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Flames Draft 2026: A history of the 164th overall pick
2018 NHL Draft
Photo credit: Jerome Miron/USA Today Sports
Ryley Delaney
Jun 26, 2026, 13:30 EDTUpdated: Jun 26, 2026, 11:27 EDT
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The Calgary Flames 10th and final draft pick in the 2026 draft is the 164th overall selection.
Despite it firmly being considered a “late round pick”, the 164th overall selection has still produced some notable players. In fact, five players selected at this spot have played 100 or more games, with one of those Flames players being a draft pick and the other being a player who finished his NHL career on the Flames.
Let’s take a look at the history of the 164th overall pick

Nate Smith, 1985

The first time the Flames picked 164th overall was in the 1985 draft, shortly after their visit to the Stanley Cup Finals. Earlier in the draft, they had picked a Hall of Famer in Joe Nieuwendyk, as well as a solid NHLer in Stu Grimson. They didn’t find that same success with the 164th overall pick, drafted Nate Smith.
A defenceman, Smith spent four seasons at Princeton University following being drafted, picking up 20 points in 99 games. He played a handful of games in the ECHL with the Richmond Renegades from the 1994-95 season until 1997-98, but that was the extent of the defenceman’s professional career.

Yuri Trubachev, 2001

The Flames didn’t find much more success the next time they drafted 164th overall.. In 2001, they selected Yuri Trubachev, who never played in North America.
However, he had a lengthy career in Russia, spending most of his playing days with the Kontinental Hockey League’s Cherepovets Severstal, but also playing for a handful of other teams. Over 585 KHL games, Trubachev scored 82 goals and 221 points.

Laurent Brossoit, 2011

Third time is a charm, as they say. The third time the Flames picked 164th overall, they drafted Laurent Brossoit in 2011.
Though he was drafted by the Flames, he never played for the team as he was included in a rare trade with the Edmonton Oilers in November 2013. They sent him and Roman Horák to their rival for Ladislav Šmíd and netminder Olivier Roy.
Brossoit, now 33, has gone on to play 141 games, serving mainly as a backup throughout his career. In 2023, he helped the Vegas Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup and most recently played for the San Jose Sharks in 2025-26.

Other notable 164th overall picks

Brossoit isn’t the only 164th overall selection with his name on the Stanley Cup.Todd Marchant was drafted 164th in the 1993 draft by the New York Rangers, but traded to the Oilers after just one game with the Original Six team.
Marchant broke out as a consistent double-digit goal scorer, reaching the 30-point plateau in 10 consecutive seasons, including scoring a career-best 20 goals and 60 points in 2002-03. That said, his most memorable moment as an Oiler was scoring a double-overtime winner in Game 7, as the Oilers upset the second-seeded Dallas Stars.
Marchant eventually joined the Anaheim Ducks, winning the Stanley Cup with them in 2007. He retired following the 2010-11 season, amassing 1,195 games played, with 186 goals and 498 points. He leads all three categories.
The lone All-Star selected 164th overall is Stéphane Robidas. With the Stars in 2008-09, the Sherbrooke product scored three goals and 26 points in 72 games, earning his lone All-Star nomination. Just a year later, he scored a career-best 10 goals and 41 points in 82 games played.
Before the Stars, he played for the Montréal Canadiens, the team that drafted him in 1995. He had two stints with the Stars, with 45 games with the Chicago Blackhawks mixed in. Before the 2013-14 trade deadline, Robidas was sent to the Ducks, then joined the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2014-15 season.
The defenceman signed a three-year deal with the team, but played just one game before ending up on Robidas Island (also known as long-term injured reserve). Robidas finished with 57 goals and 258 points in 937 games. His games played are the second-most among players selected 164th overall, while his goals and points rank third.
Todd Fedoruk (1997) played the second-most games of players selected 164th overall. Over 545 games, he scored 32 goals and 97 points, finishing fourth in both categories among players selected 164th overall.
The lone player selected 164th who played for the Flames is Aleš Kotalík. Selected in the 1998 draft, the Czech forward had some productive seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, including three 20+ goal seasons, and one season where he reached 62 points.
Kotalík was acquired by the Flames before the 2010 trade deadline, scoring three goals and five points in 26 games to end the 2009-10 season. He wasn’t much better in his 26 games with the Flames the following season, scoring just four goals and eight points, his final NHL games.
On June 25th, 2011, nearly 15 years ago to the day, he was traded alongside Robyn Regehr and a 2012 second for Chris Butler and Paul Byron. In hindsight, a really poor trade for the Flames.
In the end, Kotalík finished with 136 goals and 284 points in 542 games. He’s second in both goals and assists among players selected 164th overall, while he sits fourth in games played.
The other player with 100+ games played is an active player, Michael Kesselring. Drafted by the Oilers 164th overall in 2018, he’s been traded four times in his career, most recently to the San Jose Sharks earlier this month. In 190 games, the right-shot defenceman has scored 12 goals and 55 points.
Gates Orlando (1981) is another player of note, scoring 18 goals and 44 points in 98 games, all with the Buffalo Sabres. Netminders Martin Prusek (1999), Connor Knapp (1992), and Tyler Weiman (2009) all played at least one game, with Prusek playing 57. Chris DiDomenico (2007) played 27 games and is still active, while Christan Proulx played seven NHL games.
Other notable players selected 164th overall who never played an NHL game are Viktor Hurtig (2021), Peter Harris (1986), and Moises Gutierrez (2004). The latter was born in Anchorage, an underrated hockey hotbed, especially for goalies. 
Harris only played 16 professional games, but his son Jordan played in the NHL last season. Hurtig, a tall Swedish defenceman, is not related to Flames’ prospect Axel Hurtig, who is also a tall defenceman from Sweden.
There were 14 players selected 164th overall who played a game last season. Brossoit (2011) and Kesselring (2018) each played in the NHL. Constantin Braun (2006) played in Germany, DiDomenico (2007) played in Switzerland, Pavel Kraskovsky (2014) played in Russia, and Timur Ibragimov (2019) played in Russia. Kraskovsky won back-to-back Gagarin Cups with the KHL’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
Last season, two players selected 164th overall played in North America’s minor leagues. Noah Carroll (2016) played in the ECHL, while both Reilly Webb (2017) and Tyrel Bauer (2020) played in the AHL.
Aston Cumby (2025) played in the Western Hockey League, while players selected 164th in the 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 draft played in the NCAA. They are Hurtig (2021), Barrett Hall (2022), Cole Brown (2023) and Anthony Romani (2024).
While the Flames own the 164th pick in name, they’ll actually make the 163rd overall selection due to the Golden Knights forfeiting their second-rounder. The lone player of note selected 163rd overall is Linus Ullmark, an active netminder who’s an All-Star and has won a Vezina Trophy.
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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