One of the most exciting prospects in the Calgary Flames system will be wearing a letter for one of college hockey’s best teams.

On Wednesday, the University of North Dakota’s men’s hockey team announced its leadership group for the 2026-27 season. Flames prospect Cole Reschny was named the team’s captain.

A sophomore this season, Reschny’s one of the more remarkable captains in North Dakota’s program history. He’s the youngest captain by age they’ve ever had – he turned 19 back in April – and just the third underclassman to serve as captain, following Dave Hakstol in 1990-91 and Bob Murray in 1948-49.

If you’re unfamiliar with Reschny, well, he’s one of the Flames’ top prospects. Selected in the first round, 18th overall, in the 2025 NHL Draft, he really impressed over two seasons with the Western Hockey League’s Victoria Royals, serving as an alternate captain in his draft year while putting up 92 points. He joined North Dakota last season and was named his conference’s top rookie.

Internationally, Reschny has represented Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the Under-17 World Challenge, the Under-18 World Championships and the World Juniors, capturing gold medals at the Hlinka Gretzky and U18s and a bronze medal at the World Juniors. He’s expected to return to the 2027 World Juniors and play a prominent role for Team Canada, potentially even serving as their captain. (He wore a C for part of July’s World Junior Summer Showcase in Windsor.)

Reschny has built a reputation across major junior and college as a really effective 200-foot player. He’s able to play in every game situation and provide value in all three zones, and that’s quickly made him a really prominent part of North Dakota’s attack as they set their sights on an NCAA national championship in the spring. For his part, Reschny has indicated publicly that this might be his final NCAA campaign, as he’s hoping to join the Flames when his college season ends.

The Frozen Four caps off on Apr. 10, the same day as the Flames’ final regular season game, so we’re willing to bet Reschny will have a hockey commitment on that date either way.