The Calgary Flames made some franchise history a couple weeks back at the 2026 NHL Draft.

When they selected Prince George Cougars defenceman Carson Carels at sixth overall, it represented the highest pick they’ve used on a defenceman in franchise history. It’s also the 13th time the Flames have used a first-round pick to select a blueliner, and the second time they’ve done so in three years.

And looking back at Flames draft history, their selections of blueliners has tended to cluster over the years, with defencemen picked in consecutive drafts or in fairly rapid succession in two main clusters.

The first cluster of defencemen selected turned out pretty well. The second a bit less so.

Between 1975 and 1981, the then Atlanta Flames had seven first-round picks across seven drafts – they had no first-rounder in 1977, but they made two in 1976. During that run, they drafted five defencemen. Some you’re probably more familiar with than others.

Here are their five first-round defencemen in chronological order: Richard Mulhern (1975, eighth overall), Dave Shand (1976, eighth overall), Brad Marsh (1978, 11th overall), Paul Reinhart (1979, 12th overall) and Al MacInnis (1981, 15th overall).

The general manager at the time was the legendary Cliff Fletcher, affectionately known as “Trader Cliff.” Fletcher was a good judge of talent but relied on his head scouts to make the picks. Once players were in the system, high picks were usually fast-tracked to the NHL. If they fit with what Fletcher and the coaching staff wanted, they stuck around. If they didn’t quite fit the puzzle he was putting together, they were moved out fairly quickly before their trade value could diminish.

Mulhern made the Flames as a full-timer in 1976-77… and then was traded to Los Angeles midway through the 1978-79 season. Shand also became a full-time NHLer in 1976-77, but he was traded to Toronto after the 1978-79 campaign. Marsh became a full-timer in 1978-79 and even served as captain after their relocation to Calgary… but then he was traded to Philadelphia early in 1981-82.

But Reinhart and MacInnis were around much longer. Reinhart played more as a rover than as a traditional defenceman, but he really seemed to click with the fast-paced style the Flames wanted. He made the club in 1979-80 and remained part of the roster until 1987-88 – and prior to injuries slowing him down, he was one of the most exciting players on the team. MacInnis had a couple call-ups before becoming a full-time Flame in 1983-84, and he stuck around until 1993-94. By the time MacInnis left, he basically owned the franchise’s record book and had his name etched on the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy from the 1989 post-season.

All five picks the Flames made didn’t turn into core pieces… but the last two they made did, and having Reinhart and MacInnis allowed Fletcher to fill in the blueline around them with other players.

After the run on defencemen they made earlier, the Flames selected just a single first-round blueliner in the intervening years – Chris Biotti in 1985. Biotti topped out as a good minor-leaguer and never played an NHL game, with the Flames or elsewhere.

But the Flames went back to the defensive well in back-to-back years in the mid 1990s, selecting Denis Gauthier (1995, 20th overall) and Derek Morris (1996, 13th overall). The good news is that the duo both turned into pretty reliable, productive NHL defencemen. Gauthier was renowned for his bruising physical style, while Morris was a really effective, versatile 200-foot defender. But they weren’t quite able to form the core of a defensive group the way Reinhart and MacInnis were, with Gauthier and Morris only being full-time NHL teammates for three seasons (1999-2000 through 2001-02).

Since 1996, the Flames have only selected defencemen in the first round five times: Dion Phaneuf (2003, ninth overall), Tim Erixon (2009, 23rd overall), Juuso Valimaki (2017, 17th overall) and Parekh (2024, ninth overall).

With Parekh and Carels added via the draft, along with the acquisitions of Kevin Bahl and Simon Nemec from New Jersey a couple years apart, it seems as if the puzzle pieces for a long-term core group are being accumulated. Time will tell if the pieces fit as intended, or if a few need to be swapped out for others.