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College blueliner Logan Hensler may not suit the Flames’ needs at the 2025 draft
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Photo credit: Dan Sanger/UW Athletics
Ryan Pike
May 19, 2025, 10:00 EDTUpdated: May 19, 2025, 00:52 EDT
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In every draft, there are players that make you go “Oh man, that’s a really good hockey player, but maybe he isn’t a fit for what this hockey team needs.” The Calgary Flames have really added to their defensive depth since Craig Conroy became general manager in 2023, especially with right shot defenders.
So while University of Wisconsin blueliner Logan Hensler is a really attractive commodity in the 2025 NHL Draft – offering a unique combination of size, skill and speed – he might not be what the Flames need right now.
Let’s dig into Hensler and discuss why he’ll likely make another team very happy on draft weekend.

Scouting report

A product of Woodbury, Minnesota – a Twin Cities suburb – Hensler is an October 2006 birthday and one of the oldest first-time eligible players in the 2025 draft class. Listed at 6’2″ and 196 pounds, he’s a right shot defender.
Hensler came up through minor hockey in his home state, then headed to the U.S. National Development Program for two seasons. He moved onto the University of Wisconsin this season, turning 18 during the first month of his freshman year and playing the campaign as as a “true freshman.” He also won gold with Team USA at the World Juniors.
Over at Dobber Prospects, Luke Sweeney wrote this scouting report in April:
There was a lot of handwringing about Hensler’s lack of production to start the year. Even though he hasn’t changed into an offensive force, thanks in part to a steady performance at the WJC, we’re still high on his upside.
Hensler’s greatest strength is his rush defense, which is easily among the best in the class. He’s proactive in breaking up plays in both the neutral zone and when pinching. Hensler has a very timely defensive stick and closes gaps in a smooth, controlled fashion.
Standing at a lanky 6-2, what defensive areas Hensler does need to shore up can largely be accomplished by growing into his frame and building that strength. As Hensler is such a strong defensive base to build on, we feel confident projecting him as a top four defender.
Our pal Steven Ellis at Daily Faceoff had this evaluation of Hensler as part of his April draft rankings update:
Hensler was once projected to be a potential top-five pick for 2025, but others started to catch up. Some of it has been out of his hands – a few other defenders have helped make the race a bit more exciting. In other cases, scouts just want to see more. He’s a 6-foot-2, mobile blueliner who has good reach and can rough guys up, and he’s solid in his own zone. You won’t confuse him for a puck-rushing offensive defenseman, though. I think there’s a good chance he becomes a second-pairing defenseman who plays a safe defensive game, but I’d like to see him take more chances with the puck.
The overall read on Hensler seems to be that he’s an effective defensive defender with size, but his offensive production didn’t jump off the page this year. Granted, he was a teenager playing in a good college conference against grown-ass men, so maybe that’ll develop over time. But he was able to defend effectively against grown-ass men, so that’s a nice base to build from.

The numbers

Hensler had two goals and 10 assists for 12 points over 32 games as a “true’ freshman with the University of Wisconsin. (Go Badgers!) 22 freshmen blueliners had more points than Hensler.
However, when you look at Hensler’s age cohort – under-19 college players – only 16 had more points. And when you trim the peer group down to under-19 college defencemen, only Cole Hutson and Sasha Boumedienne had more points.
He’s not going to wow anybody with his collegiate production as a freshman, but when you place him in context with his peer group, his production is pretty solid, if unspectacular.

Availability and fit

Hensler is pretty well-regarded in the public scouting circles. He’s ranked generally between 11th and 20th on most rankings. He’s ranked 15th by Daily Faceoff and Elite Prospects in their latest rankings, for example, but a few scouts are a bit lower on him – Craig Button has him 31st, for example. He’s pretty consistently seen as a first-round talent, but he could go basically anywhere in the second half of that round.
If the Flames had zero defensive prospects in their pipeline, Hensler would be a great prospect to select. He’s got a lot of tools that will probably give him a really solid shot at being a reliable pro. But the Flames have a ton of right shot defenders – Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz and Henry Mews, most prominently – and so it’s unclear if Hensler would have the best chance to succeed in the Flames system. When we go “Oh man, the Flames would probably be better off taking a centre here,” it’s as much that grabbing a centre would address a position of need for them as it is that a centre would have a better chance to succeed than, say, a defender.
Hensler’s an attractive prospect in the first round, but he just might not be what the Flames need right now.

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