A pair of the Calgary Flames’ European prospects will be participating in under-20 national team events in early November, with one player trying to cement himself on his team’s World Junior entry and the other, well, not able to do so this year.

Alan Shaikhlislamov will be playing for Russia’s under-20 team at the upcoming Future Cup, while Theo Stockselius will be with Sweden’s under-20 team at the upcoming 5 Nations event.

Here’s what’s at stake, and not, for each player.

One of the Flames’ second-round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft, Shaikhlislamov is in his 18-year-old season and he’s really impressed with Tolpar Ufa in the Molodezhnaya Khokkeinaya Liga (MHL), Russia’s top junior league. He’s currently with Tolpar’s Kontinental Hockey League parent, Salavat Yulaev Ufa.

During next month’s international break, he’ll be part of Russia’s under-20 team at the Future Cup, which runs Nov. 5-8 in St. Petersburg. The event also features under-20 teams from Belarus and Kazakhstan, and an under-18 team from Russia.

Other NHL drafted players named to the Russian U20 roster include Loko-76 Yaroslavl goalie Dmitry Borichev (Nashville), Chaika defender Maxim Agafonov (Seattle), Khimik Voskresensk defender Nikita Tyurin (Detroit), Salavat Yulaev Ufa defender Nikita Shcherbakov (New Jersey) and Avto Yekaterinburg forward Dmitry Isaev (Ottawa). A handful of prospective 2027 NHL Draft prospects are also involved, including Torpedo forward Sergei Skvortsov, who’s second on Steven Ellis’ recent draft rankings at Daily Faceoff.

Because of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, they’re ineligible this year to participate in the World Juniors, so Shaikhlislamov will just be trying to impress at the Future Cup for the sake of being impressive.

The Flames’ second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, Stockselius is in his 19-year-old season and spending the year in the Swedish Hockey League with Djurgardens IF. He’ll be headed to a 5 Nations event from Nov. 4-8 in Nypoping, Sweden, which will also feature under-20 teams from Slovakia, Switzerland, Finland and Czechia.

Stockselius is one of 18 NHL prospects suiting up for Sweden, joining Södertälje SK goalie Love Härenstam (St. Louis), BIK Karlskoga goalie Måns Goos (Dallas), Djurgårdens IF defender Liam Pettersson (Boston), HV71 defender Malte Gustafsson (NY Islanders), HV71 defender Karl Annborn (Seattle), Växjö Lakers HC defender Ola Palme (Seattle), Luleå HF William Håkansson (Carolina), Leksands IF forward Jonas Lagerberg-Hoen (Ottawa), Skellefteå AIK forward Viktor Klingsell (Winnipeg), Brynäs IF forward Milton Gästrin (St. Louis), Örebro HK forward Alexander Command (New Jersey), Boro/Vetlanda HC forward Wiggo Sörensson (Carolina), Växjö Lakers HC forward Morgan Anderberg (Tampa Bay), MoDo Hockey forward Elton Hermansson (Los Angeles), Linköping HC forward Loke Krantz (Seattle), Timrå IK forward Eddie Genborg (Detroit) and Brynäs IF forward Gustav Hillström (New Jersey).

Stockselius was considered a strong contender to make last year’s Swedish national junior team and was invited to this very event last fall, but he suffered a nasty skate cut and was sidelined for months, scuttling his World Junior hopes. He impressed a lot at the World Junior Summer Showcase in July, and he’s (again) considered a strong contender to suit up for the Tre Kronor at the World Juniors.