Shortly before the 2026 trade deadline, the Flames sent defenceman MacKenzie Weegar to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for three second-round picks, Oli Määttä, and prospect Jonathan Castagna. One of those second-rounders belonged to the New York Rangers, meaning that the Flames are set to pick 35th overall.

The 35th selection is a weird one. Since the turn of the millennium, it comes shortly after the first round. Despite its proximity to the first round, it produced just three All-Stars, none of which are Hall of Famers.

Let’s jump into the history of the 35th overall pick.

History of the 35th overall pick

It’s hard to believe, but the Flames have never stepped up to the podium to select 35th overall, nor has a player selected 35th overall ever played for the Flames. However, they did at one point control what would become the 35th overall pick. Early in the 2003-04 season, the Flames sent a conditional pick to the San Jose Sharks for netminder Miikka Kiprusoff.

As you know, the Flames went all the way to Game 7 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, with the Finnish netminder being a huge reason for that. But in the end, it was a win for both teams, as the Sharks selected Marc-Édouard Vlasic.

While not officially retired, Vlasic will end his career playing the second-most games of any player selected 35th overall, potting 83 goals and 376 points in 1,296 games, all with the Sharks.

The other player drafted 35th overall with more games than Vlasic is Matt Cullen, who was drafted by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 1996. Cullen is one of just 22 players with 1,500 games played, playing for the Ducks, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He also won three Cups in his career.

Despite the longevity of both Cullen and Vlasic, neither player played in the All-Star. Nor did the other player selected 35th overall with 1,000 or more games played, Jamie Langenbrunner. That said, Langenbrunner won two Cups, one with the Dallas Stars in 1999 and another one with the New Jersey Devils in 2003.

Langenbrunner won the 1999 Stanley Cup with another player selected 35th overall, Benoit Hogue. Cullen, Langenbrunner, Hogue are three of five players (sort of) selected 35th overall who have won a Stanley Cup. Kyle Clifford won two with the Los Angeles Kings, and J.T. Compher won with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022. We’ll get to the other one later.

Only three netminders have been selected 35th overall. One, Adam Gajan, is still active and has yet to make his NHL debut. The other two happen to be All-Stars. Pelle Lindberg played for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1980’s, being named an All-Star in 1984-85, the same season he won the Hart. Tragically, the Swede lost his life at the age of 26 due to a single car collision.

Byron Dafoe was drafted by the Washington Capitals in 1989, making his debut with the team in 1992-93. His best season came with the Boston Bruins in 1998-89, where he had a .926 save percentage and 1.99 goals against average, with 10 shutouts. Obviously, he was named an All-Star, earning Hart votes and finishing third in Vezina Trophy voting.

Dafoe turned out to be the last player drafted 35th overall to become an All-Star for nearly three decades. That was until the Carolina Hurricanes selected Sebastian Aho in 2015. Over 756 regular season games, the Finn has gone on to score 310 goals and 711 points in 756 games, with 38 goals and 96 points in 106 post-season games.

Aho could become the sixth player selected 35th overall to win the Stanley Cup, but another active player played on a team that eventually won the Cup. Jordan Kyrou, the other All-Star selected 35th overall, made his debut in 2018-19, playing 16 games with a goal and three points. He wasn’t quite the 30-goal scorer he became at this point.

There are 17 active players selected 35th overall. Aho, Kyrou, Ryker Evans, and Compher are the four to play NHL games in 2025-26. Vlasic is the oldest player selected 35th overall who is still active. Nicolas Deschamps (2008) is the only other player drafted in the noughties who is still active.

Deschamps is also one of five players who played the 2025-26 season in Europe, joining Jesse Ylonen (2018), Dominik Masin (2014), Tomáš Jurčo (2011), and Ludvig Rensfeldt (2010) overseas.

Most active players selected 35th overall spent their 2025-26 season in the American Hockey League. They are Isaac Ratcliffe (2017), Antti Tuomisto (2019), Helge Grans (2020), Jagger Firkus (2022), Gajan (2023), and Lucas Pettersson (2024). Pettersson spent most of his season in the Swedish Hockey League, but played in four AHL games as well.

The most recent player selected 35th overall, Jacob Rombach, spent his 2025-26 season with the University of Minnesota, where the left-shot defenceman scored a goal and four points in 36 games.

Of the 57 players selected 35th overall, 37 players played at least one NHL game, with 32 of them playing double-digit games. In total, 20 players have gone on to play 100 or more games, producing just four All-Stars, and five Stanley Cup champions.

Historically speaking, players selected here don’t often find their way to becoming an every day player, much less an impact player. But it’s not impossible to find a useful player with this pick.

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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History of the 35th overall pick

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