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Looking at where Flames’ prospects will play in 2026-27

Photo credit: David Moll/Calgary Wranglers

By Ryley Delaney

Sep 16, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 15, 2026, 23:39 EDT

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Hockey is right around the corner.

On Monday, Calgary Flames’ prospects took on the Edmonton Oilers’ prospects in the second annual NextGen game, the first real taste of hockey this fall. Well, that’s the case for the North American based prospects, as several leagues have already started.

For parts of the last two seasons, I’ve done a weekly “Flames prospect roundup”, looking at how the week went for Flames’ prospects in the American Hockey League or ECHL, as well as how their teams did and where they sat in the standings.

That begs three questions: Which prospects graduated? Which prospects will we cover this season? Where are they playing? Let’s find out!

American Hockey League/ECHL

There are five prospects who regularly featured in last season’s list who have graduated to either play in the ECHL or American Hockey League. Andrew Basha had a taste of the AHL last season, but has aged out of junior eligibility. As has Axel Hurtig.

Netminder Kirill Zarubin signed his entry-level contract and will play in North America this season, either for the Calgary Wranglers or Rapid City Rush. Also by signing their ELC, Jonathan Castagna and Abram Wiebe are no longer eligible to return for their respective college team.

Those five players will join fellow prospects Mike Benning, Tyson Gross, Samuel Honzek, Rory Kerins, Arsenii Sergeev, Aydar Suniev and William Strömgren in the professional ranks. While they all remain a prospect of the Flames, they won’t be covered in the weekly roundup.

One player who regularly featured in the prospect roundup who is no longer on the Flames’ reserve list is Hunter Laing, who will return to the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades.

College-based players

Many of the Flames’ prospects will be spending their season in college. Three of them, Max Curran, Tobias Trejbal, and Egor Barabanov, will be teammates at the University of Massachusetts. Curran was acquired in the Nazem Kadri trade, while Trejbal and Barabanov were drafted in the second and fourth round of the 2026 NHL draft respectively.

It’s not the first time a trio of Flames’ prospects played for one collegiate team, as Cade Littler, Abram Wiebe, and Cole Reschny all played for North Dakota in 2025-26. Of the three, only Reschny returns, but will be joined by sixth overall pick in 2026, Carson Carels.

Littler transferred to Arizona State after two seasons with the Fighting Hawks, scoring a career-best 13 points in 35 games last season. The seventh-rounder in 2022 won’t be teammates with Flames’ first-rounder in 2025, Cullen Potter, as Potter transferred to Michigan State.

Last season, Potter scored 12 goals and 26 points in 24 games with the Sun Devils, but missed the second half of the season due to an injury. The 32nd overall pick in the 2025 draft will be joined by another late first-round pick, Jack Hextall. Last season, he scored 20 goals and 58 points with the United States Hockey League’s Youngstown Phantoms.

There’s a Flames’ prospect on their rivals, as defenceman Henry Mews is set to return to the University of Michigan for the 2026-27 season. Mews played just 10 games for the Wolverines last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury. However, he was productive in limited action, picking up nine assists.

No player in college impacted the scoresheet more than Ethan Wyttenbach last season. Drafted in the fifth round of the 2025 NHL Draft, the freshman scored 25 goals and an NCAA-high 59 points with Quinnipiac last season. He’ll return for his sophomore seasons with high expectations.

Wyttenbach will frequently face off against another Flames’ prospect in ECAC Hockey, Harvard’s Aidan Lane. Drafted in the sixth-round of the same draft, Lane scored six goals and 13 points with Harvard in 2025-26.

Trevor Hoskin was a big reason why Merrimack College won their first ever Hockey Championship, as the fourth-rounder in 2024 scored 13 goals and 35 points in 34 games to lead the team to the National Championship. The 22-year-old will return for his second season with Merrimack in his third collegiate season.

Eric Jamieson’s Denver will look to repeat after winning the National Championship last season. The left-shot defenceman had a strong first half, ending the year with seven goals and 18 points in 43 games, not too shabby for a sixth-round pick.

Former Brampton Steelhead Luke Misa will return to Penn State after scoring eight goals and 19 points in 37 games last season. Penn State will be without Gavin McKenna, who was selected first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Another Canadian Hockey Leaguer turned college player, Jaden Lipinski, will return to the University of Maine for his sophomore season.

A newcomer to the college ranks is a Russian netminder, as Yegor Yegorov will join Miami University (Ohio) for his freshman season. Drafted in the sixth-round of the 2023 NHL Draft, Yegorov finished the 2025-26 season with a .918 save percentage and 2.97 goals against average in Russia’s Junior Hockey League (MHL).

Canadian Hockey League

There is a strong contingent of Flames prospects in the Canadian Hockey League this coming season, albeit none in the United States Hockey League.

Five of the six players set to play in the CHL will play in the Western Hockey League. Joe Iginla, son of Flames’ icon Jarome, will return to play for the WHL’s Vancouver Giants in 2026-27. Joining him in the WHL’s Western Conference are fellow 2026 draftees Bode Laylin (Everett Silvertips) and Chase Harrington (Spokane Chiefs).

Two Flames’ prospects will play for Alberta-based WHL teams. Mace’o Phillips will join the powerhouse Medicine Hat Tigers, who are just two years removed from winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup. The team isn’t as strong as it was with the departure of Andrew Basha, Gavin McKenna, and others, but should be a playoff team.

Swedish-born defenceman Jakob Leander will join the Calgary Hitmen, essentially replacing Axel Hurtig. The similarities are uncanny, as both are Flames’ prospects selected in the seventh-round born in Sweden.

The lone CHL-based Flames’ prospect in a different league is 2026 draftee Šimon Katolický. Drafted in the fifth round back in late June, the Czech-born winger joins the Ontario Hockey League’s Sarnia Sting after spending the 2025-26 season in Finland’s youth leagues.

Europe

Moving to Europe, there are two prospects playing in Russia, as well as one in Sweden.

Theo Stockselius won back-to-back U20 championships with Djurgårdens IF’s youth team, scoring 26 goals and 67 points in 51 regular season games, and 17 goals and 36 points in 20 post-season games over the two seasons. Before the end of the regular season, the Flames’ second-rounder in 2025 played 16 games with the grown up team, picking up an assist.

This season, the 19-year-old left-shot centre will be a mainstay in the Swedish Hockey League, where he’ll surely get a bigger opportunity to impress.

Alan Shaikhlislamov, drafted 55th overall by the Flames in 2026, has already begun his season with MHL’s Ufa Tolpar. Over the four games, he has five goals and eight points. He made his Kontinental Hockey League debut last season, and if he keeps up the pace, he could get a longer look at the higher levels.

Also starting his season already is Yan Matveiko. After scoring 15 goals and 37 points in 50 games in the MHL last season, the Flames’ seventh-rounder in 2025 has played five games for Zvezda Moskva so far this season. Zvezda Moskva is a All-Russian Hockey League team (VHL), essentially what the AHL is to the NHL. It’s a big step forward.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for DFO Calgary, DFO Edmonton, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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