Drafting and player development is not an exact science. There’s a lot of things that can go wrong, and a lot of the decisions that teams make are designed to balance risk with potential reward.

Case in point? When the Calgary Flames selected forward Hunter Laing in the sixth round of the 2024 NHL Draft.

For Laing, there were some risks. The main one was his inexperience in high-end hockey. When the Flames announced his name at 170th overall, he had played just one full WHL season and amassed just 74 WHL games. Scouting and analytics groups like to see multiple years of a player at the same level, as it makes projecting a player’s growth in the future a bit easier. With a small sample size with Laing, there were risks.

But in terms of bets on Laing being a late-bloomer, there were signs that there was some potential value. He has size, listed at 6’6″ and 205 pounds. His dad, Quintin, played 14 years of pro hockey, including three seasons in the Flames organization on an AHL deal with the Abbotsford Heat. And due to Laing’s presence in Kelowna minor hockey and experience with the Rink Academy, he had a relationship with Jarome Iginla, hockey legend and Flames hockey operations advisor.

In 2023-24, Laing played his first full season in the Dub and had 25 points, good for 12th on a pretty good Prince George Cougars team in scoring. The following season, he had 22 points before a mid-season trade to Saskatoon, where he had another 26 points to finish his Draft+1 season with 48 points.

This season, as a 19-year-old, he has 40 points through 47 games. He’s slightly increased his points-per-game production from last season while playing as a fixture in the Blades’ top six. He’s primarily playing on the right wing, though he occasionally plays up the middle. In just three full WHL seasons, he’s progressed quite a bit.

The big question right now: what’s next for Laing? The Flames hold his rights until June 1 of this year. He needs to be signed by then, or perhaps commit to a college program by then, or else the Flames lose his NHL rights. We’re admittedly not sure what the future holds for him.

He’s been a really effective WHL player, but not a dominant one. He does have some physical tools that could project well to the pro level, but there’s also the chance that he could slot in at the same level as Parker Bell or Lucas Ciona; effective players, but guys lower in the AHL rotation. And for someone already so physically developed, would the rest of his game progress at the collegiate level?

We’re nearing a fork in the road for Laing. Whatever happens, he’s acquitted himself really well during his time thus far in the Flames organization.

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