Parekh (9th) and Matvei Gridin (28th)
(Historically, there’s usually one stronger pick and some weaker ones in years with multiple first-rounders.)
They’re also slated to have two first-round picks in 2026. For a team in the middle of a roster overhaul, that’s a lot of early picks in a short period of time.

Calgary’s contracts

The Flames have 19 players that can reasonably be projected as NHL players based on being on one-way NHL contracts:
  1. F Jonathan Huberdeau – $10.5 million
  2. F Nazem Kadri – $7 million
  3. F Matt Coronato – $6.5 million
  4. D MacKenzie Weegar – $6.25 million
  5. F Yegor Sharangovich – $5.75 million
  6. F Joel Farabee – $5 million
  7. F Blake Coleman – $4.9 million
  8. D Rasmus Andersson – $4.55 million
  9. F Mikael Backlund – $4.5 million
  10. F Ryan Lomberg – $2 million
  11. D Jake Bean – $1.75 million
  12. F Adam Klapka – $1.25 million
  13. D Daniil Miromanov – $1.25 million
  14. D Brayden Pachal – $1.19 million
  15. F Martin Pospisil – $1 million
  16. F Justin Kirkland – $900,000
  17. G Dustin Wolf – $825,000
  18. G Devin Cooley – $775,000
  19. D Ilya Solovyov – $775,000
These deals cover two goalies, six defencemen and 11 forwards. Between these deals and Jacob Markstrom’s retained salary, the Flames have $68.563 million million in cap commitments for 2025-26. The most prominent pending restricted free agents that require new deals are Kevin Bahl, Morgan Frost and Connor Zary.
In theory, barring a Rasmus Andersson trade between now and then, the Flames almost have their NHL group figured out for next season.

This and that

So here’s the thing: according to folks in Los Angeles on the ground, there’s a ton of chatter about teams moving picks. The Flames have a ton of depth after last year’s draft, but they arguably have no true “A” prospects aside from Parekh. So you could argue that (a) the Flames should use their resources to try to move up and (b) given their strong performance last year giving them depth, they can afford to forego depth this year if they want to move up to get another “A” prospect. We’ll see what unfolds.
And the elephant in the room is Andersson’s future. There have been multiple reports that he and the Flames are fairly far apart on their views for a contract extension for the Swedish blueliner. The expectation is that Andersson will be moved before the 2026 trade deadline, unless either side budgets significantly from their contract stances. The question is: when will Andersson be moved? Given Craig Conroy’s history of making draft-adjacent trades as GM, it could be soon.
Or it could be awhile, if the Flames don’t get their desired price met in the trade market.
If you’re so inclined, please feel encouraged to follow along with the broadcasts, as Back Burner will have a live watch-along on the FlamesNation YouTube page, while Daily Faceoff will also have a live show of their own helmed by Jeff Marek.
If you’re trying to roughly ballpark when the Flames two first-rounders will likely be selected, last year 9th overall was taken at 6:20 p.m. MT and 28th overall was at 8:25 p.m. MT. So we would ballpark about 7:15 (or so) for 18th overall and around 8:45 for 32nd overall. (We’d advise you to err on the side of caution and tune in a bit earlier than our projections, just in case the draft is running faster than expected.)

This article is brought to you by the Alberta Teachers Association

Alberta spends the least per student on public education in Canada, leaving schools underfunded and in crisis. Overcrowded classrooms, unmet student needs, and dwindling supports are driving record numbers of teachers to leave the profession. As Albertans, we cannot ignore this neglect. Our children deserve better. It’s time to act—advocate for increased funding and demand answers from your MLA. Why does Alberta invest the least in its students? The excuses must stop. Stand up for our schools, support our educators, and help ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed. The future of education in Alberta depends on it. Visit www.stoptheexcuses.ca

News

Breaking News