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FN Draft Profiles: Finnish forward Oscar Hemming had a weird season
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Ryan Pike
May 2, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: May 2, 2026, 00:48 EDT
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Usually when we discuss a prospect that didn’t play very much in their draft year, it’s because of unfortunate injuries. But in the case of Finnish forward Oscar Hemming, he was sidelined for much of the 2025-26 season not because of injury, or disciplinary reasons, or anything in his control.
Yet despite being limited to just 24 games of high end hockey this season, Hemming is a really exciting, highly-regarded prospect in this year’s draft class.
Let’s learn more about what makes him such an impressive youngster and why he might appeal to the Calgary Flames.

Scouting report

Hailing from Vaasa, Finland, Hemming is listed at 6’4″ and 195 pounds, and he’s a left shot forward who primary plays on the wing. He’s the younger brother of Emil Hemming, who went 29th overall to Dallas in 2024 and spent this season playing with the Ontario Hockey League’s Barrie Colts. Their father is Jonas Hemming, who played pro all over Europe in the 1980s and 1990s.
Hemming’s had a weird year. He was selected by the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers in the 2025 CHL Import Draft and made plans to head over to join the junior team for the coming season, signing with the team in August. However, his Finnish club team, Kiekko-Espoo, protested, arguing that Hemming had a valid contract with them for the coming season. It’s become a whole thing, and Hemming has suffered because of it.
As a consequence, he didn’t play at all from the end of the Hlinka Gretzky Cup until he joined Boston College after Christmas, a roughly four month developmental pause for purely legal and administrative reasons. (He also wasn’t selected for Finland’s World Junior roster, despite being on last year’s silver medal team, and he wasn’t named to their Under-18 Worlds team either.) Despite all this hubbub, he’s one of the more highly-regarded players in this draft class.
Sportsnet and Pro Hockey Group’s Jason Bukala had this assessment of Hemming in March:
Hemming is another player on the list who is adjusting to college competition at a young age. His size stands out and he has a history of scoring goals. It’s going to take some time for Hemming to produce in the NCAA, but he’s contributed 1G-7A in his first 17 games. For his stature, he’s a solid skater on straight lines and he’s generally responsible off the puck in all three zones. His upside as a potential power forward who isn’t shy about battling physically is attractive.
Here’s what Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis wrote about Hemming in April:
After missing the first half of the season due to a contract dispute with his Finnish club, Hemming came out swinging with Boston College. He had a pair of assists in just his second game and even had a nice four-point run during a three-game stretch. But after finishing with just two points in his final 11 games, it was a difficult end for a guy many scouts still really like. At his best, the 6-foot-4 forward is an absolute menace who can beat you with size, speed and skill. The raw potential is there, but he was forced to play some heavy catch-up to make up for lost time. I think a full year of college will do him wonders, and I still see some top-six potential.

The numbers

Man, it’s tough to get a handle on Hemming offensively.
Playing with Finland at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he had six points in five games, leading his team in goals and points. Then he didn’t play for four months. Then he had eight points in 19 NCAA games with Boston College, debuting right after Christmas.
He’s an August 2008 birthday, so he won’t be 18 until two months after the 2026 NHL Draft. When you consider that, it’s pretty wild that he put up much scoring in the NCAA at all.

Availability and fit

The Flames heavily drafted centres over the past few years, and if there’s a gap in their forward group right now, it might be lefty wingers. Hemming has size, skill and seems to be smart enough to adjust to college hockey quickly. That’s a really exciting combination of attributes for a young player.
That said, he might not fit with the Flames’ draft slotting. He appears between 10th and 19th on most draft rankings, most often appearing around 12th spot. That’s probably a bit lower than the Flames’ own draft slot, but too high for Vegas’ pick. Hemming’s a really interesting young player, but someone that the Flames probably won’t have a chance to select.

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